The Birth of the World’s Oldest Hate (Vayetse 5777)
“Go and learn what Laban the Aramean sought to do to our father Jacob. Pharaoh made his decree only about … Read more
Parshot: Vayetse
How the Light Gets In (Vayetse 5776)
Why Jacob? That is the question we find ourselves asking repeatedly as we read the narratives of Genesis. Jacob is … Read more
Love Is Not Enough (Vayetse 5775)
Judaism is supremely a religion of love: three loves. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, … Read more
Vayetse (5774) – Light in Dark Times
What is it that made Jacob – not Abraham or Isaac or Moses – the true father of the Jewish … Read more
Vayetze (5773) – Encountering G-d
It is one of the great visions of the Torah. Jacob, alone at night, fleeing from the wrath of Esau, … Read more
Vayetse (5772) – The Birth of the World’s Oldest Hate
“Go and learn what Laban the Aramean sought to do to our father Jacob. A Pharaoh made his decree only … Read more
Vayetse (5771) – The Character of Jacob
What kind of man was Jacob? This is the question that cries out to us in episode after episode of his … Read more
Vayetze (5770) – Jacob’s Ladder and the Structure of Jewish Prayer
It is one of the great dreams of the Bible. Jacob, afraid and alone, finds himself in what the anthropologist Victor … Read more
Vayetse (5769) – When the “I” is Silent
It is one of the great visions of the Torah. Jacob, alone and far from home, lies down for the … Read more
Vayetse (5768) – Leah’s Tears
We sometimes forget that the phrase Keriat Ha-Torah does not simply mean “reading the Torah.” In biblical Hebrew the verb … Read more