Jacob and Esau are about to meet again after a separation of twenty two years. It is a fraught encounter. Once, Esau had sworn to kill Jacob in revenge for what he saw as the theft of his blessing. Will he do so now – or has time healed the wound? Jacob sends messengers to let his brother know he…
…our spiritual DNA? There are many answers. I explore one here, and another next week in Vayishlach. Jacob was the man whose deepest spiritual encounters happened when he was on a journey, alone and afraid at the dead of night, fleeing from one danger to another. In this week’s parsha, we see him fleeing from Esau and about to meet…
…VAYISHLACH: If you find yourself struggling with faith, you are in the company of Jacob-who-became-Israel, the father-in-faith of us all. VAYESHEV: Seen through the eye of faith, today’s curse may be the beginning of tomorrow’s blessing. MIKKETZ: What can be healed is not holy. God does not want us to accept poverty and pain but to cure them. VAYIGASH: We…
…Babylonian exile) the Jews. Bereishit Noach Lech Lecha Vayera Chayei Sarah Toldot Vayetse Vayishlach Vayeshev Mikketz Vayigash Vayechi Shemot (Exodus) The book of Exodus – Shemot – is the West’s meta-narrative of hope. It tells an astonishing story of how a group of slaves were liberated from the mightiest empire of the ancient world. Theologically, its message is even more…
…one is stronger than the person who knows who and what he is. Vayishlach: Be Thyself People need encouragement if they are to lead. It is fascinating to contrast the hesitant Reuben with the confident – even overconfident – Joseph, loved and favoured by his father. If we want our children to have the confidence to act when action is…
…& Conversation Vayishlach) Individual and Collective Responsibility (Covenant & Conversation Noach) Shavuot, TV Remote Controls, and Collective Responsibility (BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day, 25 May 2012) Personal Responsibility in the Sensationalist Age of the iPhone (The Sunday Telegraph, 5 November, 2017) Tikkun Olam: Orthodoxy’s Responsibility to Perfect God’s World (Transcript of a speech delivered by Rabbi Sacks on…
…art of legacy building 23 November 2022 – Toldot Rabbi Johnny Solomon: Unconditional love 30 November 2022 – Vayetze Rebbetzin Lauren Levin: Jacob’s ladder – A blueprint for humanity 7 December 2022 – Vayishlach Rav Alex Israel: Shimon and Levi – Saviours or savages? 14 December 2022 – Vayeshev Dr Lindsay Simmonds: A holy people – Deception, violence and salvation…
…and said, look who’s calling himself a gornisht. In Judaism, to be a nothing is to be a something. And that, I think, is the theme of my talk this morning, to be proud of what we are. I want to begin this Encounter with another encounter, an encounter we read about yesterday in the sedra of Vayishlach, surely the…
We must wrestle with ourselves, as Jacob did on that fateful night, throwing off the person we persistently compare ourselves to, accepting that some people will like us and what we stand for while others will not, understanding that it is better to seek the respect of some than the popularity of all. This may involve a lifetime of struggle,…
A moral system which leaves room for the existence of dilemmas is one that does not attempt to eliminate the complexities of the moral life. In a conflict between two rights or two wrongs, there may be a proper way to act – the lesser of two evils, or the greater of two goods – but this does not cancel…