Bereshit

With a trembling of happiness and pain, we open this conference with the words of Yaakov Avinu from this week’s parasha – “I am small in relation to all of the kindnesses … now I make up two encampments” (Bereishit 32:11)

Ever since the times of our holy forefathers Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov, the site and town of Beit El has been a central and sacred place. Here, in this holy spot, Yaakov Avinu dreams his famous Dream of the Ladder – and when he awakens, he says: "There actually is G-d in this place, and I did not know." He then continues: "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of G-d, and this is the gateway to the Heavens."

The whole world will recognize the special status that Avraham and Yitzchak established

...In recent generations, [the] struggle [between Yaakov and Esav] has taken on a new and even more complex nature, and it is important that we not be misled by it. Today, the culture leading the world is Western culture, and the morality leading the world is Western morality. This culture and morality are upgraded versions of X-ianity, with a more refined and pretty face. Many Jews who encounter this Western morality find in it an echo of Judaism, and are inclined to think that it is an "upgraded Judaism," Heaven forbid...