Bereshit
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Have faith in God’s faith in us and you will find the path from darkness to light.
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Parashat Vayetse- 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 life. -
THIS “TIRE” MUST NEVER WEAR OUT
Our sedra begins the amazing story of Yakov & Esav. This is a saga that never really ends; the progeny of Yakov - we Jews - will go on forever, & we will be locked in battle, both physical & spiritual, with Esav’s descendants until the end of time. -
WHAT IS ISRAEL WORTH?
Avraham has now finished his “10 Tests.” After the traumas of being thrown into a fiery furnace, leaving his family & his homeland, fighting a war to free his nephew, circumcising himself (at age 99!), & almost sacrificing his beloved Yitzchak at the Akeida, Avraham certainly deserves a well-earned rest. -
CHAYEI SARAH
In truth, our mother Sarah, like many other mothers past and present in Jewish life, has not quite received her due. Rashi, quoting Midrash in describing Sarah’s life, states that all the years of Sarah’s life were “for good.” He must mean “for good” in a spiritual and holy sense, for in her physical worldly life there was little good that she experienced. -
Parashat Vayera: The Danger of Sinful Contemplation
There is a surprising midrash about the background of the test that Avraham underwent with the binding of Yitzchak, which the Torah introduces with the words “It was after these matters” (Bereishit 22:1). The obvious questions are: what were these “matters” and what was their significance? One midrash (Yelamdenu, Bereishit 104) says that Avraham had contemplated negative thoughts about Hashem’s attribute of judgment. Avraham was concerned that because he had been saved from death, he used up his reward and would not have any in the world to come. Consequently, he had to give an oleh sacrifice, which is appropriate for sins of the heart (with the sacrifice being his son).
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