Ancient Connection – Modern Pioneers
In this week’s parsha, Moshe heroically protects his Jewish brother by killing the cruel Egyptian overlord. To protect his standing in Egypt and his life, Moshe tries to hide his actions. However, already the next day, Moshe realizes that the story is out. The Torah describes Moshe’s emotional reaction: “Moshe was frightened and thought: Then […]
This week’s parsha begins the long saga of Yosef’s life. His eventful story begins as a young teenager in his father’s home and through a highly unlikely series of events he winds up as the viceroy of Egypt and is instrumental in saving a civilization from extreme hunger. His journey is (literally) the material of […]
There is an often repeated tactic whenever a severe terror attack happens in Israel – especially in Jerusalem that the police raise their numbers, put down barricades, and increase searches. However, there is another approach. Whenever any terrorist attack happens, more Jews should be moved into what has become “Arab-Only” neighborhoods. This includes Shiloach (aka […]
When Yaakov hears that Esav is approaching him with a small army of four hundred soldiers, Yaakov understandably is fearful: “Yaakov became very frightened and was distressed.” Soon, his fears are realized when he is alone at night and is attacked by an angelic representation of Esav. Desperately, Yaakov is forced to fight for his […]
Yaakov faces many challenges in our parsha. Perhaps the most pernicious is that Lavan interferes with the most precious and intimate day of Yaakov’s life – his wedding day. Lavan switches the bride and Yaakov is forced to wait seven years to marry his true love, Rachel. The Torah describes this waiting period with a […]
Yitzhak tends to repeat the behaviors of his father Avraham. Therefore, when there is a famine in the land it seems that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and take refuge in Egypt. God, however, has other plans and tells him “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land that I […]
Our parsha seems repetitive. Torah describes the events of Eliezer’s trip to Aram Naharaim in great detail. Then, when Eliezer meets Lavan and tells him about his mission and miraculous story, the Torah does not suffice to simply say that Eliezer recounted the story to Lavan. Rather, it records for us the entirety of Eliezer’s […]
In the middle of our parsha, Avraham and Sarah are blessed with their long-awaited son, Yitzhak. The Midrash teaches us that Sarah was biologically barren and it was a divine miracle that enabled her to conceive and give birth. The Maggid of Mezeritch, though, offers a fascinating spiritual take on the journey of Avraham and […]
Our parsha opens rather abruptly with God’s command to Avraham to travel to the promised land. We are not told the rationale behind God’s choice. Why did God choose Avraham? What did he do to deserve to be the founder of the chosen nation? The Midrash, though, explains Avraham’s prior convictions by means of a […]
Lana is the name of the latest “Palestinian” village, built in the same style as Rawabi, the still under occupied modern “Palestinian” City built in Western Binyamin. Unlike Rawabi, which has its fare share of zoning and environmental impact violations, Lana comes with a far more serious consequence. Part of Lana is actually being built […]
