There’s a huge difference between feeling like you’re always on the move versus feeling cozy and at home. The first verse of this week’s parsha draws that distinction, saying that Jacob ‘dwelt’ in the land that his father had travelled in. Rabbi Akiva Naiman, the chapter director of NCSY Oakland and director of NCSY Summer
In a dramatic moment, feuding brothers Esau and Jacob reunite and greet each-other with an embrace and a kiss. In the Torah, the word 'and kissed' וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ is marked with dots above it, noting that we should pay special attention to the word.
Parshat Vayetizei contains a powerful image – on a hilltop which will become the site of The Temple in Jerusalem, Yaakov, the patriarch Jacob, dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven. Up and down the ladder climb scores of angels, but what does this mystical vision mean? Rabbi Aharon Chaim Larson, an alumnus of Denver NCSY
Rabbi Joe Werfel, formerly the Long Island NCSY Assistant Regional Director (1980's), was a member of the minyan during the Har Nof attack, Cheshvan 5775. At Yeshiva Tifereth Jerusalem, Rabbi Werfel shares his face to face encounter with the two Arab terrorists during tefila services.
How should siblings treat each other? In this week’s parsha, Esau demands a portion of soup from his brother Jacob while the family is mourning the death of their grandfather, Abraham. By requiring this instant gratification, Esau put himself before his family, disrupting the solemn mood and eventually forsaking his status as the first-born son.
In this week’s parsha, Abraham is seeking to make a shidduch, a match, for his son Isaac. But Abraham is not just the father of Isaac, but of monotheism as well. So he’s stuck in a bind: how does he bring a daughter-in-law into the family and make sure that his children and grandchildren join him
In the first verses of parshat Vayeira, it seems as though it is though Abraham is the central actor, but the Torah does not specify him by name until later. Why does the Torah leave this vague? Marc Fein, regional director of Upstate NY NCSY, presents an interpretation from Rav Jonathan Rabinowitz of Netiv Aryeh.
During the events of Parshat Lech Lecha, our patriarch, Abraham, the father of monotheism, is given wine and bread after a military victory by a righteous leader from Jerusalem. What is the point of this simple feast? Rabbi Ari Segal, head of school at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles and a former advisor for
The story of Noah is famous: G-d sends a flood to wipe out the world for being wicked, except for one man, Noach, and his family, who are tasked with building an ark so that life may prevail. But what did humanity do that was so bad? Rashi blames the little stuff. Corrine Malachi, an
Like any good story, the Torah begins with the origin of EVERYTHING: Bereishit. Just as with Spiderman, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’, but when the people in this first chapter of the Torah are given the chance to take responsibility, they do not. They fail. In this season following Yom Kippur, Sam Zitin, associate