God Had Good Intentions In this week’s Torah reading, Parshat Vayechi, after Yaakov (Jacob)’s passing, his sons approached their brother, Yosef (Joseph). They were concerned that now, as their father […]
Weekly Torah Portion
To Repent For Their Misdeeds In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Vayigash, we find that Yosef (Joseph), who was sold by his brothers as a slave, eventually became the ruler […]
Yosef – A Wise Interpreter This week’s Torah reading begins with Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh dreamed one dream in which he saw seven fat and healthy cows rise from the Nile, […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz The Book of Bereishit discusses at great length the many trials and challenges our forefathers Avraham (Abraham) and Yaakov (Jacob) faced. Yet, when […]
Even the Minor is Significant in Judaism Nothing in Judaism is trivial, no matter how apparently minor. A Torah Jew believes that every element of the Torah is laden with […]
Unnecessary Precautions In this week’s Torah reading, Yaakov (Jacob) prepared to meet his brother Eisav (Esau). Yaakov was returning to his homeland, where Eisav lived, after being away for many […]
The Harm of Passive Exposure You’re likely familiar with the Chanukah (Hannukah) story: The Syrian Greek tyrant, Antiochus, outlaws the practice of Judaism and forces our ancestors to worship the […]
Honesty Despite Deceit This week’s Torah reading tells us about the time Yaakov (Jacob) spent with his uncle, who was also his father-in-law, Lavan. Lavan hired Yaakov to be his […]
In the beginning of this week’s Torah reading, Esav (Esau) sold his first-born status to his brother Yaakov (Jacob), in exchange for a dish of lentils. The verse says that […]
The Final Test From God The Mishnah (Avos 5:3) says that our patriarch, Abraham, was handed ten major tests by God. Rabbeinu Yonah writes that the final test was an […]