Parsha

So while a proper reading of the Book of Bereshit introduces us to moral complexity, its end pushes us even further. It prepares us for the fact that there is even a level of moral complexity, which we should realize exists even if we may never understand it

He responded, “Better that he broke your nose now than broke your marriage later.”

This year, Asarah B’Teves falls on a Friday – the only time a public fast day falls immediately before Shabbos. In fact, the fast continues into Shabbos, until three stars appear in the sky.

Judaism sees marriage differently. Married life is a microcosm of human interaction in the world at large. Marriage is the best school for learning the laws of human relationships.

Here Yehudah faces the challenge of facing up to an uncomfortable truth of his family dynamic, his father’s greater need for Binyamin’s presence.

In a moment of crisis and doubt, Yosef is reminded of his father and mother, of their values, their home, and the moral compass they represent.

When the video was shown to the judge, those present in court say he was obviously favorably impressed by the Rebbetzin’s unexpected statement, which probably sparked his ultimately favorable ruling.

The Hebrew word for ring, “taba’as,” has the same root as “teva” (nature).

How Yehudah Turned Bnai Ya’akov into Bnai Yisrael 

All agree that the Chanukah candles represent insights

My necessary suffering was clear: postponing the wedding, entering isolation, placing my relatives in isolation, treating the headaches and other corona symptoms that had begun to appear. Despite all of this, I had to cope. That was clear.

He tried to size me up based on that one moment. He didn’t take into account all the effort I had been putting in.

Openness to acculturation, assimilation, and the foreign influences of the street leads to the destruction of the sanctity of the Jewish home.

For chassidim, Kislev features another celebration. On the 19th of Kislev in 1798, the Alter Rebbe was released from Czarist imprisonment.

Ramban’s view of yibum has long fascinated me, because of the metaphysics it assumes about a seemingly natural event.

To our dismay, the pandemic is a fact. But it’s not necessary that we become addicted to screens, to eating junk food, to wasting time, to cutting social ties, to sinking into pessimism. The pandemic doesn’t exempt us from decisions on how to behave.

“What new light has been added to your life?”

At the time of the wedding, many already realized this son-in-law would one day be the Rebbe Rayatz's successor.

What difference did it make to Esav whether Yaakov kept the mitzvos or not?

Rav Hirsch famously criticizes Yitzchak and Rivkah for not educating Esav according to his innate personality, and instead trying to force him to be like Ya’akov. His insight is meant to teach that while it was Esav that made the choice to go ‘off the derekh,’ there is always much that parents can try to do before that happens.

The revolution of Yitzchak is different – not to rebel, but to toe the line, to continue the tradition, to dig the same wells.

It is said of our ancestor Avraham that he didn’t seek to serve Hashem with mesiras nefesh, yet, when it was required of him, he was ready to give up everything for Hashem’s sake.

According to a familiar adage of Vishnitzer chassidim, a tear shed during prayer is more powerful than many fasts.

This week’s parsha is one place to see other valid options for how to deal with the underhanded. Know when to take the high-road; know when to go low

If we are learning Torah at a particular moment, then that is our mission at that moment, without allowance for any distractions.

Jews the world over can pride themselves in their descent from such moral pillars as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (and Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah).

Every person has the free will to use his traits to become a tzaddik or a rasha.

Enemies' promises were made to be broken. -Aesop

This story illustrates the Rebbe Rayatz’s prophetic vision because, during the Holocaust, Rabbi Zalman Schneerson saved hundreds of Jewish families and children in France from the Nazis.

Being bound on Mount Moriah gave Yitzchak a connection with God that would be disturbed by living outside the Land of Israel.