The Obfuscation Powers Of The Yetzer Hara
It is the job of the G-d-fearing person to combat the blinding attempts of the yetzer hara at every turn of our life.
TORAH SHORTS: Daily Seductions: Parshat Vayeshev
The most important of life's battles is the one we fight daily in the silent chambers of the soul. -David O. McKay
A Pile Of Shoes
This wanton disregard for the welfare of others is the epitome of chamas for which the world was already destroyed once and, the navi is warning, for which Israel will yet be exiled from her land.
On Sensitivity Training And Shoes
Why does the Torah find it necessary to tell us that they bought shoes with the money, ostensibly a trivial detail?
In Memory Of Eliyahu David Kay, z”l
Several days ago, Eliyahu told a friend that after years in the army, in yeshiva, and in agriculture, he felt that when working at the Kotel he was completely living his dream.
Vayeishev: Yosef & Yehuda
As internal conflict over the Hebrew clan's direction leads to tragic consequences for Yosef and Yehuda, each must discover his own messianic potential.
Guardian Angel
Our Sages tell us that if a person performs mitzvos and does good deeds he will merit to be escorted day and night by angels who guard him.
An Idea To Handle With Care
This Torah portion offers us a yearly reminder: We need to check if people in the public eye are everything they seem to be
Chanukah Power
When we are tired, do we still push ourselves to get up early and join a minyan, or do we succumb to temptation and say our prayers quickly at home before dashing off to work?
Vayishlach: Finally Becoming Israel
As Yaakov returns back home to his land, he and his family are met with new challenges that ultimately transform them into the nation of Israel.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Vayishlach: Your Money or Your Soul
Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming. -Matthew Arnold
Remember The Sons Of Edom
Esav is the last of all the nations to come into the world. He is a pretender. He uses his strength and deception to humiliate and to conquer others, but in the end he is just a bully.
Jealousy Rots – Envy Can Redeem
She said, were she not more righteous than me, she wouldn’t be privileged to have so many children.
Parshas Vayishlach: The Principle that Saved Yaakov’s Life
Every physical action affects the spiritual realm, creating cosmic ripple effects; The same is true of the physical world. Every action creates a corresponding reaction in the spiritual world. In essence, our physical world is like an upside-down puppet show
It’s Never Too Late To Find Out Who You Are
After 80 years, I finally know who I am and who my family members are, he said yesterday when he met his cousin in the city of Modi'in.
Vayetzei: Yaakov’s Struggle To Become Israel
Before becoming Israel, Yaakov had to first spend several years in exile learning to be more like Esav.
The Tapestry Of History
It was the enmity of the brothers to Yosef and their selling him as a slave, that was the primary cause for their descent to Egypt and being forced into slavery by the cruel Pharaoh.
The Many Gates Of Tears
Such is the power of tears that it has the ability to transform worlds and to create a new essence of blessing and abundance, no matter who is crying.
TORAH SHORTS: Powerful Vows: Parshat Vayetze
A vow is fixed and unalterable determination to do a thing, when such a determination is related to something noble which can only uplift the man who makes the resolve. -Mahatma Gandhi
Are You an ‘EARTH ANGEL’?
When we come through for others, when we ask how we can help, when we make the difference for them, we bring a piece of heaven down here to earth. Through our actions we build an actual stairway to heaven.
To Serve And To Protect
Just as Yaakov tended the sheep of Lavan, guiding and guarding them so he could win the hand of Rachel, so Hashem protects his offspring until the end of time.
Yaakov and Esav: The Relationship that Could Have Been: Parshat Vayeitzei
The partnership that could have-should have-been
A Tumultuous Pregnancy
Why would Yaakov want to leave the environment of the womb, a place where a celestial angel teaches the fetus all of the Torah?
Toldot: The Prophetic Destiny Of Rivka’s Twins
How do the character traits of Esav and Yaakov find expression in the rival civilizations they produced?
Torah Shorts: Cruel Cynics: Parshat Toldot
The cynic is one who never sees a good quality in a man, and never fails to see a bad one. He is the human owl, vigilant in darkness and blind to light, mousing for vermin, and never seeing noble game. -Henry Ward Beecher
How Do We Know That He Loves Us?
Abarbanel describes some of the spiritual depths to which the inhabitants of Yerushalayim had sunk at this twilight of prophecy. Those who should have been the leaders, the best among us, had become the worst.
Wait Just A Minute
The young man said, ‘I don’t want to listen to any mussar; it doesn’t interest me. Just leave me alone!’
Parshas Toldos: The Cosmic Battle Between Yaakov and Esav
The physical is not an end in itself- it is meant to serve as a vehicle for transcendent, spiritual, conscious living. This is the battle we face on a daily basis, a battle of perception.
As Modest As She Was Wise
Of Sarah we know that her beauty, as legendary as it was, was only one small fragment of her greatness.
The Question Rabbi Sacks Was Asked The Most
Rabbi Sacks once said that he lectured hundreds of times a year, met thousands of people every month, and spoke constantly with people of every type throughout the world. Which question, do you suppose, was he asked most often?