Parsha

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukkah!

This week's parsha course unravels the sale of Joseph and discusses the implications "blame." Where does responsibility begin? And most importantly, how do I make moral decisions?

Tosafos points out that this answer is not fully satisfactory since there are other mitzvos, such as affixing a mezuzah, that require having a house.

How could Ya’akov make the same 'mistake' as his father, to favor one child over another after all the troubles that plagued him resulting from Yitzchak favoring Esav?

What is the hint in this week's parsha?

How do we reconcile Jacob's behavior, tricking his brother and lying to his father, with our vision of Yaakov as an ish emet, a man of truth?

In Esav's world, thoughts follow action. Do first, think second.

Firstly, why did Hashem communicate His loving Presence specifically with oil instead of anywhere else along the way?

The Ramban adds that although Yaakov knew that when his sons told Shechem and Chamor to circumcise the entire city that they were not intending on actually marrying in with this city.

Though Hashem's incredible gift of the State of Israel (despite its flaws), we have truly entered into a new level of interaction with and relationship to the world around us-- "The Isaac Covenant.”

Jacob's power was powerless until it was used to empower his children. Talmud's great power to nurture complex thinking is powerless until it is used to empower us to think, question, and challenge

Rabbi Hirsch: "The goal of history is not that Jacob should be forced to merge into the mass of nations, but the reverse. The nations must come to understand that..."

The actual tale of Rivkah and Esav is of a mother who continued to care and love a delinquent child who became a problematic adult, proving she will always be his mother and he will always be her son.

For many years Rachel knew she was to marry Yaakov and be a matriarch of the Jewish people.

I want to suggest that although ma’ariv is a voluntary tefillah in its essence, it differs from a nedavah.

Laban’s behavior is the paradigm of anti-Semites through the ages. It was not so much what Laban did that the Haggadah is referring to, but what his behavior gave rise to, in century after century.

Like Rivkah before them, neither Rachel nor Leah created the situation that was about to have extraordinary influence on the rest of their lives and, ultimately, on the lives of countless others

Anyone can appear spiritual and holy when he is davening or learning Torah.

Rav Hirsch claims had Isaac and Rebecca developed a unique curriculum that took into account Esau's love of nature, strength, skills and courage, it may have directed him to become a mighty man of God

Precisely because she came from the house of wicked people and wasn’t negatively influenced, she was considered greater than if she had been born into a house of holy people.

If someone remembers during Minchah that he did not recite ya’aleh veyavo during Shacharis, he must similarly daven Shemoneh Esrei twice during Minchah.

On the one hand, we see that Rivkah was right about Ya’akov’s potential. On the other hand, we will never be sure who was right about Esav.

The Jewish nation thankfully emerged from their spiritual slumber just in time...

People were stunned, but they got the message.

Devar Torah on Parshas Chayei Sarah from the well known, Rabbi Aba Wagensberg.

Ishmael helped spread the Big Lie...

Why does Lavan’s speaking before his father show that he was wicked? Disrespectful, yes. Rude, certainly. But a rasha?

The reason it would be pronounced gashem is because it is the last word before a pause.

Yitzchak, did not go to Be’er Lechai Ro’ee to pray or meditate. Rather he was on a mission, and that mission was to return Hagar to Avraham in marriage.

"A father of philosophy, the father of the Hebrews and his slave get together,,," sounds like the start of an ancient joke but read on...