Parsha

She probably gave no conscious thought to the message that she broadcast. She did not mean to deliberately offend anyone; it just seemed like a cute thing to do.

“I came here to get a mask so…Moshiach won’t see my aveiros.”

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz emphasized again and again when he taught this parshah that Yaakov moving the massive stone from the well was not a miracle. Yet, it was not a matter of physical strength either. It was a matter of heart and faith.

Halacha mandates that the anniversary of a miracle be celebrated, not only by its subject, but by his descendants and disciples in later generations.

In one of the most mysterious verses in the Torah (Bereshit 35:8), we read about the death of Devorah the nursemaid, a character so minor that we have never really heard of her before

Rachel only related to one purpose, that of giving birth, and ignored the second purpose – to learn, to become worldly wise and pious and, in the process, to bring more goodness into the world.

Rabbi Salanter said we must all act like poor men when it comes to matters of ruchniyus.

Immediately upon becoming Rebbe, he embarked upon the most ambitious chassidic publication program until recent times.

We are a people bound by law as much or more than any other, our legacy also tells us there are times when those laws and norms are appropriately breached.

Rabbeinu Yonah, who passed away 756 years ago this week, wrote prolifically from the city of Girona, in medieval Spain, about repentance and self-improvement.

The challenges presented by the yetzer hara differ every day. Today the yetzer hara may be dormant; tomorrow it may wage war.

Speaking to his chassidim actually improved his health, much to his doctors amazement!

On the face of it, a conventional exchange between father and son, we see it nowhere else in Tanakh. Moreover both discussions take place at pivotal points in which the respective father-son relationships are tested to their limits.

The Rashbash advised the couple to name the boy Yonah, citing the Talmud’s statement that before a tzaddik dies, another tzaddik rises.

A leader must aim to change the culture and not just temporarily affect behaviors.

As the end of their forty-year sojourns in the desert approached, Moshe Rabbeinu, knowing that he would not lead the nation into Eretz Yisroel, requested that Hashem help him appoint a worthy successor.

Shabbat Shalom

Throughout our history, great leaders have given their disciples and others special tasks to spiritually elevate the world.

Avraham, saw a world where people can acknowledge a huge and intractable gap between them, know it will not go away, and also build a strong and trusting friendship across tbe gap.

More than his guests enjoy the meal, Avraham enjoys fulfilling the mission for which he was created – to help others.

Chazal say (Menachos 53b) that just like an olive tree does not ever shed its leaves, so too Klal Yisrael will never be destroyed, not in this world or in the next.

After the tailor left, Rebbetzin Rivka told off her son for embarrassing the tailor. Realizing what he had done, young Sholom Ber burst into tears.

They believe that if they inundate me with beautiful gifts, it will be difficult for me to be angry with them.

Who are these beings? Men to Avraham; Angels to Lot. Why do they play such important roles in Genesis? Why are the stories of the beginnings of humanity so rich with unfamiliar characters?

Do we have the courage to swim against the stream? To be in the minority? To be different?

we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and stars,

Avraham Avinu symbolized Toras chesed, the Torah of loving kindness. Commentaries ask: Is there a Torah that isn’t loving kindness?

When others see that serving Hashem is rewarded with material abundance, G-d’s name is sanctified. It is a kiddush Hashem.

Rashi gives us a new insight into Avraham’s relationship to Israel, seeing it as a place he went voluntarily, before Hashem told him

Noach is considered responsible for the Flood because he felt no personal responsibility for his generation.