By Rabbi Ben Sternman I’ve always loved the way this week’s Torah portion, Vayeitzei, begins. As Jacob flees his brother’s wrath, he stops for the night in an unnamed place…
By Rabbi Stefan J. Weinberg Parashat Toldot Jacob and Esau are born to Rivka in this week’s sedra, Toldot. While in their mother’s womb, the Torah text instructs us, “va’yitrotz’tzu…
By Rabbi Ben Sternman At the end of last week’s Torah portion, Abraham entered into the covenant between God and the Jewish people through the act of circumcision, which is…
By Rabbi David Stern This week brings us to the great Torah portion known as Lech Lecha, and its fundamental paradox — that Judaism, so ostensibly rooted in family and…
One of the classical principles of scriptural interpretation is that the written Torah is especially efficient — every word is precise and instructive. Any section which appears to be extraneous…
By Rabbi Be Sternman In Pirkei Avot (5:22), Ben Bag Bag is famous for being quoted: “Turn it (Torah) over and turn it over again, for everything is in it.”…
By Rabbi Dan Lewin Three key powers rest within the soul: emunah (deep faith), bitachon (trust) and simcha (happiness). Each flows from the former: Faith leads to trust; without faith,…
Minutes turn to hours, hours to days, days to weeks and then months. It all starts to seem a blur. But, in our home, two 24-hour periods of time stand…
By Rabbi Dan Lewin The theme of this month of Elul, often called the “month of accounting,” is teshuvah. Just like a business that requires periodic review and analysis, we…
By Rabbi Ben Sternman In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, there is a beautiful passage that reminds us to be grateful for the gifts that God gives us. It’s…