Parshat Toldot
Rabbi Berel Wein In the competition between the brothers Eisav and Yaakov, Eisav originally downplays any long-range view of the situation. He demands immediate gratification and is therefore more than willing to relinquish his birthright – which is only a long-range asset – in favor of an immediate bowl of hot lentils. As the Torah […]
To See with Our Eyes Closed
Rabbi Zvi Teichman And it came to pass, when Yitzchok had become old, and his eyes dimmed from seeing… His blindness here, the Midrash teaches, has a twofold meaning. Figuratively blinded to Esav’s feigned righteousness that deluded Yitzchok into thinking that perhaps Esav was worthy of being his successor, and literally, physical sightlessness. Both factors […]
Parshas Chayei Sara
Rabbi Berel Wein Our matriarchs of Israel were very strong personalities and were formidable women. The life experiences of our mother Sarah are an excellent example of this assessment of character and behavior. From the Torah narrative, we are informed early on that she is infertile, unable to conceive and give birth naturally. Nevertheless, we […]
Sing a Song of Shabbos
Rabbi Zvi Teichman On Friday night our prayers focus on that very first Shabbos, the seventh day of creation, reflecting on the benevolence of G-d who gifted us this world, avowing that He is the One who is the source of all our blessing. On Shabbos day we reaffirm in our prayers, that second most […]
Parshas Vayeira
Rabbi Berel Wein Wars, family dysfunction, and the danger of future extinction are the challenges that confront our father Avraham and our mother Sarah in the narrative that dominates this week’s Torah reading. In this era, correcting the past and editing personal biographies to make people’s lives appear perfect, serene, and smooth is especially true. […]
Parshas Lech Lecha
Parshas Lech Lecha
Rabbi Berel Wein There is much comment and many different interpretations regarding the first two words of the second verse of this week’s Torah reading. The second word “lecha,” “for you,” seems to be somewhat redundant in the construction of the sentence. Rashi therefore interprets it to mean “for your benefit and good.” The L-rd […]
Stop the Bloodshed!
Rabbi Zvi Teichman With the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Israel, the holy soil of our land has once again been stained with innocent and pure blood. Our enemy’s insatiable thirst for our blood has ignited an explosion of hatred and a frenzy of wanton murder. Yet from the moment Noach and his family […]
Parshas Noach
Rabbi Berel Wein The greater a person is or believes he or she is, the smaller the room for error in one’s life decisions. Had Noach been merely Mr. Noach, his choice of beginning the world again with a vineyard and wine would have been acceptable and even understandable. After all, the trauma of the […]
Parshas Haazinu
Rabbi Berel Wein The special nature and all of the events of Jewish history are outlined for us in this week’s parsha. Ramban in the 13th century comments that anyone who can, so many centuries earlier, accurately foretell the later fate of a people is an exceptional prophet. Moshe certainly fits that description and test. […]