Vayitzak tze’akah gedolah umarah ad me’od. “He cried out an exceedingly great and bitter cry (Gen 27:34).” This is the Torah’s description of Esav’s reaction to the news that his brother Yaakov had stolen his blessing. We can rationalize Yaakov’s actions. He had in fact bartered for the first-born rights earlier in the parsha so […]
SHORT ESSAY: Esav’s Cries (Parashat Toldot) Read More »
Avraham had many admirable characteristics, but he was not always the most attentive husband. His son, Yitzhak, on the other hand, now he was a good husband. Yitzhak’s response to Rivkah’s barrenness was quite different from Avraham’s response to Sarah’s. Yitzhak prays for her. What a novel concept! Avraham spends a parsha and a half waiting
SHORT ESSAY: Yitzhak As the Good Husband (Parashat Toldot) Read More »
The parsha which always precedes Rosh Hashanah, Nitzavim, begins with the words Atem Nitzavim Hayom. “You stand here today” entering into a new covenant with God. The word hayom is a mantra in this parsha and throughout Devarim and also for the High Holiday season. Hayom literally means “the day” – in