Joseph鈥檚 Brothers and the Naked Truth
Dec 3, 2021 By Howard Markose | Commentary | Miketz
Parashat Miketz, Jacob sends Joseph鈥檚 brothers on a mission to procure rations for the family, which is facing starvation in Canaan. The ten sons of Jacob, however, could not have anticipated what was to transpire upon their arrival. An intense interrogation by Egypt鈥檚 viceroy is followed by three days in detention, the incarceration of Simon, and a demand to bring Benjamin, their youngest brother, to Egypt. The brothers find no relief from their ordeal, and this unrelenting strain manifests itself both in the way they respond to Joseph鈥檚 questioning, as well as how they retell the incident to their father, Jacob, upon their return to Canaan.
Read More
From Podcast to Parashah
Nov 26, 2021 By Shuly Rubin Schwartz | Commentary | Vayeshev
Many of us have become podcast connoisseurs during the pandemic. For me, the interview format has proven most appealing, and within that genre, The Axe Files stands out. Why? Like many interviewers, David Axelrod speaks to authors, politicians, thought leaders, and public figures. What sets his questioning apart is his ability to elicit the background story of his guests: Where were their grandparents from? Where did they grow up? What was their family life like? What challenges did they face in their early lives? And how did this impact the people they have become?
Read More
Facing Our Fears
Nov 19, 2021 By Walter Herzberg | Commentary | Vayishlah
Soon after leaving Aram, the home of Laban his father-in-law, along with his wives, children, and possessions, Jacob instructed messengers to go to his brother Esau in Edom and say: 鈥淭hus says your servant Jacob: With Laban I have sojourned and I tarried till now. And I have gotten oxen and donkeys and sheep and male and female slaves, and I send ahead to tell my lord, to find favor in your eyes鈥� (Gen. 32:5鈥�6). Upon returning, the messengers relate that Esau himself is coming to meet Jacob and bringing four hundred men!
Read More
The Give and Take of Biblical Vows
Nov 12, 2021 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Vayetzei
We live in a world of give and take. Transactions involving the exchange of money for goods and services, which the rabbis explicitly call 诪砖讗 讜诪转谉, 鈥渢aking and giving,鈥� are central to economic life. Successful relationships, whether professional or personal, are the result of effectively balancing the pursuit of one鈥檚 own wants and needs with acknowledging and accommodating the needs and desires of others.
Read More
May We Be Known by the Work of Our Hands
Nov 5, 2021 By Ariella Rosen | Commentary | Toledot
How does deception begin? In the telling of Jacob鈥檚 acquisition of nearly all of the first-born advantages granted his brother Esau, the moment is perhaps not what it seems.
Read More
What Was Isaac Doing in the Field?
Oct 29, 2021 By | Commentary | Hayyei Sarah
The patriarch Isaac is one of the most passive biblical characters. He speaks infrequently and seems to stand still while other people feverishly act around him. His presence in Parashat Hayyei Sarah is no exception. After surviving the ordeal of the Akedah, and experiencing the death of his mother, Isaac is nowhere to be found. Abraham buys the burial plot and only Abraham is mentioned as present at Sarah鈥檚 burial. Abraham then sends his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac, but again we lack any information as to what Isaac is doing or how he is feeling after successive traumatic life events. Isaac only returns to the story when Eliezer returns with Rebekah and she first sees Isaac.
Read More
Lessons from Lot鈥檚 Daughters
Oct 22, 2021 By Abby Eisenberg | Commentary | Vayera
Parashat Vayera is the fourth Torah portion after Simhat Torah, the celebration of our annual Torah reading cycle and the culmination of the fall holidays. As we begin the new year, we also begin anew our exploration of ancestral family dynamics. Arguably one of the most famous parent-child scenes in all of literature can be found in Vayera: that of Abraham bringing Isaac to offer him as sacrifice. The parashah also contains another version of child sacrifice when Lot, Abraham鈥檚 nephew, subjects his unnamed daughters to assault and danger. From the tragedy of Jephthah鈥檚 daughter to the boldness of the daughters of Zelofehad, relationships between fathers and daughters in Tanakh are both deeply troubling and inspiring. The story of Lot and his daughters is certainly the former, and, perhaps surprisingly, potentially the latter.
Read More
Was Avram a Second Language Learner?
Oct 15, 2021 By Avi Garelick | Commentary | Lekh Lekha
At the conclusion of Chapter 11 of Sefer Bereishit, the peoples of the world are divided by Divine command into distinct groups with mutually incomprehensible languages. This tale of the Tower of Babel accounts for the fundamental question of why human beings can be so different from each other while coming from the same source. It also sets the stage for what follows: a freshly divided world, with the inability to communicate as a driving force of division.
Read More