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Have you dealt with your past? When I began the book of Genesis this year, I decided to teach how to apply the Torah to our lives instead of dealing with theology. One of the most difficult things for us to learn is how to forgive, and especially how to forgive ourselves. Most of our […]
Joseph and Judah, the Two Messiahs In Vayigash (he approached), we come upon the encounter of two of the twelve sons of Jacob. We saw how Jacob had to flee his brother and go to Haran where his father-in-law exploited him. After twenty years, he left a wealthy man, with eleven sons, a daughter and […]
What is Spirituality? Many people have said to me ‘Oh, I’m very spiritual’; some say it with a lot of pride. But what I have learned from the Torah is that spirituality from God has nothing to do with pride; all our Biblical heroes had to go through experiences that humbled them before they could […]
How do we get out of the pit? “I have greatly hoped in the Lord, and He extended [His ear] to me and heard my cry. And he brought me out of the thundering pit, out of the thick mud, and He set my feet on the rock, established my steps.” (Tehillim 40:2-3) I think […]
With Whom Do You Associate? In Parashat Vayishlach, we read about the encounter between Jacob and Esau when Jacob is finally returning home. Our sages vary in their opinions about Esau’s character and even our prophets have given him a terrible reputation such as Malachi 1:3: “Yes, I have loved Jacob, and Esau I have […]
Take Comfort in the Promises of God In Parashat Vayetze, in Genesis 28:14 and 15, God made the following promises to Jacob as He did to Isaac and Abraham before him. You shall be as the dust of the earth. You shall be spread abroad to the west, east, north, and south. In you and […]
Do not be Fooled by Appearances…… It is written in Mishlei (Proverbs) 16:32 that: “It is better to be patient than mighty, to have self-control than to conquer a city”. Pirkei Avot 4:1 referring to this, says, “Ben Zoma said: Who is powerful? He who controls his inclination [to evil], as it is said: “He […]
From message by Ranebi Cheshvan 25 5780 What is the Key to a Good Relationship? It’s surprising how many midrashim are written about this parashah Chayei Sarah “and Sarah lived”, some quite hard to believe. It is so important for us to differentiate between “illustration” and “truth”. In Judaism, we use a lot of Mishlei […]
Can We Turn Hate to Love? When I was in High School, what I loved most about Algebra and Geometry were the formulas. I kept a record of every new formula and it was like a game where I could plug in the specifications to find the correct answer. Believe it or not, that’s how […]
“Go to yourself…. To your inner being…” Einstein’s famous quote says, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This portion tells the story of Noah, introduced in the previous portion in Bereshit 11:26: “After he had lived seventy years, Terah had his sons Abram, Nahor and Haran.” We […]
