Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Vayeshev (Genesis 37:1 – 40:23) Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” (Gen. 40:11) The Bible believes in the significance of dreams; so did the Sages of the …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4 – 36:43) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – We left Jacob at the end of last week’s portion as he was leaving behind Laban and Laban-land, heaven-bent on returning to the land of Abraham and to the house of Isaac. Jacob understands that his inner self has been …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Vayetze (Genesis 28:10-32:3) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Jacob kissed Rachel, and he lifted up his voice and he wept” (Gen 29:11) The Bible presents two models for finding one’s life partner: the Isaac-Rebekah arranged marriage model, and the romantic Jacob-Rachel model. In both instances, there must be “love” (ahava): …
Shabbat Shalom: Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel — “And they said, we saw indeed that the Lord was with you and we said: let there now be an oath between us, between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you.” (Gen. 26:28) On what basis, and with …
