Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, and God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob…” (The Opening Blessing of the Amida) The opening of the Amida prayer stops with Jacob’s name. But why should …
Parashat Vayechi: Do I even know you, my youngest son? By Oriya Mevorach, Senior Faculty at Midreshet Lindenbaum The book of Genesis, which we completed with this week’s reading of Parashat Vayehi, has all of the elements we’d expect to see in a masterpiece. It can be read as a short story, as a novel, or …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years, so the whole age of Jacob was one hundred and forty-seven years. And the days of Jacob drew near to die…” (Gen. 47:28, 29) The final verse of the last portion of …
Parashat Vayigash: “And Yehuda approached him…” What do we learn about how we approach others? We are living at a time when human culture not only sanctions freedom of expression and freedom of opinion – two prominent, leading values, it even promotes them. Regretfully, this hasn’t resulted in more profound discourse or mutual listening. Yehuda Shtauber, …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Vayigash (Genesis 44:18 – 47:27) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Joseph fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.” (Gen. 45:14) This poignant moment when these two brothers are reunited after a separation of twenty-two years is one of the most tender scenes …
Parashat Miketz: Dreams that shape reality The greatest visionaries were guided by their dreams. As parents and educators, it is incumbent upon us to explore our children’s and students’ dreams, and at times, to help create those dreams ourselves. Chana Assis, Principal (on sabbatical) of OTS’s Jennie Sapirstein High School in Ramot, Jerusalem The story of …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Miketz (Genesis 41:1 – 44:17) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I had a dream last night, and no one is able to interpret it….” (Gen. 41: 15) There is an unusual symmetry in the portion of Miketz as well as in Vayeshev, both of which deal …
Parashat Vayeshev: The Transgression of the Sale of Joseph There is one sin committed by the progenitors of the people of Israel for which no commemorative date has been set: the sale of Joseph. Rabbi Shuki Reich Rosh Kollel of the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical SeminaryHead of the Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute of Halakhic Leadership …
Read moreParshat Vayeshev: The Transgression of the Sale of Joseph
