Shabbat Shalom: Beshalach (Exodus 13:17 – 17:16) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel –– “And Moses brought the bones of Joseph with him, since [Joseph] had adjured the children of Israel to take an oath; [Joseph] had said, ‘God will surely remember you; bring up my bones with you from …
Shabbat Shalom: Bo (Exodus 10:1 – 13:16) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “May the renewal of the moon be for you [the Festival of] the first day of each month; this month being for you the first of the months of the year” (Exodus 12:2) This interpretation of …
Shabbat Shalom: Va’era (Exodus 6:2 – 9:35) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel -“But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh” (Exodus 9:12) One of the more difficult theological problems raised in the book of Exodus is precisely this verse, in which the Bible declares that it was God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart to be impervious …
Shabbat Shalom: Shemot (Exodus 1:1 – 6:1) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – The Book of Exodus begins the story of the people of Israel, the nation that developed from the household, or the family, of Jacob. Many are the differences between the Book of Genesis and the Book of Exodus, but perhaps the …
Shabbat Shalom: Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “Gather together and I shall tell you what is to happen at the end of the days” (Genesis 49:1) The portion of Vayehi, and the entire Book of Genesis, concludes with Jacob’s deathbed scene in which he “reveals to his sons what will …
Shabbat Shalom: Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Joseph could not hold himself back in front of all who were standing around him… And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph; Is my father still alive?’”(Genesis 45:1-3) Why does Joseph suddenly wake up to his familial ties and reveal …
Shabbat Shalom: Miketz (Genesis 41:1-44:17) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “The Lord shall broaden and beautify Japheth, and he [or perhaps He] shall dwell in the tents of Shem” (Genesis 9:27) Why is there no clear religious prohibition against the study of Greek wisdom and intellectual involvement in philosophy, mathematics, the sciences, secular music, art, …
Shabbat Shalom: Vayeshev (Genesis 37:1-40:23) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “She is more righteous than I” (Genesis 38:26) The biblical drama of the peregrinations of Jacob ended with the patriarch’s return to his father’s house and homeland in last week’s reading of Vayishlah, and now with the reading of Vayeshev the riveting story …
Shabbat Shalom: Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel — “So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succot, and built himself a home…” (Genesis 33:16-17) What is Jewish continuity? How might it be attained? Jewish organizations have spent many years and millions of dollars in search …
Shabbat Shalom: Vayetze (Genesis 28:10 – 32:3) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had placed under his head, and set it up as a monument, and poured oil on the top of it.” [Gen. 28:18] Our Biblical portion, Vayetze, tells …
Shabbat Shalom: Toldot (Genesis 25:19 – 28:9) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel — “Now Isaac loved Esau, because the hunt was in his mouth, while Rebecca loved Jacob” [Gen. 25:28]. The watershed moment in Jacob’s life—the repercussions of which surface in every subsequent generation of Jewish history—is the act deceiving his father, Isaac, in …
This week’s parsha commentary has been dedicated in honor of David Katz’s Birthday – ad me’ah v’esrim by the Charif Family of Sydney, Australia Shabbat Shalom: Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1 – 25:18) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Abraham was old, well-stricken in age…” (Gen. 24:1) In addition to their shared ideals, the …
