Smaller is Greater Shalom, This Shabbat we will read the Torah Portion “VaYishlakh” in the book of Genesis. Jacob – יעקב returns to the Holy Land after a 20-year stay in Charan, and sends emissaries to Esau in hope of a reconciliation, but his messengers report that his brother is on the warpath with […]
Hebrew vs. Aramaic Shalom and happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends and students! This Shabbat we will read Torah portion “Va’Yetzeh”. Here is this portion in a nutshell: Jacob leaving his hometown of Beersheba and goes to Charan. There he marries two sisters – Leah and Rachel. […]
Pottage of Lentils Shalom, This Shabbat we will read the Torah Portion “Toldot” in the book of Genesis. The big tension between the two twin brothers Jacob – יעקב and Esau is unfolded here. The name Yaakov contains within it the word “eikev” (heel) – עקב Jacob is born holding on to his […]
“Big” Feelings in a “Small” Letter Shalom, In the Hebrew alphabet there are no capital or small letters. All the letters are supposed to be equal. However, according to the tradition, there are 17 places in the Bible where Hebrew the letters are extra-large or extra-small. […]
Test or Banner? Shalom, This Shabbat we will be reading Torah portion “Va’Yera” in the book of Genesis – Be’Reshit. In this Torah portion the root ‘love’ appears for the first time in the Bible. וַיֹּאמֶר קַח-נָא אֶת-בִּנְךָ אֶת-יְחִידְךָ אֲשֶׁר-אָהַבְתָּ, אֶת-יִצְחָק, וְלֶךְ-לְךָ, אֶל-אֶרֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּה; וְהַעֲלֵהוּ שָׁם, לְעֹלָה, […]
A Perspective on The History of Nations Shalom, This week’s Torah portion spans the Flood מבול – , its causes and aftermath, leading to the tower of Babel – מְגַדֵּל בְּבַל events and to the consequential dispersion of humanity. Here we find certain key words which are repeated within a […]
Intellectual vs. Material Joy Shalom, Tomorrow night we will be celebrating the holiday of Simchat Torah – שמחת תורה. This is the day on which we end the current annual Torah reading cycle with the last Torah portion: וזאת הברכה and begin the next annual Torah reading cycle with the first Torah portion: בראשית We know that the […]
The Restored Promise Shalom, Tonight we will celebrate the holiday of Sukkot. During the entire 7 days of this holiday, the ritual is to dwell in a temporary “hut” – sukkah – סוכה. One of the rituals for Sukkot is to have four species – ארבעת המינים waving the lulav and etrog. Besides building and dwelling in a […]
The Journey of the Soul Shalom, This Shabbat, Yom Kippur – יום כיפור the Day of Atonement, during the Minha prayer we will read from the book of Jonah – ספר יונה. Here is the story of the prophet Jonah in a nutshell. The prophet Jonah is commissioned by G-d to warn godless people of Nineveh. But […]
Chromosomes of the Creation Shalom, Yesterday we celebrated the opening of our new Jerusalem branch location in the Baq’a neighborhood and had a housewarming ‘Chanukat Bayit’ – חנוכת בית ceremony in our gorgeous offices here, which were designed by Sarit Harel. https://www.facebook.com/sarithareldesign/ Orly and I were so happy to meet and welcome many of our students, friends, new […]