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One of the most beautiful customs in Jewish life is for parents to bless their children at the start of the Friday night Shabbat meal. Girls receive the blessing: “May…

Vayechi- Jacobs sensitivityWhen Joseph brought his two sons, Menashe and Ephraim to his father, Jacob, to bless them before his death, Joseph positioned Menashe, his older son, at Jacob’s right…

Vayigash-No man is an island No man is an island Often we do something which is not acceptable to others or is not conventional and say to ourselves that whatever we do…

The Haftara of VayeshevThe Haphtarah of Vayeshev The exact meaning of the word “haphtarah” is not entirely certain.  However, according to Rabbi David Abudraham15 (14th century Spain) all the haphtarah of the year are inextricably bound up…

Vayechi-Body Language in the BibleBody Language in the BibleIn his parting words to his children, Yaakov admonishes Shimon and Levi for having killed the inhabitants of Shechem after Dina was defiled. Yaakov prays that his soul not been associated with them because BE’APAM…

Va'yeshev – the power of words The power of words The words that changed the world The Midrash Rabbah on Vayikra (16:2) relates the following incident:  There was a certain peddler who would travel around the towns…

Vayishlach-Spiritual and physical dangers Spiritual and physical dangers The scene is set in this week’s Parsha for Yaakov and Esav’s meeting for the first time since Yaakov received his bracha from Yitzchak. We read the story of Yaakov, preparing with fear and…

Vayishlach-Don’t leave things behind and don’t be embarrassed to be tidy Don’t leave things behind and don’t be embarrassed to be tidy The night before meeting his brother Esav, while alone in the…

 The exact meaning of the word “haphtarah” is not entirely certain.  However, according to Rabbi David Abudraham15 (14th century Spain) all the haphtarah of the year are inextricably bound up with the persecutions…

Vayetze-The rise and fall of empires-Why?The rise and fall of empires-Why? This week’s Torah portion describes Jacob’s vision of a ladder stretching between heaven and earth. As we read in Genesis…