Articles in Bereishit
Vayigash: Chutzpah
Chutzpah is a word that doesn’t need to be translated. Anyone who has ever had it knows exactly what it is. But it is also a word that doesn’t translate well. Audacity, nerve, gall, gumption, brazenness, and brashness, have all been used. But none of these do chutzpah justice. Some …
Vayechi: Priorities
What are your priorities in life?
Every Jewish parent knows that when it comes to blessing our children, Ephraim comes first. This is rooted in a passage in this week’s Torah portion. “He [Jacob] blessed them on that day saying, ‘With you Israel will bless, ‘may G-d make you like Ephraim …
Vayeshev: Jewish Survival
What is the secret that has enabled the Jewish survival over two thousand years of our diaspora?
Two weeks ago, we read about Jacob’s sojourn in his uncle Laban’s home. Last week we read about Jacob’s harrowing return journey home. Among many other challenges, he encountered his brother Esau, and they …
Vayishlach: Geed Hanasheh—Sciatic Nerve
Geed hanasheh is the sciatic nerve, a sinew in the hip that Jews are forbidden to eat. Many know that kosher meat must be slaughtered and salted. Not many know about neekur, the intricate process that entails the removal of the animal’s forbidden parts, including the geed hanasheh. In fact, …
Vayetze: Find Our Calling
To find our calling is the hallmark of life. Life isn’t a generic formula that can be applied to everyone equally. Each life is unique; each life story is highly individual. As children, we live with our parents and family, but as we grow and mature, we venture forth and …
Chayei Sarah: The White Beard
The white beard and old age seem to go together. It is not surprising that they share the same cognate in Hebrew; a beard is zakan and old age is zaken. The Torah tells us that Abraham became zaken. Our sages combined the two meanings by saying that until that …
Vayera: Too Perfect?
Is “too perfect” a thing? Have you ever worried about being too perfect? Most of us worry that we aren’t perfect enough. But I know of at least one person who worried about being too perfect. Our collective grandfather, Abraham.
The Torah tells us that Abraham recovered from his circumcision in …
Lech Lecha: Anything You Want To Be
“Anything you want to be,” is a phrase parents often say to their children. You don’t need to accept any limitations; they are all artificial. If you put your mind to it, you can be anything you want to be.
Sometimes children misunderstand and think that they can snap their fingers …
