Articles in Parsha Insights
Vayigash: Prayer – A Heart Stopping Reunion
The Spiritualist and the Pragmatist
We often talk of G-d. To describe our relationship we employ metaphors, such as husband or father that are inspiring to some and off-putting to others. For every person, who responds to the spiritual abstraction of this relationship, there are others that are left unmoved. They …
Chanukah: A Love Fest
The Arithmetic of Light
Every Jewish child masters the Chanukah arithmetic long before graduating from kindergarten. We light one candle on the first night, two on the second, three on the third, till we reach night number eight. In fact every child takes special pleasure in kindling their very own Chanukiah. …
Vayeshev: Revenge Is A Boomerang
It is Fated
It is an irony of fate that acts of revenge frequently backfire. The more spiteful the act, the grander its failure.
One of my favorite stories in Jewish lore is of a wealthy employer who was irritated by his Jewish employee, who frequently praised G-d, rather than the employer, …
Vayishlach: The Self Conscious Jew
The Wedding
What did King David mean when he wrote “I was forgotten from the heart like the dead, I was [remembered] as the vessel went missing?” (1)
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Vayetze: Are you Content?
A Reason to live
Are you content with life? You make a living, enjoy a circle of close-knit friends and are loved by family; does this suffice to contend?
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Toldot: On Being a Mentch
Fill Me Up – I’m Famished
Would you find it distasteful if I barged into your home while you were cooking stew, peeked into your pot and demanded, as Esau did of Jacob, “Pour some of that red stuff down my throat; I’m exhausted!” (1)
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Chayei Sarah: Finding Sacred Space
The Quest
Human beings are full of aspirations and regrets, ambitions and failures, cravings and discipline, obsessions and the ability to control them. We are fractured beings with fragments that pull us in every direction. This is because we are unable to focus; every time we set our sights on a …
Vayera: The Importance of Objectivity
What Really Happened?
Back in the early part of this decade when the war of terror was in full swing I would frequently ask visitors from Israel if the situation was as bad as the media made it sound. They were never surprised by my questions; they knew that as a …
