Articles in Vayetze
Vayetze: Our Purpose
Look A Kippah
When I was growing up in Boston, Massachusetts, few Jews wore their Kippot (head coverings) outdoors. Seeing a man wearing a Kippa on the street always generated excitement: my siblings and I would point in awe and exclaim, “Look, there is a Jew.” We felt an immediate kinship …
Vayetze: Food for Thought at your Dinner Table
Sunday: Its all in the Mind
There are two levels of prophecy. The higher level is divine revelation. The lower level is divine communication. Our sages taught that G-d does not reveal himself to prophets in the diaspora unless they first merited at least one revelation in the holy land. This …
Vayetze: Teffilin, The Bond of Love
Cross Roads
Just before Jacob left his father in law, Laban’s, home, he fulfilled the Mitzvah of Teffilin, phylacteries. (1)
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Vayetze: Modern Antisemitism
Discrimination
I recently entered a shoe repair shop and asked for a quote on a minor repair job. I was surprised by the relatively high quote and explained that I had never been quoted so steep a price. The proprietor asked if I was Jewish. When I asked him to explain …
Vayetze: Is Leaving Israel a Descent?
To Haran
“And Jacob departed Beer Sheba and went towards Haran.” (Genesis 28, 10) When Abraham left Israel for Egypt the Torah characterized his departure as a descent. (Genesis 12, 10) Rashi explains that since Israel is the most exalted of all lands, all departures from Israel constitutes a descent. Why …
Vayetze: Stimulating Trials
Jacob and Laban
This week’s Parsha describes our Patriarch Jacob’s journey from parents’ home to the home of his uncle Laban. This was a journey from a place of sacred purity to a pit of immorality and deceit. Understandably, it was a difficult journey.
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Vayetze: Identifying the Beast Within
The Commercial Enterprise
Our Patriarch Jacob grew wealthy through his cattle enterprises. He first raised a great flock of sheep. He sold the sheep and purchased oxen, sold the oxen and purchased camel, sold the camel, and purchased donkey, sold the donkey and purchased valuables.
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Vayetze: A Prayer for Life
How Do We Survive?
Our sages tell us that our forefather Jacob’s journey from B’er Sheva to Charan is symbolic of the daily journey made by the soul. For a Jew, every morning begins with prayer and Torah study. Pretty soon however, this period of the day comes to a close …
