In Jewish tradition, the age of 70 is considered to be “the age of wisdom,” the age at which one deserves to be treated with extra honor for having had so many years to learn and to grow (spiritually). In Jewish tradition there is also a mitzvah to give honor to our elders, to those who have attained the age of wisdom, as it says: “You shall rise before a venerable person and you shall respect the elderly, and you shall fear your God. I am the Lord” (Vayikra 19:32). This is not our parsha this week, but the fulfillment of this mitzvah - along with the mitzvah of Kibbud Av, honoring one’s father - is beautifully displayed by the actions and speech of Yoseph in Parshas Vayichi.
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Yoseph and Yaakov (Vayechi #3)
Thursday, December 24, 2020
What the Bread Means (Vayigash #3)
One would not think that there would be a great deal to say about a simple line like "Yoseph sustained his father and brothers and all his father's household with bread, down to the little ones" (Bereishis 47:12). It comes as the conclusion to the description of the incredible welcome Yaakov and his family received in Mitzrayim. After a personal greeting from Paraoh and the permitted settlement of the choicest land in the country, it should not even be particularly informative that Yoseph provided bread - sustenance - to his family. And yet it was worth noting in the Torah.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Some Implications of Seeing (Miketz #2)
The second section of this week’s parsha begins with a statement and instruction that seems oddly simple and is yet able to inspire an incredible level of reflection and consideration. “And Yaakov saw that there was food in Mitzrayim, and Yaakov said to his sons ‘Why do you so appear?’ And he said “Behold, I hear that there is food in Egypt. Go down to there and procure food for us, and we will live, and we will not die’” (Bereishis 42:1-2).
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Brotherhood (Vayeshev #2)
This week’s Dvar Torah is about brotherhood. It’s not the typical topic one thinks about for Parshas Vayeshev, since this is the parsha in which ten of the sons of Yaakov sell their younger brother Yosef as a slave and tell their father that his son is dead.
Thursday, December 3, 2020
How Do You Bow, Why Do You Bow? (Vayishlach #2)
Like all of the parshiot in Bereshis, a lot happens in Parshas Vayishlach. Indeed, the action moves so fast that it is easy to react to the overview and not stop for the details. For instance, Yaakov’s introduction of his divided camps.
Thursday, November 26, 2020
The Internal Struggle (Vayetzei #3)
It is well known that the lives of the matriarchs and patriarchs had challenges. Some commentaries like to whitewash them, but the truth is that what makes them great is how they handled those challenges, how they overcame their internal battles, and how they strived to build for the future. These are exactly what makes them so important. Divrei Torah focus on Yaakov’s wrestling match with the angel because it is a powerful turning point that shapes the future nation. What is often overlooked, however, is the significance of Rochel’s wrestling match, of her coming to terms with her feelings, which, perhaps, eventually was critical in her being able to bring forth Yosef and Binyamin. But for all time, one cannot diminish the importance of understanding Rochel's feelings of an internal struggle against her sister as a means also of demonstrating the normalcy of emotions and the challenge of overcoming them.
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Inherent Nature (Toldos #2)
In the 1980s, it was popular to speak of people in terms of Type A personalities and Type B personalities. In the 90s, people were all about Myers Briggs and other personality assessments. Today, the terms neurotypical and neurodivergent are popular. All of this is to say that much money and a great deal of time has been, and continues to be, spent on understanding inherent personality. But really, this is a topic that is natural to Jewish scholarship since the very beginning… and the subtleties of Parshas Toldos, which is very nuanced, are an excellent study of nature, nurture, and self-determination.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
A New Look at YItzchak (Chayei Sarah #3)
In the way that it is frequently taught, Parshas Chayei Sarah could, oddly enough, be seen as the foundation of a heartwarming Hallmark special: Widowed father, worried for his introverted son, sends his most trusted confidant to find his son a match. Said confidant worries over his ability to do right by the boy but puts his faith in fate and meets a girl who appears perfect. The catch, of course, is that she comes from the nastiest family in town, a bunch of thieves willing to commit murder. The confidant and the girl work together and overcome her family’s attempts to subvert the match for their own means. They return to the home of the father. They arrive just as the son is stepping outside to pray. The girl sees him, sparks fly, and she knows without a doubt that she has made the right choice.
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Laughter's Essence (Vayera #3)
When you ask someone, quickly, what emotion they connect with laughter, the normal answer is joy. People laugh when they are happy, right? They laugh when they find something funny, right? Yes, these are true, but people also laugh when they are uncomfortable, when they are nervous, and when they feel powerless and in need of a weapon. They laugh to make others a target. In other words, laughter is complicated. This too is in the Torah. Not directly, but in the fact that Sarah's famous laugh is, in many ways, very ambiguous: "And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: ‘After I am already worn out, shall I have the deepest satisfaction, and my husband is [also] old?’" (18:12).
Friday, October 30, 2020
Active Faith (Lech Lecha #3)
One interesting understandings of the name Yisrael is as He Who Wrestles with God. As the Torah clearly states, the Children of Israel are a stiff-necked people; we wrestle with God because basic, blind faith is not the foundation of our relationship with the Divine. The thirteen principles of faith, as enumerated by Maimonides, are referred to as Ani Ma’amin, which is usually translated as “I
Friday, October 23, 2020
What Clean Means (Noah #3)
Friday, October 16, 2020
Seeing God (Bereishis #2)
Bereishis: Seeing Good