Loving Leah
By Rabbi Haim Ovadia We tend to classify many of the familial conflicts of Genesis under the rubric Sibling Rivalry. The term has become an idiom we feel comfortable with, a nice compact packet which describes a painful phenomenon. It conjures the image of a battle, not weapon-wielding, lethal one, but more a ritual. It […]
Embracing Life
At first sight the laws of Nazir, detailed in Parashat Nasso, seem to suggest that the Torah encourages people to take upon themselves vows of abstinence. A closer, contextual reading, makes it clear that the life of a hermit, away from society and from the world’s bounty, is not the Torah’s idea of a perfect […]
What Did Ham Do?
Noah, the man of the land, started [rebuilding after the flood] by planting a vineyard. He drank of the wine, became inebriated, and exposed himself naked in his tent. Ham, Canaan’s father, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside the tent. Shem and Yephet took the robe on their shoulders, walked backwards […]
On Trust and Leadership
Why the Book of Numbers is not about numbers What’s in a name? The book of BeMidbar suffers of somewhat of an identity crisis. It is easy to determine the identity of the other books of the Torah. Genesis is about the creation and the life of the forefathers, Exodus is about the exodus and […]
Heifer – Therapy
No matter how well-prepared we are, mentally and emotionally, for the inevitable loss of a close relative or a dear friend, when death strikes, we experience shock, grief, disbelief, and anger. We don’t understand how can the world move on, functioning efficiently as if nothing happened, as if our lives have not been changed irreversibly. […]
Yosef: The Ultimate Sales Pitch
Reading Between the Lines in Miketz Questions for discussion: In verse 41:14 we read that Yosef “shaved and changed clothes”. Whose initiative was it? Can it be proven from the grammar? How does Pharaoh echo Yosef’s language? How are Yaakov and Pharaoh similar in their treatment of Yosef? Why did Yosef create local and not […]
Favorite Son vs. Man of the People
Choosing a college major is a tricky business. You start studying for the profession most in demand at the moment, just to find out four years later that the world has drastically changed. Programming, or coding, has been one exception and a safe bet for the last couple of decades, but this too is about […]
Torn Between Father and God
In his royal chambers, covered in fine Egyptian linen sheets, Zaphenat Pa’aneah, aka Joseph the Hebrew, wakes up screaming, awash in cold sweat. His wife, the delicate noblewoman Asenath, finds his shaking hand and holds it, whispering “you had that nightmare again, honey?” Her husband is too startled to talk, taking a deep breath before […]
Face It! On Apology and Forgiveness
Many people (particularly men) often find themselves in a state of confusion and bewilderment when other people (particularly their wives) recall incidents or offenses from times immemorial. “I can’t believe that you still bring this up,” a husband might say, “I thought we put it to rest long ago.” “I didn’t put it to rest, […]
Genesis, the Book of Many Faces
For Sefer Beresheet This article is not a commentary, rather food for thought, an invitation to explore the many layers of this fascinating First Book of the Torah. It is shorter than the regular column, yet longer, since the reader will need to research the ideas presented here, decipher them, and agree [or, hopefully, disagree] […]