Vayishlach: The Darkest Hour Before Dawn
Twenty years have passed and yet he still hears her voice. Her words are like the whisper of dying hot coals in his ears. He never ceased to blow on them with the breath of his longing, to restore the flame. Maybe she would send him to return? And now, my son, hearken to me […]
Vayeytse: Intergenerational transference between Yitzhak and Yaakov
When Esau returns from the hunt and realizes that his blessing was stolen by his brother, he is furious — to the point of wanting to kill him (a jealous brother killing his brother is not something new). Rebecca sends her son from his home to her brother Laban in Haran and promises to […]
Toldot: False-Self
He was not able stand up for himself and refuse her request. How could he refuse a mother who loves him so much? If only she knew how much he longed to receive the blessing from his blind father, who all these years did not notice him, did not actually see him, did not hug […]
Lech-Lecha: Shaking Your Comfort Zone
What happens to a person who embarks on a journey without a clear destination or defined purpose? Without taking hold of anything thatdefined him before, like his country, his parents’ house, his job, without his regular “business card”? It’s not an easy or happy situation, not to know where you’re going, without any […]
Noah: The Hidden Treasure
Noah: The Hidden Treasure Noah (נח) in reverse letters in Hebrew, reads: Chen חנ)), which is an acronym for “hidden wisdom.”(חכמה נסתרת) So, what is hidden here and what can be revealed? When God gives Noah the instructions for building the ark — the Torah uses the words “and you atoned for it … […]
Korach: Everything you can do I can do better
It is said that one picture is worth a thousand words. Imagine for a second the following picture — You are at the theatre and on the stage, you see a group of people all dressed the same, in light-blue garments. In front of them stands a single man dressed in white, a single thread […]
Parshat Va’ykrah: why not me?
Background: At Mount Sinai the people asked Moses ” You speak to us…and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”( Ex: 20:16) Conducting a direct relationship with God still frightened the people. They needed a “mediator.” During the construction of the Mishkan, as an ardent partner in its construction, […]
Parshat Va’eyra: Do you hear me
Imagine that you have a goal to achieve, that you work hard to achieve it, and time and time again you fail. And even if you are aware that achieving the goal involves a process and considerable time, and even if you believe that in the end you will succeed, where do you recruit the […]
Parshat Vayechi
To what extent can we be sure that the choices we make in our lives are free from the influences of past experiences, stemming from our intuition that signals to us that this is a choice in sync with our truth and not governed by old patterns simmering beneath the surface? Or duplicating an […]
Parshat Balak (Numbers 22)
Dedicated to the memory of Reb Zalman Shactar –Shalomi z”l This portion raise my association about Moses and the burning bush. Balak Ben Zipor is like Pharaoh: both are afraid of the Hebrews/Isralies, and while Pharaoh enslaves them Balak invites Bilam ben p’or to curse them, (so that they will become weak and he could […]