VAYEITZEI, Genesis 28:10-32:3 As an old man, Jacob said to Pharaoh: “Little and evil were the days of the years of my life” (Genesis 47:9) . Our present portion depicts the struggles of Jacob in his earlier years, as he flees from the wrath of his brother Esau to take refuge with his duplicitous...

TOLDOT Genesis 25:19-28:9 Following the passing of Abraham, Isaac moves to the center of the stage in our present portion. While Abraham is the exemplar of the expansive quality of Kindness (Hebrew: Chessed ), Isaac is the exemplar of the opposite pole: Strength (Hebrew: Gevurah ). This includes such...

  Chayey Sarah Gen. 23:1-25:18 The living and the dead As Sarah’s life in this world comes to an end, the Torah makes an exact reckoning of her years: “And the life of Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven years: these were the years of the life of Sarah” (Gen. 23:1). As we live...

Vayeira, Gen. 18.1-22.24 Our present Torah portion continues the story of the life of Abraham, who was the epitome of faith in God, humility, charity and kindness. Woven in with this story and in counterpoint to it, a central part of our portion describes the overthrow of Sodom and its neighboring cities,...

LECH LECHA Genesis 12:1-17:27 Many of the Torah’s most important teachings for all humanity come to us not in the form of laws and directives but embedded in story form, as in the cycle of stories of the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which begins with our present portion of Lech Lecha....