by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 4, 2022 | God, Holiness, Israel, Resurrection, Vayishlach
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz The Biblical account of Jacob’s first encounter with God is an amazing story. He dreams of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending the ladder. Understandably shaken, Jacob declares that the site where the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 4, 2022 | Cheshvan, Kindness and Compassion, Parenting, Prayer, Redemption, Vayishlach
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz The Torah lists many holidays, but Mother’s Day is not one of them. Because the Torah commands us to honor our parents, every day is Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day). But if there could be one designated day to celebrate the divine gift of...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2021 | Hebrew Language, Vayishlach
Benjamin was Jacob’s only son born in the holy land, coincidentally right after Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Rachel named her second son with her dying breath ‘Ben-oni’ (בֶּן־אוֹנִי). The Sages explain the name as meaning ‘son of my suffering’ or,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 18, 2021 | Good and Evil, Hebrew Language, Revelation and Prophecy, Vayishlach
Jacob is perhaps the Biblical character whose life is more closely followed than any other, with the Torah following his conflict with his brother while still in the womb and relating his deathbed blessings. Perhaps the most pivotal moment in his conflict-laden life...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2021 | Hebrew Language, Vayishlach
Before facing his brother, Esau, Jacob goes off alone and encounters a mysterious assailant in the middle of the night (Genesis 32). Though the Torah describes the attacker as a man, the Sages explain that unbeknownst to Jacob, the assailant is, in fact, an angel of...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2021 | Covenant, Messiah, Purity, Redemption, Vayishlach
The city of Shechem is mentioned as one of the first places Abraham passed through when he arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:5). Later in the Bible, Dina, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, was raped by Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country. After the...
