by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 28, 2016 | Covenant, Justice, Revelation and Prophecy, Vayigash
The first Israeli to win a Nobel Prize offered a sweeping account of the wanderings of the Jewish people throughout exile in his banquet speech. Dressed in tails and a black tie with a giant black kippah on his head in 1966 in Stockholm, writer Shai Agnon began his...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 13, 2016 | Antisemitism, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Humility, Israel, Obadiah, Vayishlach
As the situation for European Jewry began to deteriorate, the Chofetz Chaim was asked in 1933 about the fate of the Jewish people. As recorded by one of his close disciples, the revered rabbi answered, “Hitler shall fail! No one has ever succeeded in destroying our...
by Rabbi Tuly Weisz | f 25, 2015 | Israel, Vayechi
In this week’s portion, we finish the book of Genesis with the conclusion of the story of Joseph and his brothers– the brothers and Jacob are all in Egypt, Jacob blesses his children before his death, and the book closes with the death of Joseph. Before his death and...
by Rabbi Tuly Weisz | f 17, 2015 | Vayigash
This week’s portion begins in the middle of the story of the final confrontation between Joseph and his brothers, before Joseph reveals himself to them. At the end of last week’s portion, we heard Joseph’s cruel accusations and Judah’s failed attempts to appease...
by Rabbi Tuly Weisz | f 27, 2015 | Justice, Vayishlach
Jacob is torn between two values – the desire to live in peace and be accepted by the local inhabitants, and the desire to defend the honor of his daughter and of his family. This week’s portion tells of Jacob’s return to the Land of Canaan, beginning with his...
