Weekly Parasha

  The Torah’s weaving of command and story around chametz in Parashat Bo suggests a powerful message: when people are slow to change, providence sometimes rearranges reality so that we […]

  In the story of the plagues, there is a key turning point that is easy to miss. In the first three plagues, Israel and Egypt face the same outcomes. […]

  Jacob’s final words to his sons in Parashat Vayechi are called “blessings,” yet many of them sound painfully like rebuke, even curse. This tension encourages a deeper examination of […]

In this week’s Parasha, Vayigash, we learn about Jacob’s final journey: to Egypt. This journey doesn’t start in Egypt but in the dark, sacred pause just before it. In Genesis […]

  Parashat Miketz almost always coincides with Hanukkah, and that “almost always” is itself a kind of commentary. It prompts the question: what happens when the Torah’s story of Yosef […]

  I have always been puzzled by a story in this week’s Parasha, Vayishlach. In the Parasha, , we learn of the death of Rachel (Genesis 35:15-19). The text tells […]

  Genesis 28:16 may be one of the most mysterious verses in the Torah, because in a single startled sentence, Jacob discovers that his ordinary, anonymous campsite has in fact […]

  Jacob’s story can be read as one of deep spiritual purpose, not of jealousy—as someone who stays true to his calling without wishing for Esau’s life or possessions. In […]

  Today’s d’var Torah is dedicated to the memory of my father, Henry Goldwasser, Zicron L’vracha on his fourth Yahrzeit, this Shabbat. This week’s Torah portion is Chayei Sarah (Genesis […]