Remembering Akeidas Yitzchak-Parshas Vayeira
Few other events figure so prominently in the annals of our heritage as does Akeidas Yitzchak (the Binding of Yitzchak), featured in this week’s parshah. This episode, of course, involved the heroic devotion of Avraham, who was willing to sacrifice his son for Hashem’s sake, and of Yitzchak, who willingly submitted to the deed. And so it is that the memory of this event is invoked at key [...]
Like Son Like Father-Parshas Lech Lecha
Avraham Avinu, as we know, was a self-made individual. He was born into a family and society of idolaters, yet he came to recognize the one true G-d. The familiar passage from the Pesach Haggadah states as much: מִתְּחִלָה עוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, וְעַכְשָׁו קֵרְבָנוּ הַמָקוֹם לַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ שֶׁנֱאֶמַר וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־כָּל־הָעָם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלֹקֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל בְּעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר יָשְׁבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם מֵעוֹלָם תֶּרַח אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם וַאֲבִי נָחוֹר וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים [...]
Why a Flood?-Parshas No’ach
One of the main episodes of this week’s parshah, of course, is the virtual destruction of the world, as its inhabitants – save the survivors on the teivah (ark) – were engulfed by the waters of the Mabul (Flood). Root Causes The causes that triggered this cataclysmic event are delineated by the Torah, with chamas (petty thievery) apparently the principal culprit: וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹקִים וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ חָמָס... וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹקִים לְנֹחַ קֵץ כָּל־בָּשָֹר [...]
Water and Happiness-Parshas Haazinu
There are many unique elements associated with the yom tov of Sukkos, which, at the same time, are both intriguing and somewhat mystifying. Grand Celebration Perhaps chief among them is the aura of supreme joy that surrounds this particular festival more than any others. Every yom tov, of course, is a time of great happiness and celebration. But in the prayers, this is the only festival upon which is conferred [...]
