Parshat Vayechi In-Depth “When Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (1789–1866) was a child attending cheder, his teacher taught the verse ‘Jacob lived for seventeen years in the land of Egypt’ according to the commentary of the Baal HaTurim—that Jacob lived…
Parshat Vayigash In-Depth “Judah approached him . . . (Genesis 44:18) Said Rabbi Yehudah: The verb “he approached” (vayigash) implies an approach to battle, as in the verse “So Joab and the people that were with him approached unto battle”…
Parshat Mikeitz In-Depth “The three Torah sections (Vayeishev, Mikeitz and Vayigash) that relate the story of Joseph and his brothers . . . are always read before, during or immediately after the festival of Chanukah. Since “to everything there is…
Aliya-by-Aliya Parshat Vayeishev 5762 “Yaakov has spent years away from home and now has returned. The Torah indicates that it is through Yosef that Yaakov’s legacy continues. 17 year old Yosef brings bad reports about his brothers to Yaakov. Yaakov…
Aliya-by-Aliya Parshat Vayishlach 5762 “Onkeles seems to consider the messengers that Yaakov sent to be human (IZGADIN are runners or messengers); Rashi states that the word MAL’ACHIM is to be taken literally, as heavenly angels. Commentaries point to the end…
Aliya-by-Aliya Parashat Vayeitzei 5762 “There are different explanations concerning the wording of this pasuk. As to why the Torah mentions Yaakov’s departure, Rashi explains that a prominent person not only influences his surroundings, but his absence from a place is…
Aliya-by-Aliya Parshat To’l’dot 5762 “Rashi quotes the Gemara that tells that when Yitzchak was born, scoffers said that Avraham and Sara, who were childless for so long, had found a baby and claimed it as theirs. Avraham invited the leaders…
Aliya-by-Aliya Parashat Chayei Sara 5760 “The parsha begins by telling us that Sara died in Kiryat Arba, which is Hevron. But first it tells us that she lived a full, long life of 127 years. With the last theme of…
Aliya-by-Aliya Parshat Vayeira 5762 ““It was unnaturally hot; that was G-d’s doing, to spare Avraham the bother of visitors. However, Avraham is distressed by the absence of visitors, so G-d sends three angels to him in the guise of wayfarers.…
Aliya-by-Aliya Parashat Lech Lecha ““Leave your land, birthplace, father’s house.” Ramban explains that each “point of departure” was progressively more difficult for Avraham. Leaving one’s land is difficult, even more so if he was born there. Leaving one’s family is…
