וַיַּעֲבֹד יַעֲקֹב בְּרָחֵל, שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים; וַיִּהְיוּ בְעֵינָיו כְּיָמִים אֲחָדִים, בְּאַהֲבָתוֹ אֹתָהּ. (בְּרֵאשִׁית כט:כ) And Jacob worked seven years for Rochel; and they seemed to him but a few days, for the love he had for her. (Bereishis 29:20) The Torah tells us that the seven year wait until he could marry Rochel seemed as if [...]
The story is told about a Shul board meeting held to discuss whether their Rabbi was fit to continue in his position. It seems that the Rabbi was forever studying, and the members of the board concluded that his knowledge must be inadequate, and it was therefore beneath the shul’s dignity to employ a rabbi [...]
וַיְבִאֶהָ יִצְחָק, הָאֹהֱלָה שָׂרָה אִמּוֹ, וַיִּקַּח אֶת-רִבְקָה וַתְּהִי-לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה, וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ; (בְּרֵאשִׁית כד:סז) And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah; he married Rivka and she became his wife; and he loved her. (Bereishis 24:67) The Torah tells us that Eliezer met Yitzchak in the field upon his return from Aram-Naharaim. Eliezer then [...]
Two Sides to Every “Thank You” וַיַּעַן אַבְרָהָם, וַיֹּאמַר: הִנֵּה-נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל-אֲדֹנָי, וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר. (בְּרֵאשִׁית יח:כז) 27 And Abraham answered and said: 'Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, who am but dust and ashes. Many times somebody does something for you and in your mind you acknowledge the [...]
וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם, כִּי נִשְׁבָּה אָחִיו; וַיָּרֶק אֶת-חֲנִיכָיו יְלִידֵי בֵיתוֹ, שְׁמֹנָה עָשָׂר וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת, וַיִּרְדֹּף, עַד-דָּן. (בְּרֵאשִׁית יד:יד) And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. (Bereishis 14:14) The Pele Yoetz explains that many [...]
בְּרֵאשִׁית ו:יט וּמִכָּל-הָחַי מִכָּל-בָּשָׂר שְׁנַיִם מִכֹּל, תָּבִיא אֶל הַתֵּבָה לְהַחֲיֹת אִתָּךְ... בְּרֵאשִׁית ז:ב מִכֹּל הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה, תִּקַּח-לְךָ... Bereishis 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shall be brought into the ark, to keep them alive with you... 7:2 Of every clean beast you shall take for yourself.... The Torah tells [...]
Regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Hashem commanded Adam Harishon “...not to eat of it; for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.” To me, this seems to indicate that this would be an immediate punishment—Adam would take a bite and would drop dead right then and [...]
The Medrash tells us that immediately after Yom Kippur we are supposed to be in a festive mode and that we are to eat with simcha because we can be certain that the process of teshuva was successful. Obviously we understand that there is no guarantee, and there have been many years that klal Yisrael [...]
The Power Of Belief The Medrash tells us that immediately after Yom Kippur we are supposed to be in a festive mode and that we are to eat with simcha because we can be certain that the process of teshuva was successful. Obviously we understand that there is no guarantee, and there have been many [...]
Rabbeinu Yona in Shaarei Teshuva (paragraphs 24 and 25) discusses the components necessary for teshuva (repentance): One must have hachna’a (submissiveness) and shiflus (humility), and must serve Hashem “b’tznaya” (modesty) - and then he explains this in detail. The question is, what does modesty have to do with repentance? When the gemora explains what “acts [...]
