Rabbi Chanan Morisson “This is how you must eat [the Passover offering]: with your waist belted, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You must eat it with chipazon — in haste.” (Ex. 12:11) The word chipazon is an uncommon word. In the entire Bible, it appears only three times. Twice … Read more
Rabbi Chanan Morisson (Note: I found the following idea difficult to translate, as it requires some knowledge of Hebrew grammar. Nonetheless, it provides a fascinating example of how a Talmudic disagreement over a single letter may reveal a profound philosophical discussion.) ( Note2-The Hamotzi blessing is the one said on the eating of bread) It … Read more
by David Wilder by Eretz.Org This week marks an auspicious date, as it leads to the inauguration of the incoming President of the United States. However, my view of the week of January 20th is of a completely different perspective. This year, this week marks the 20th anniversary of the signing, Knesset vote and implementation … Read more
\ By Chana Weisberg I was taking a walk with a friend. As we approached a large house, she said abruptly: “Let’s cross the street!” It turns out that my friend and her husband had had a business partnership with the homeowner. The partnership had soured; he had wronged and cheated my friend. The very … Read more
Rabbi Chanan Morisson Suitable Wicks and Oils The Mishnah (Shabbat, chapter two) discusses which wicks and oils are suitable for Sabbath lights. Certain materials may not be used for wicks since they make ‘the flame sputter’ and fail to burn evenly; and certain oils may not be used because ‘they do not flow freely to … Read more
Rabbi Chanan Morisson Having survived the trickery of uncle Laban and the enmity of his brother Esau, Jacob finally returned to his homeland. “Jacob arrived whole (shalem) to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan” (Gen. 33:18). In what way was Jacob shalem? The Talmud explains that he was “whole in body, whole … Read more
Moshe Kempinski Life Lessons from the Torah Reading Yaacov (Jacob) , our forefather, was the father of all the Jewish people throughout the generations. Abraham had an Isaac and an Ishmael. Isaac had a Yaacov and an Esau. Yet it is from Yaacov that the twelve sons arose and created the people of Israel. Yaacov … Read more
By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Why Jacob? That is the question we find ourselves asking repeatedly as we read the narratives of Genesis. Jacob is not what Noah was: righteous, perfect in his generations, one who walked with G d. He did not, like Abraham, leave his land, his birthplace and his father’s house in response … Read more
