וַיֹּ֥אמֶר עֵשָׂ֖ו יֶשׁ־לִ֣י רָ֑ב אָחִ֕י יְהִ֥י לְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁר־לָֽךְ׃ Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; let what you have remain yours.” וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֗ב אַל־נָא֙ אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ מִנְחָתִ֖י מִיָּדִ֑י כִּ֣י עַל־כֵּ֞ן רָאִ֣יתִי פָנֶ֗יךָ כִּרְאֹ֛ת פְּנֵ֥י אֱלֹהִ֖ים וַתִּרְצֵֽנִי׃ But Jacob said, “No, I pray you; if you would do me this favor, accept fromContinue reading “Shabbat VaYishlakh: How To Give”
Monthly Archives: November 2021
Shabbat VaYetze: Whence Antisemitism?
מַאי ״הַר סִינַי״? הַר שֶׁיָּרְדָה שִׂנְאָה לְאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם עָלָיו What is “Sinai”? To indicate that from there, hatred – sin’ah – descended.– Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 89a We have been following the story of Ya’akov / Jacob now for long enough to recognize that he is no saint. Indeed, one of the most intriguing aspects of the Torah is that itContinue reading “Shabbat VaYetze: Whence Antisemitism?”
Shabbat Toldot: What the World Needs Now
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. – Dr Martin Luther King Jr. (1963) וַיֶּאֱהַ֥ב יִצְחָ֛ק אֶת־עֵשָׂ֖ו כִּי־צַ֣יִד בְּפִ֑יו וְרִבְקָ֖ה אֹהֶ֥בֶת אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹֽב׃ Isaac loved Esau *כי צידו לפיו and Rebekah loved Jacob. (Genesis 25.28) Commentaries have long noted that it is inContinue reading “Shabbat Toldot: What the World Needs Now”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 