Toldot
The physics of the family tree: the deeper the roots, the sweeter the fruit.
Twins are born to Rebecca and Isaac. These were not identical twins. One was destined to become a man of the fields, while the other would grow to be a man of the academic tents. One would give birth to the Western world, while the other would give birth to the Nation of Israel. Esau and Jacob, two brothers with very different storylines. The arms are the arms of a warrior, but the voice is the voice of a scholar. After tricking his brother out of the rites of the firstborn, by utilizing the arms of a warrior but the voice a scholar, Jacob flees from the wrath of his twin.
Redigging the Wells of Love
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the forefathers from whom we learn Jewish values. In Abraham we see a fountainhead of Jewish generosity and social commitment.
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The Duplicity of the Jew
The Jew dresses in Esau’s clothes, but he refuses to allow the clothes to make the man.
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The Determined Chooser
“Choice vs. Determinism.” How much control do we really have over our actions?
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The Rebbe on the Kibbutz
Freely translated excerpts from a letter written by the Rebbe in September of 1964 to Israeli author Kaddish Luz, on communal living.
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Father and Son
Despite the fact that they embodied two very different approaches to life, Isaac sensed that everything he is and has derives from Abraham, while Abraham saw in Isaac the fulfillment and realization of his deepest self.
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A Legacy of Laughter
Toledot is no mere word: it is a word that embraces the cosmos, spans the whole of history, and describes our purpose in life.
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The Spiritual Meaning of Straw
Esau wished to tithe the straw of life, to attribute spiritual worth to animal fodder. Instead of exploiting the material to serve the spiritual, he wished to invest the material with a significance and value of its own, which is the spiritual meaning of straw.
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Toldot: Our Response to Tragedy
The Jewish response to a gruesome attack, is to channel all our outrage and fury into a spiritual eruption of building an even stronger Jerusalem, both physically and spiritually.
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