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.
The Soul’s Journey to a Dark World
Lessons on the journey of life; how to transform our world with light and warmth
Read More
The Masquerade of Life
Lessons on “dressing up” for a greater cause; do the clothes make the man or the man makes the clothes?
Read More
The Inner Struggle of Good vs. Evil: Jacob and Esau Within Us
In this week’s Torah Portion, Toldot, twins are born to Rebecca and Isaac. Esau and Jacob, two brothers with very different storylines; one a warrior, one a scholar. The battle between these two brothers is alive and kicking within each of us today.
Read More
What Defines a Racist?
Join Rabbi Jacobson and discover a new take on human nature and the human condition, offering us a novel approach to uprooting all forms of racism at its nucleus.
Read More
Masquerade Ball
Discover within the courage to be present; to allow the true you to emerge and express itself. Maybe it’s time to free yourself from your masks.
Read More
To Intervene or Not to Intervene
The same question can be asked about every form of inappropriate behavior that we may witness: What is the right thing to do – to intervene or not?
Read More
The Plot Thickens – Jacob & Esau: Two Nations
We now have before us Abraham, father of all nations, Ishmael father of the Arab/Muslim world, Esau, father of the Roman/Christian/Western world and Jacob, father of the Jewish world.
Read More
Toldot: Mixing G-d and Politics
A response to the thousands of emails written about the previous essay which discussed the notions of “conservative” and “liberal” belief in America…
Read More
Percentage of the Dough
If a person makes his spiritual moments the focus of his life, regarding all else as but the means to their end, then his entire day is a singularly holy endeavor.
Read More
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.
Read More
The Duplicity of the Jew
The Jew dresses in Esau’s clothes, but he refuses to allow the clothes to make the man.
Read More
The Determined Chooser
“Choice vs. Determinism.” How much control do we really have over our actions?
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
The Determined Chooser: Choice vs Determinism
How much control do we really have over our actions? So can man be held accountable for his behavior? Is the good we do truly to our credit? Is the evil our fault? Isn’t it all a matter of genes and environment? A discussion of choice vs determinism.
Read More
We Shudder
The universe is at war and has always been at war. The ultimate victor will be not the one with the most powerful weapons. It will be the one with the most powerful spiritual vision.
Read More
Toldos: Back to Reality
The universe is at war and has always been at war. The ultimate victor will be not the one with the most powerful weapons. It will be the one with the most powerful spiritual vision.
Read More
Toldot: Beyond Life And Death
My granddaughter just arrived from another world, and has brought us a message of hope. Despite the tragic losses and senseless pain, beyond the incomprehension of it all, life is born yet again.
Read More
Toldot: My Child
Every generation is part of an unbroken cycle of ‘fruit.’ It is through children that we create an eternal legacy, one which we are part of ourselves.
Read More
Toldot: The Power of Human Exertion
Who fully grasps a concept, one who immediately comprehends it, or one who must struggle to understand it? Part five of Samech Vov discusses this question, and examines the value of human exertion.
Read More
The Sound of Light: Tension & Resolution
The secret of balance is about discovering the rhythm that lies within the different forces in our lives. Life is about cadence.
Read More
