Abraham

In this week’s Torah Portion, Lech-Lecha, we discuss Abraham . hat fundamental lessons can we learn from him? What impact does his story and journey have on our every day lives?

The Greatest Step Ever Taken: How to Change Your Life

The greatest leap for mankind actually began with Abraham’s first step 3752 years ago. Learn the secret of creating true and lasting change in your life.

How Can a Child of Abraham Behead Anyone?

Uncovering the root of modern-day evil: Religious Extremism. Learn about how to fight it with a spiritual revolution, driven by a vision for all of mankind.

Eternity in a Second

Redefine your life and reshape your relationships by discovering how to bring every moment to life and turn every second into eternity.

Are You a Pioneer?

Find out how to reconnect to the original you and learn how to discover your own inner pioneer from the first trendsetter of them all: Abraham.

Can East Meet West? Transcendent Integration

Learn how can we bridge the schisms between people, communities, nations, cultures and faiths and how to achieve harmony between conflicts within us.

An Open Letter to the Muslim World

Weekly Op-Ed •Shorts • 35 Comments

With atrocities being perpetrated by Muslims in the name of Allah — mass beheadings, rapes and murders of women and children, the killings of thousands of innocent people — why do we not hear any voice of protest from any of you?

Ten Challenges

Weekly Op-Ed • 5 Comments

Just as Abraham endured ten challenges, we, his children, undergo similar challenges. How we will rise to these ten challenges will define our lives.

To Intervene or Not to Intervene

Weekly Op-Ed • 45 Comments

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?

To See the Divine

Weekly Op-Ed • 5 Comments

To see the Divine, you learn to savor every sight, every sound, every taste, every touch, every smell.

Are You Your Own Worst Enemy?

Weekly Op-Ed • 4 Comments

The great gift of Torah is that it provides us with a Divine blueprint on how to live our lives. Your unique mission statement is embedded within you.

How to Treat Infidels

Weekly Op-Ed • 5 Comments

Faith in G-d extends to loving other people, regardless of their background and similarity to you. Faith is about extending love and compassion.

Chayei Sarah: Ishmael – How Does it End?

Weekly Op-Ed •November 6th, 2015• 1 Comment

It was Sarah’s banishing Ishmael that ultimately caused him to return to the right path.

Vayeira: How to Treat Infidels

Weekly Op-Ed •October 30th, 2015• 0 Comments

The evolution of religion and all its manifestations and distortions can be traced back to Abraham’s passionate faith and what he taught his children, and what they did or did not do with these teachings.

Lech Lecho: Iraq – Yesterday and Today

This essay explores the roots of the Iraqian quagmire, and ancient lessons that are relevant today more than ever.

Passover: Our Calling

Questions & Answers • 1 Comment

Rabbi Jacobson responds to a challenging letter which poses the question: How do we respond to the ‘clash of civilizations’ in the Middle East today?

The Hebron Connection

The laws and history of the different types of korbanot (sacrifices) are explained in connection to the geography of the Holy Land.

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.

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.

The Return of Hagar

Essays • 3 Comments

Dealing with the “Hagars” and “Ishmaels” in our lives—the raw and unruly elements in our nature, society and environment.

A Day in the Life of an Old Man

Shorts • 2 Comments

A lifetime of seeking and achievement, of trials and triumphs, did not diminish Abraham’s thirst for life.

The Married Life

The ultimate manifestation of divine truth requires a union of the spiritual and the physical.

Growing Old

The Torah considers old age a virtue and a blessing.

Day in the Life of an Old Man

It is Abraham’s greatness that as he grew old, he continued to enter into his days.

Eliezer’s Story

Eliezer’s story is a classic example of the “toil of speech”—of the manner in which we apply our creative and communicative skills to create a world in partnership with G-d.

The Oven Stokers of Mezerich

Stories • 0 Comments

An overheard conversation of the Oven Stokers of Mezerich. Chassidic story about self-sacrifice and Divine service.

The Natural Jew

The example of Abraham’s circumcision demonstrates, a mitzvah extends far beyond its momentary act of fulfilling the divine will.

Who Me?

Shorts •Essays • 0 Comments

As Abraham saw it, he had no right to enjoy the presence of G-d when a fellow human being was in need of food and shelter.

The Frontier of Self

When we speak of the Akeidah, we also speak of those who trod the path this great deed blazed. Of the countless thousands who died for the creed of Abraham.

The Binding of Isaac: Event and Edifice

Essays • 2 Comments

It is significant that Abraham bound his son on the site of the future altar, destined to embody the human commitment in the relationship between man and G-d.

The Years of his Youth

Not only did Abraham rush to fulfill the divine will with speed and alacrity, he also brought all the energy, passion and commitment of his youth to the deed.

The Third Millennium

In Abraham’s 75th year, a new era opened – the era of Torah. The era of tifferet, of the harmony and synthesis of the Divinely bestowed and humanly earned.

Genuine Hypocrisy

Abraham understood that no human acknowledgment of G-d can ever be “hypocritical.”

Wealth

Every soul has its own “sparks” scattered about in the world, which actually form an integral part of itself: no soul is complete until it has redeemed those sparks related to its being.

The Irremovable ‘R’

The true mark of a teacher is one who can convey the most sublime truths to the most ordinary of minds, as Abraham did.

The Return of Hagar

Three years after Sarah’s death, Abraham remarries Hagar. Learn the significance of the return of Hagar, spiritually and as an historical event.

Father and Son: Abraham and Isaac

Despite the fact that Abraham and Isaac embodied different approaches to life, the father and son had a respectful and symbiotic relationship. Learn a quick lesson on parents and children from this Torah story.

Spiritual Coldness vs. Spiritual Heat

Nothing positive and holy can ever spring forth from spiritual coldness. When a person is faced with icy indifference he must reassess his spiritual life.

Vayeitzei: Overcoming Fear

Weekly Op-Ed •December 28th, 2014• 4 Comments

Overcoming fear: To face the battles of life you must first fortify your inner life. You must build a strong inner core – a home and family that provides you with the security and confidence to handle any force or enemy from without.

Chayei Sarah: Can East Meet West?

Weekly Op-Ed •November 13th, 2014• 3 Comments

Abraham surely knew how religious zealotry can breed intolerance, condescension, judgmentalism and prejudices of all sorts — feeding into the ugliest elements of human nature.

Abraham’s Tent

Our own sukkot resemble the resting place that Abraham offered his guests. Yet there is also a primary difference between our sukkah and Abraham’s tent.

Abraham Departed From Self to Self