Parsha Related

At the end of his new book, ;Tribe of Mentors, Timothy Ferris cites the following poem by Portia Nelson. It’s called ‘Autobiography in Five Short Chapters’: Chapter 1: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost… I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes fo...

"When we became addicts, crushed by a Self-Imposed Crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either G-d is everything or else He is nothing. ;G-d either is or He isn't. What was our choice to be?" ;(Big Book, Page 53) בא אל פרעה "Come to Pharaoh" Comm...

"We made a decision to turn our Will and our Lives over to the care of Pharaoh as we understood him." ;(Step Four - Big Book, Egyptian Edition) Having concluded the Book of Genesis, we embark on a new chapter in the lives of B'nai Yisroel. ;As we all know from Sefer Bereishis, we have learned a...

As we continue the story of Yakov and his sons, we not only see the conclusion of Sefer Bereishis (book of Genesis) but also the end of the lives of Yakov and Yosef. ;The story of these great and holy men seems to be full of so much pain and struggle. ;And yet, they not only endured their live...

“And Pharaoh said to Yosef, ‘after G-d let you know all of these things, there is none so understanding and wise as you’.” (Bereishis 41:39) Over the past few months people have witnessed how the high and mighty have been taken down to the lowest depths due to foolish, improper behavior. Incr...

“His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all the brothers - so THEY HATED HIM...(37:4)" As we continue the Story of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, we learn in this Parsha about one of the most unimaginable episodes of the entire Torah. ;How could the sons of Yakov/Yisroel...

As we continue the Story of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, we learn in this Parsha about one of the most perplexing episodes of the entire Torah. ;As we all know, we learn in Vayishlach, it's been 20 years since ;Yakov ran away from Esav after seemingly stealing his Blessing from their father, Y...

One of the greatest challenges in the life of a Jew, especially in the generation we live in, is the concept of ;hotza'as zera levatalah, emitting seed in vain. This is an extremely difficult prohibition that many, many struggle with, often unsuccessfully. Unfortunately, it is also one of the mos...

;הודו להשם כי-טוב כי לעולם חסדו "Thank Hashem for He is good, for His Kindness lasts forever!" (Psalm 118): As we continue the Story of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, we learn in the Parsha about Yakov's marriage to Rachel and Leah - (which I find interesting since Yakov is a twin who marries tw...

"For tomorrow we will die!" (Isaiah 22:13) והנה אנכי הולך למות ולמה זה לי בכרה "And Esau said, Look I am going to die, so of what use to me is a birthright?" What was the mindset of Esau that he could have so easily sold his birthright for just a pot of lentils? ;After all, Esau was the firstbor...