“Isaac loved Esau, for game was in his mouth, but Rebecca loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28) Parashat Toldot repeats a familiar motif in Genesis: brothers in conflict (think Cain and Abel; … Continued
Parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18)
“Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.” (Genesis 24:1) Parashat Chayei Sarah presents us with history’s first crisis of Jewish continuity. … Continued
The Meaning of a Jewish Home
On the fourteenth of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan 94 years ago, Lord Arthur James Balfour granted the Zionist movement a unprecedented historical declaration. The Balfour Declaration was a result … Continued
Parashat Vayera (Genesis 18:1-24)
“He said, ‘My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant.’” (Genesis 18:3) The Torah uses two different words, vayomer and vayera, to describe God’s interactions … Continued
Parashat Lekh Lekha (Genesis 12:1-17:27)
“And because he put his trust in the Lord, he reckoned it to his merit.” (Genesis 15:6) If someone told you he had packed up his life and moved halfway … Continued
Parashat Noach (Genesis 6:9-11:32)
“That is why it was called Babel, because the Lord confounded the speech of the whole earth; and from there scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” (Gen. … Continued
Watch Video from the Formal Dedication of Jewish Chaplains Memorial
Hundreds of people attended the formal dedication of the memorial to fallen Jewish chaplains at Arlington National Cemetery on October 24, 2011. After three years of intense effort by JWB … Continued
Parashat B’reishit (Genesis 1:1-6:8)
And God called the light day and the dark, night; and there was evening and there was morning, a first day (Gen. 1:5) Gilad Shalit came home yesterday after enduring … Continued
An Intellectual Light Unto the Nations
Today the Jewish world marks the third day of Sukkot. Sukkot is one of the three pilgrimage holidays, when in ancient times the entire Jewish people came to Jerusalem to … Continued
Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot (Intermediate Shabbat of Sukkot) (Exodus 33:12-34:26)
“A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) We make a big deal over Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, but in the Biblical … Continued