The concluding verses of  parashat Vayechi present Yosef’s final words to his brothers. They contain both a reminder of Hashem’s promise to ultimately redeem the Jewish people from … more

Our Sages, in Tosefta Berachot 4:17-18, ask a fundamental question: “Why did Yehuda merit kingship?” After all, each of the brothers was great in his own way. Why, then, was … more

Last week’s parasha concludes with Yosef’s undeserved imprisonment in an Egyptian jail at the false accusation of Potiphar’s wife. While incarcerated, he rose to the top of dungeon … more

Yosef is the sole figure in Tanach to whom our Sages attach the title hatzaddik, the righteous one. The second-century work Seder Haolam Rabbah is one of the earliest Rabbinic sources where this … more

Our parasha begins with the famous words, “And Yaakov left Beersheba, and he went to Charan” (Bereishit 28:10). Yaakov’s departure is a direct response to his mother Rivka’s … more

Our parasha contains a crucial narrative in the lives of the Avot — a famine in the Land of Israel, and Yitzchak’s initial desire to follow in his father’s footsteps and travel … more

Our parasha relates the deaths of one of history’s most spiritually dynamic couples, Sarah and Avraham: “And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and … more

One of the many famous topics in our parasha is the destruction of the thoroughly wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. As the entire Land of Israel would one day belong to Avraham’s … more

The conclusion of Parashat Bereishit paints a dire picture of mankind’s imminent annihilation: “And the L-rd saw that the evil of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of his … more

The mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah initially appears to be quite straightforward. By way of illustration, the Rambam formulates the obligation in this manner: “What is the mitzvah of … more