Parashat Vayetze: Jacob’s Departure
The parasha describes Jacob’s journey to Harran, stay there, and journey back. The parasha describes Jacob’s dream of a ladder to heaven, how he met Rachel at the well, how he lived with Rachel and Leah while working for Laban, how his children were born, and how Jacob’s family eventually left Laban.
Parasha of the Week: Vayeshev
Are You Really Sorry? By Rabbi Haim Ovadia [Gen. 37:1] Yaakov settled in the land of Canaan, where his father was a sojourner. [2] Despite having many children, Yaakov saw Yosef as his true descendant, because he was the son of his first and true love, Rachel. Though Binyamin was also Rachel’s, he carried the […]
Parasha of the Week: Vayishlach
Are You Really Sorry? By Rabbi Haim Ovadia The dramatic encounter between Yaakov and Esav provides an insight into the concept of indirect apology. Yaakov goes through the process of apology and forgiveness internally, positioning himself as both the offender and the offended. After he emerges from the process innocent or not guilty, he proceeds […]
Parasha of the Week: VaYetze
Please Listen Carefully! In the book “You Just Don’t Understand”, Deborah Tannen analyzes the different conversational styles of men and women. Tannen analyzed hundreds of conversations between men and women, and she explains that many of these dialogs go awry because the two sides are not really having a conversation. They are not talking to […]
Loving Leah
By Rabbi Haim Ovadia We tend to classify many of the familial conflicts of Genesis under the rubric Sibling Rivalry. The term has become an idiom we feel comfortable with, a nice compact packet which describes a painful phenomenon. It conjures the image of a battle, not weapon-wielding, lethal one, but more a ritual. It […]
