Rivkah’s Existentialism: Wholeness and Brokenness

This past Shabbat, Rivkah took center stage, making a dramatic decision that altered the course of her descendants’ histories. Sruli Fruchter examines the angst that preceded Rivkah’s fateful actions.

The Nazir and the Priest

Yoni Nouriel examines an episode in the Talmud where Shimon Ha-Tzadik describes his encounter with an impure Nazir.

An Ishbitz-Radzyn Reading of the Judah Narrative: Binah Ba-lev – An Understanding Heart 

In a follow up to her recent piece about Joseph, Batya Hefter traces Judah's character development through the eyes of the Ishbitz-Radzyn masters.

The Life and Death of Moses’ Staff

Yosef Lindell tracks the Staff of Moses throughout its amazing "life".

Shechem, Place Of Brit

This week's Parashah introduces us to the city of Shechem. Tamar Weissman examines the various appearances of this city throughout Tanakh, explaining that while it is a city of rupture, it is also one of covenant and fraternity.

Hevel: The Journey of an Intangible Word

Benjamin Barer traces the word Hevel through Jewish texts, showing how the use of the same word can teach us both about the wisdom of Kohelet we read this past Shabbat and the character of Hevel who we will read about in this week's Parashah.

“Our Eyes”: The Kenites and the Druze

Tamar Weissman shows how the Druze minority in Israel remarkably resemble the biblical Kenites.

The Child at this Moment, the child that Could Become: A Torah Meditation in...

Dan Ornstein examines the rabbinic interpretation of the phrase "ba-asher hu sham," and applies it to the current conflict in Israel.

Was God Angry at Sarah?

Ben Greenfield God isn’t angry with Sarah, when she laughs at the idea of birthing a child in her old age (Gen. 18:12-15). God is...

Mikeitz and the Miracles of Hanukkah: A Study of Metaphors and Interpretations

David Schwartz explores thematic similarities between the Hanukkah miracle and Pharaoh’s dreams.