Bereishit

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.

Batya Hefter traces Joseph's character development through the eyes of the Ishbitz-Radzyn masters.

Marc Eichenbaum explores the idea of guilt and shame cultures in the thought of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"tl, which provides a novel interpretation of Torah and a powerful lesson for contemporary society.

Malka Simkovich compares the narratives of Noah and Lot, and the ways their stories trigger the beginnings of rival nations of Bnei Yisrael.

Abraham’s participation in the war of the four kings against the five fits uncomfortably in the broader narrative of his life. Rabbi Mark Glass argues that this Abrahamic episode articulates a core Torah perspective on military might.

Mark Glass puts the Akeidah in conversation with the surrounding narratives of the book of Genesis.

Ari Silbermann examines one of the most traumatic events in the Torah.

Max Hollander analyzes the Akeidah through the lens of considering Avraham's pain and fear in anticipation of sacrificing Isaac.

The stories of Hagar and Ishmael's banishment and subsequent rescue by the angel and that of a cast-out baby Moses on the Nile rescued by Pharaoh's daughter are seemingly dissimilar, but this close reading by David Curwin argues that their strong parallels have a lesson to teach about the importance of being active and not succumbing to passivity.

Avraham’s challenge to God’s planned destruction of Sodom raises the fundamental ethical problem of collective punishment. The resolution of this challenge, Sruli Fruchter explains, enables Avraham to realize God’s highest ideals and to confront the conflict between compassion for oppressors and consideration for their victims.