We left Benjamin being taken into life-long slavery for having stolen the cup from Joseph. This parashah begins with Judah coming to Joseph and explaining how very valuable Benjamin is to Jacob and begs Joseph to take him in place
Joseph is still in jail after the Cupbearer was restored to his position, yet forgot to mention Joseph to the Pharaoh, as he had promised to do. If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the
The rest of Genesis is about Joseph. We all know the story: he is hated by his brothers because he is the favorite of his father. Not to mention he is also a bit of a snitch, having once given
Jacob is on his way back to the land of his father and he hears that Esau is coming to meet him, with 400 men! Jacob assumes that Esau is still peeved about the firstborn rights thing, so he creates
Jacob leaves his home and travels to his uncle, Laban. On the way, he rests and dreams of a ladder to heaven with the angels going up and down on it, and he names that place Beit-El (House of God.)
This parashah contains the narrative of how Jacob “stole” Esau’s birthright. After doing this, he also fooled his father, Isaac, into giving him the blessing of the firstborn Isaac had intended for Esau, so twice Jacob supplanted and “stole” Esau’s
Sarah dies and Abraham buys a field that also has a sepulcher so that he can bury her. He then has his most trusted servant, Eliezer, go back to the land from which Abraham came, to his own people in
We begin with Abraham sitting under the terebinths just chilling out when three men (who are really angels) appear to him. He performs the usual act of kindness that was culturally expected of him, asking them to stay, wash their
In this second parashah of the annual Torah reading cycle, we read about one of the best known biblical stories, one which is found in nearly every civilization: the Flood. If you prefer to watch a video, click on this
This Shabbat is the Shabbat during the days of Sukkot, and the traditional reading is from the parashah Pinchus, specifically the chapter dealing with how to celebrate this festival. The Haftorah portion is from Ezekiel, where he relates the future
We are now very close to the end of the Torah. Moses is going to teach the song that God gave him to the children of Israel, so that when they go astray in the future and wonder, “Why has
Moses has come to the end of his road and the Lord tells him that he is to charge Joshua with taking the people across the Jordan into the land God promised to give them. Moses repeatedly tells all the people
