Open Search form

Parsha VAYERA

Apply for a Blog

Nov 10, 2017, 10:36 PM

Avraham As The First Defeatist Jew??

Or, as the first peacemaking Jew? Last week in Israel was filled with events remembering the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin z"l. (This week, we've forgotten again.) Many commented on how Rabin, who dedicated his life to security and...

William Hamilton

Nov 3, 2017, 6:24 PM

Faith that is not one-sided but reciprocal

“Abraham complained to Avimelech about the water well that his servants had wrongfully seized. Avimelech responded, ‘I was unaware of this, you never told me of it, and I heard nothing about it until now’” (Gen. 21:25-26). His answer...

Nov 3, 2017, 10:21 AM

“The First Matzo” Parashat Vayera 5778

Time has run out for Sodom and it is scheduled for destruction. Before this can happen, Avraham’s nephew, Lot, who happens to live in Sodom, must first be rescued. Two angels head to Sodom, one to destroy the place...

Leonard Grunstein

Nov 3, 2017, 7:18 AM

Don’t Sacrifice the Children

Communicating a sophisticated and nuanced message, which resonates with most people and throughout the generations, is no mean task. Mere words may not be the most effective way to accomplish the result. How powerful would a slogan like “don’t sacrifice...

Nov 3, 2017, 1:12 AM

How Judaism broke down the family

Bible scholar Tzemah Yoreh questions the common telling of the binding of Isaac -- the version that inspired Caravaggio -- in which an angel stops Abraham moments before he sacrifices his son. (Photo credit: From http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/caravaggio/isaac.jpgg/via Wikipedia)

The biblical Binding of Isaac is a painful episode in the drama of human separation and individuation

Nov 2, 2017, 1:11 PM

Abraham’s evolution: Balancing love and fear of God [Parshat Vayera]

Has Abraham lost his moral compass? When God presents Abraham with the most difficult and tragic command to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, Abraham rises early the next morning, loads his donkey, calls his servants and immediately starts the...

Nov 2, 2017, 7:31 AM

The Redemption of Ishmael

Parashat Vayera starts with וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה Vayera Elav YHVH, i.e. And YHVH appeared to him (Gen 18:1), following Abraham's circumcision last week. It is explained that whenever the word Elav אֵלָיו appears in the verse, it comes to...

Oct 31, 2017, 6:56 PM

Power in a Period

To receive Rabbi Lapin's regular essays and insights, please register online. You can also follow him on Facebook. Vayeira 5778 Noble Silence Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese mindfulness master living in in France, talks of a practice called noble silence. “If we are talking,...

Ben-Tzion Spitz

Oct 30, 2017, 8:00 AM

Vayera: Punishment for Undue Credit

A man’s pride will humiliate him, but a humble man will obtain honor. -- Proverbs 29:23 Many of us may have experienced the annoyance of a friend, a sibling or a colleague, taking credit for something we did, a brilliant...

Ariel Ben Avraham

Oct 29, 2017, 7:55 PM

Parshat Vayeira: A key lesson from Abraham and Isaac

Some of the lessons that we learned from the Akeidah of Isaac is Abraham’s loyalty to the Creator of all, the selflessness of his son to be sacrificed for their God, and what these represent in the ongoing relationship...

Load more