Shabbat 26-27 December, 2014 Pharoe, impressed by the old semitic shepherd standing in front of him asks: How many are the years of your life [Gen.47:8]? However, Jacob replies using a different noun: “The years of my sojourn (=meguray) are thirty and a hundred years… [ibid:9] why ‘my sojourn’ and not ‘my life’? The simplest, […]
Vayishlach
5th December 2014/13 Kislev 5775 “When my brother Esau asks you: Unto whom do you belong? Where are you going? Unto whom these [animals, livestock] are sent ahead?” These are three questions that Jacob anticipates Esau to ask when he meets with each of the messangers that Jacob sends ahead. Do these three questions remind […]
Sermon for Nitzavim-vaYelech 5774
Shabbat 19-20 Sep. 2014 How time flies! This Shabbat is already the seventh and last of the 7 Sabbaths of Nechama- Consolation, which is also the last Shabbat before Rosh haShana –beginning of the Hebrew year. Since the common denominator of the last 7 Sabbaths of our year are Haftarot which are taken from the […]
Chayei Sarah -5775
14th November 2014/21 Cheshvan 5775 Our Torah is “TORAT CHAYIM” –a Torah of Life. It addresses the life of human beings and wastes almost no time on issues such as how angels live in heaven… One of the most basic facts of human life is that all of us are bound to die. Each and […]