The penultimate verses of Parashat Bereishit present us with dire foreboding: And the L-rd saw that the evil of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of his heart was only evil all …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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10/22/20
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The prohibition of imbibing blood is one of the well-known mitzvot found in our parasha (Vayikra 17:10-11). In it we find the unusual expression, v’natati panai, which is explained by both …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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5/4/16
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The concluding pasukim of our parasha, Vayechi, present Yosef’s final words to his brothers. They contain both a reminder of Hashem’s promise to ultimately redeem the Jewish people from …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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12/27/23
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Parashat Vayishlach contains the rather perplexing pasuk: “And G-d went up from him [Jacob] in the place where He had spoken with him.” (Bereishit 35:13)* We immediately find that …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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12/13/16
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We are now approaching the end of the Three Weeks, the saddest period of the Jewish year. It concludes with Tisha b’Av, commemorating the destruction of two Holy Temples.
In an oft-quoted …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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7/11/18
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The primary focus of our parasha is the illness known as tzara’at. The unique nature of this class of disease is emphasized by the Rashbam in his introduction to our topic:
“All …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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4/3/19
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This Shabbat is Shabbat Shirah, as our parasha contains the 21-verse song of exaltation sung by our forebears in response to the miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf: “And the waters returned and …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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2/4/20
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The saddest part of our parasha is Hashem’s declaration to Moshe forbidding him from entering Eretz Yisrael:
Hashem said to Moshe, “Go up to this mount Abarim and look at the land …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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7/20/22
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The beginning of our parasha, Vayishlach, depicts Ya’akov Avinu’s return to Eretz Yisrael and the preparations he undertook before encountering his estranged brother, Eisav. What …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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12/11/19
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Our parasha contains the mitzvah of sippur yetziat Mitzrayim, the recounting of the story of the Departure from Egypt, that is fulfilled during the Pesach Seder. The 13th century author of the Sefer …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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1/25/23
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