If you want to understand what a book is about, look carefully at how it ends. In this week’s parsha, Vayechi, Genesis ends with three deeply significant scenes. First, Jacob blesses his … more

Parashat Vayechi is the final sidrah in Sefer Bereishit and the bridge to Sefer Shemot. Until now, our forebears were a small family of 12 tribes, yet within the first chapter of Sefer Shemot, … more

Every now and then I like to revisit the question of whether the Torah has a consistent method for how it switches between calling our third forefather Yaakov and Yisrael. He does have both … more

Some time ago I had the privilege of meeting a World War II veteran with a fascinating story to share: Born in Germany, his parents saw the writing on the wall and he was sent to boarding school … more

The last two festivals to be added to the Jewish calendar prior to modern times — Purim and Chanukah — are both about anti-Semitism. There is one obvious difference between them: … more

In one of the greatest transformations in all of literature, Joseph moves in one bound from prisoner to prime minister. What was it about Joseph — an outsider to Egyptian culture, a … more

Who was Yosef? While some reinterpret the direct meaning of the text and teach us that Yosef was always Yosef HaTzaddik), a straightforward analysis of the beginning of Parashat Vayashev does not … more

Some time ago I received this story via e-mail: On Nov. 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Lincoln Center. Anyone who has ever been to a Perlman … more

Why is Chanukah an eight-day holiday? With respect to the eight days being contingent on a miracle of a small amount of oil lasting eight days, there are many answers for the question. But in … more

There are two kinds of people.” I am sure that you all have heard one variation or another of that theme. We seem to have a well-ingrained habit of dividing people into two categories (for … more