There was a time when I was fascinated by the great psychoanalytic thinkers, chief among them Sigmund Freud, whose attitude towards his Jewish origins piqued my curiosity. Although … more

One of the most difficult questions we face when looking at the narrative of the plagues in this week’s parsha, Vaera, in understanding verse 3 in chapter 7. In explaining how the plagues … more

One of the more mysterious narratives in the Torah concerns what is likely the final trip back to Egypt after the burning bush (the midrash suggests Moshe went back and forth a number of times, … more

She is one of the most unexpected heroes of the Hebrew Bible. Without her, Moses might not have lived and the story of the Exodus would have been different. Yet she was not an Israelite. She had … more

Twenty-one-year-old Zvika Greengold had just been accepted into the prestigious Company Commanders course and given two weeks’ leave. He was home on his Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta’ot near … more

The two old men couldn’t have been more different from each other. Yet they both taught me the identical life lesson. The first, a cagey old Irishman, was one of my mentors in the … more

I was very embarrassed by her sharp rebuke. But looking back, I realize that the lesson I learned from her brief criticism was more valuable than most of my other training experiences. It … more

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