In “The Lonely Man of Faith,” Rabbi Soloveitchik drew our attention to the fact that Bereishit contains two separate accounts of creation. The first is in Genesis 1, the second in … more

If the Torah is of divine authorship, why does it repeat itself so much? Did G-d forget what He had already written when He chose to repeat an idea? And not just any idea, but an entire verse – … more

As the Torah depicts the early travels of the Israelites, small details from famous stops are recalled. “They crossed the Red Sea toward the desert. They then traveled for three days through the Eitam Desert, and they camped in Marah. From Marah to Elim — in Elim there were 12 water springs and 70 palms. … They left Alush and camped in Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.” (33:8-14) Does the Torah intend to list stops on the journey, or to recall significant events? more

Yaakov is on his return journey, homeward bound for the first time in either 22 or 36 years. His mother is dead (though he does not yet know that), and he is unsure of his status with his brother. Has he been forgiven? He sends one group of messengers to Eisav with a warm greeting, “I’ve been away for awhile. I have made a decent living. I’m coming home — I hope I’ve found favor in your eyes.” The response is that Eisav is approaching with 400 men. more

I can still see the terrified look on his face as we both realized, in the same moment, that we had been set up. more

Being in touch with the various Jewish media outlets, one is never at a loss for conversation. Topics that appeal specifically to Jewish interests keep us all on our toes. Last week I came across … more

The late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach founded a synagogue in Berkeley during the 1960s in order to reach out to the many young Jews who had drifted away from Jewish tradition. He named it the House of … more

Parshat Zachor has a bit of a cult following. People who are not necessarily strict to hear Torah readings in general will run to shul to hear Parshat Zachor. Many synagogues have multiple readings … more

Just as there were six million victims, so were there at least six million stories. One of those stories seems to have occurred many times, because I’ve heard it told by quite a few … more

The first of our two parshiot, Acharei Mot and Kedoshim, begins with the well-known verse that references the death of Aharon’s sons, Nadav and Avihu: “And the L-rd spoke to Moshe … more