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ב"ה

Vayishlach 5769 - December 12, 2008

The Jewish Woman
Birthing Light

I once birthed a woman through a mental breakdown much as a midwife would deliver a baby. Our time together began as a simple conversation...
Two Words

Judaism, in Russian eyes, is less like a religion, and more like a chronic, debilitating disease that they sincerely wish I could be cured of sometime very soon...
Parshah
The Parshah in a Nutshell
Jacob’s confrontation with Esau, the long journey to Seir, the abduction of Dinah, Reuben’s sin, and the eight primordial kings of Edom.
Why Does Esau Hate Jacob?

Evil exists because it is so much more powerful than good. Is there lover in the world who loves with the intensity that a hater hates? Is there a light as bright as darkness is black? Has there ever been an act of kindness unleashed with the force and ferocity contained in an act of cruelty?
Be Happier than a Billionaire

A man with tens of millions, the owner of several homes around the world and a private jet, related wistfully of a colleague who built his own landing strip...
Flight or Fight

Just because 4,000 years ago one of my ancestors had a hip dislocated, I need to forgo a good rump steak?
A Woman’s Persuasion

Where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob failed, a young girl could have succeeded
Old Age, Old Wine

Capturing youth is canning wine, at best.
Double Identity

"No longer shall your name be called Jacob," said Esau's angel. "No longer shall your name be called Jacob," G-d reiterated. Yet the Torah continues to call him Jacob...
Living
In the Wake of Mumbai

Pain packs a punch, and it has an intensity that's waiting to be channeled
Fighting Terrorism With Mitzvot?

You're telling us that what we need is to light symbolic candles and do a mitzvah? We're talking about a very real threat to our people! We're talking survival of the fittest! Get real...
Every created entity has a spark of G-dliness within it, a pinpoint of divinity that constitutes its soul. When we utilize something to serve the Creator, we penetrate its shell of mundanity, revealing and realizing its divine essence. Thus we elevate these "sparks", reuniting them with their Source.
— The "Ari", Rabbi Isaac Luria