by Raffi Levi
Posted on December 1, 2022
Is it possible that Truth is different in different settings? Or is Truth always only one thing? (Or, can both of these be true?) The Rabbis say “elu v’elu divrei Elokim chaim”—that these and those are the words of a living God.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on November 11, 2021
Yaakov is the first person in the Torah who articulates the idea of a house of God. “This is nothing other,” he says upon waking up, “than the house of God and this is the gate to heaven” (Gen. 28:17). The Rabbis point out the power of that concept of a house of God and its association with Yaakov.…
by Dr. Orit Avnery
Posted on April 3, 2019
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by Dr. Yonatan Grossman
Posted on July 6, 2017
To view the sources for this shiur click here. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 8, 2016
SOURCE SHEET
How is a Baby Made? More specifically, what determines the future characteristics of the child? One answer emerges from the story of Yaakov’s breeding of the sheep, an answer that seems to be endorsed by the Talmud: a child’s character is shaped by what the mother and father were thinking and doing at the time of conception.…
by Rabbi Haggai Resnikoff
Posted on September 7, 2016
Jewish values oppose lying, deception, and dishonesty as a rule. And yet there are some moments, when they are acceptable and maybe even preferable to the truth. It is obvious that we should not participate in dishonesty that causes damage to others, and even dishonesty that really has no negative consequences should be avoided.…
by Rabbi Avi Weiss
Posted on May 21, 2016
How is it possible that Yaakov (Jacob) didn’t know that he spent his wedding night with Leah rather than Rachel? The text says, “and it came to pass in the morning and behold it was Leah” (Genesis 29:25). Some commentators suggest that this reveals the extraordinary modesty of Yaakov and Leah-all through the night, they did not see or even speak to each other (Radak).…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on November 19, 2015
In the Torah story of Avraham’s servant and his interaction with Rivka, her brother, and her mother, we saw that society in Padan Aram had an unusual family structure. As a matrilineal society, households were comprised of the children of the same mother, and the head of the household was the mother’s oldest brother, perhaps at times working in conjunction with the matriarch.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on November 8, 2013
God promises Yaakov many things when God appears to him in the dream of the ladder and the angels: the Land of Israel, future children, Divine protection, and a safe return to his ancestral home. These blessings certainly seem to be extensive and all-encompassing.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 2, 2011
Give truth to Yaakov, loving-kindness to Avraham…” (Micah 7:20), the prophet Micha asks of God, and thus, in kabbalistic literature, Avraham comes to represent the attribute of chesed, loving-kindness, while Yaakov represents the attribute of emet, truth. While it is not at all difficult to see how Avraham is associated with loving-kindness – witness his welcoming of the angelic guests – it is quite challenging to see Yaakov as embodying the principle of truth. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on November 12, 2010
Yaakov runs away from his brother, falls asleep, has a vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder, and God appears to him and promises to watch over him. He then wakes up and declares: “This is none other than the house of the Lord and this is the gate of heaven,” on which the Rabbis comment, “Not like Avraham that called [God’s place] a mountain, nor like Yitzchak that called it a field, but like Yaakov that called it a house” (Pesachim 88a). …
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