bris

Vayera – Chamber of Exchanges

Why does Hashem reveal Himself to Avraham in the fields of Mamrei? Who are Aner, Eshkol and Mamrei? Why do they join Avraham in his fight to retrieve his nephew Lot? Why do the people of Canaan occupy the land of Israel before it is promised to Avraham and his progeny? What is the concept…

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Pinchas – Zealous Patience

What are the two approaches to guiding the Jewish people? When is it appropriate to be zealous? When is it appropriate to be patient? What is the significance of the fact that the stories of both Pinchas and Eliyahu center around the concept of the Bris, which alternately represent the covenant with God, as well…

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Vayera – Revealing God's plan

Why does Avraham’s meeting with the angels occur in conjunction with Pesach? Why does the destruction of Sodom occur concurrently? Why is Yitzchak born on Pesach? Why does the binding of Isaac occur on Pesach? Why does Lot’s conception with his daughters occur then, as well? Find out in this week’s Parsha Podcast. Running time:…

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Esav, the pope, and the president

Just a quick thought, which is based on a similar idea that the Rabbis Kessin have said. Esav is the fallen Moshiach ben Yosef, who is jealous of Yakov and Yosef who have replaced him in his job. Moshiach ben Yosef’s job is connection – tikkun habris – rectifying the place of connection between the…

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Miketz – Clothing, the bris, food and speech

There are four themes that run through the entire story of Yosef, from beginning to end. They are the concepts of clothing, the covenant, food and speech. We explore the different places each of these themes appear in the story, and what the deeper significance of each theme is. To listen to this eye-opening Parsha…

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