Vayechi 5775 The Patriarchs

January 16, 2015 by Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald

For the past ten weeks we have been reading the stories of the Patriarchs and their faltering steps in the 18th century BCE, at the time of the birth of our nation. The story of Abraham tells of his spectacular rise to fame in the midst of a pagan civilization. For the first time in […]

Vaera 5775

January 16, 2015 by Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald

The Sidra begins with a declaration by the Almighty to Moses that he had revealed Himself to the Patriarchs by the name El Shaddai, but not by the name of YKWK (K Stands for H). This statement is problematic and two questions arise from it. The first one is: What is the difference between the […]

Vayigash 5775

January 1, 2015 by Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald

Vayigash Joseph 5775 The most extraordinary aspect in the story of Joseph is that the brothers repented of their grave crime and that Joseph appears to have forgiven them. Yet, Joseph had every justification to bear a grudge against his siblings for ever. After all, they tried to kill him and only decided to […]