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By Jaron Matlow Water is a very simple chemical molecule. It contains one Oxygen atom and two Hydrogen atoms, and it appears in the shape of the letter V. Despite its simplicity, or perhaps because of it, water has tremendous powers in the world of chemistry. These powers are the very reason life can exist Read More >

By Rabbi David Greenstein Our Torah reading begins with the death of our matriarch, Sarah. Abraham comes 'to eulogize Sarah and to cry over her.' (Gen. 23:2) The order of the verbs in this verse is noteworthy. One might have expected that Abraham's first reaction would be to cry, while only afterwards would he go Read More >

By Tad Campbell In honor of my teacher and chaver, Rabbi Joel S. Wasser. Travel the world, or simply look at the foreign coins mixed up with your regular change and the most obvious thing about any, whether large or small, is that each has two sides. These opposite sides feature images of the national Read More >

Mountain, Field and House By Rabbi Yehonatan Chipman "How awesome is this place! This is naught but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven . . ." (Gen 28:17 This week's parashah describes Yaakov's unexpected and numinous encounter with God, en route from his home to the unknown land of his Read More >

By Halina Rubinstein 25 Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. 26 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Jacob's hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him. 27 Then he said, Read More >

Divine and Human 'Nudging' on the Path of One's Destiny By Jill Minkoff Va-Yeshev is primarily the story of Joseph's descent into Egypt. It is a necessary precursor to the birth of the Jewish people and the subsequent story of redemption and journey to freedom. It is a story of seemingly bad luck that eventually Read More >

By Sanford Olshansky And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it. Now I have heard it said of you that for you to hear a dream is to tell its meaning." Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "Not I! God will see to Pharaoh's welfare." (Gen 41:15, 16) "Accordingly, Read More >

By Susan Elkodsi In Parashat Vayigash we witness the emotional reunion of Joseph and his brothers, and ultimately Joseph's reunion with his father. Initially, it appears that the parashah's focus is on Joseph, the man who saves his family during the time of great famine. But I believe that Judah is the 'hero' of the Read More >

By Linda Shriner-Cahn In memory of my father, whose yarhzeit is the 24th of Tevet. In this week's Torah portion, Sh'mot, we once more are given all of the names of the sons of Israel, linking this second book of the Torah to the first. Their names are brimming with meaning. Sh'mot means 'names.' Names Read More >

By Boaz Marmon At first glance, we probably think of Parashat Bo, as a "middle." It tells the middle of the Exodus story, beginning in the middle of the ten plagues and ending in the middle of the escape from Egypt. Perhaps, on second thought, it's a tale of "ends": the end of the plagues, Read More >