ADV Parsha Vayishlach

וישלח בס”ד In וישלח which is the eighth Parsha, the end of the Parsha speaks of the eight kings of אדום. After the reign of these eight kings, כלל ישראל had their eight kings כשזה קם זה נופל from the prophesy to Rivka ולאם מלאם יאמץ. Yaakov is working on a diplomatic solution to abate…

Parashat Vayetze

[Loving Me, Loving You! Two Types of Love] From HaGaon Rav Zevadia HaCohen Shlit”a, The Head of the Batei Din in Tel Aviv (translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds UK) We read in the Parasha Yaakov’s exit from Be’er Sheva to travel to Charan and his labour by Lavan for 20…

Parashat Vayetzei

Rashi on Genesis 28:10:2ויצא [AND JACOB] WENT OUT—It need have written simply “And Jacob went to Haran’’; why then does it mention his departure from Beersheba? But it intends to tell us that the departure of a righteous person from his city makes an impression. As long as a righteous man is in his city…

Parashat Toldot / פרשת תולדות

Parashat Toldot / פרשת תולדות “Generations” “Now these are the records of the generations of Isaac…” Torah Portion: Genesis 25:19-28:9 Haftarah: Malachi 1:1-2:7 B’rit Chadash/New Covenant: Romans 9:6-31 The traditional blessing pronounced before reading the Torah is as follows: Bar’khoo et Adonai ham’vo’rakh (Congregation responds) Ba’rookh Adonai ham’vo’rakh lay’o’lahm vah-edBless Adonai, who is to be…

ADV Parashat Chayei Sara

חיי שרה   בס”ד   Usually Parshas חיי שרה falls on the Shabbos that precedes חודש כסלו, כס the hidden light, the אור הגנוז, that was lit for לו, thirty six hours. In this Parsha, we encounter גן עדן. The זוהר חדש, the ילקוט ראובני and the   מגלה עמוקות all say that the מערת המכפלה was the פתח to גן…

Akedat Yitzchak

Parashat Vayera – [Akedat Yitzchak, Why Was Avraham Only Rewarded After He Offered the Ram and How May we Apply This lesson to Ourselves] From HaGaon Rav Zevadia HaCohen Shlit”a, The Head of the Batei Din in Tel Aviv This Shabbat we will read the Akedat Yitzchak (Binding of Yitzchak), where Hashem said to Avraham,…

Parashat Vayera / פרשת וַיֵּרָא

א וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה, בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא; וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח-הָאֹהֶל, כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם And the LORD appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה — Hashem appears to Avraham. On a peshat level, this conversation is not interrupted by the visit…

Parshas Lech Lecha

The Jewish journey starts with a man, a woman and the courage of their convictions. Avraham and Sarah are born in an environment that is hostile to radical ideas, one where idolatry is sacred and monotheism is unheard of. He is mercilessly persecuted for his beliefs, yet remarkably they are willing to dedicate themselves and…

LECH LECHA

Originally posted on Sefardi Beit Sefer:
? GENESIS 12 (PAL) — 1 And the Lord said to Abram, Go thou from thy land; separate thyself from thy kindred; go forth from the house of thy father; go into the land which I will show thee. 2 And I will make thee a great people, and…

Parashat Noah

Parashat Noah – [Keeping the Torah With or Without the Peer Pressures and In All Circumstances] From HaGaon Rav Zevadia HaCohen Shlit”a, The Head of the Batei Din in Tel Aviv(translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds UK) This Shabbat we read, “These are the chronicles of Noach, Noach was a righteous…

Noah and the Moral Life

The praise accorded to Noah is unparalleled in Tanach. He was, says the Torah, “a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God.” No such praise is given to Abraham or Moses or any of the Prophets. The only person in the Bible who comes close is Job, described as “blameless and upright…

Parashat Noach / פרשת נֹחַ

Noah was an obedient servant of God amidst a sinful world. He is most well-known for building an ark that preserved himself and his family, as well as representatives of every land animal, from a great flood that God unleashed in judgment upon the earth. In the previous parashah, Bereishit, we saw how God created…