Choosing a Spouse and the Goal of Married Life

Rav Yitzchak Steinberg - 5768 The main focus of our parsha is the first “shidduch” recorded in the Torah, as Avraham sends his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchak. Chazal teach that “the conversation of the avot is greater than the Torah of the sons” (see Rashi on our parsha, 24:42). If so,...

Chevron: The Place of Mesirut Nefesh

Dovid Tzvi Newman - 5768 In Parshat Chayei Sarah the Torah discusses Avraham Avinu's purchase of the Me’arat Hamachpelah in Chevron. I would like to share an idea I saw in the sefer "Emunat Itecha" that explains why Avraham desired to purchase a burial plot specifically in Chevron. Avraham epitomized the character trait of mesirut...

A Man of Action

Avi Lasko - 5768 This week’s parsha opens with Avraham returning home from the incredibly emotional experience of akeidat Yitzchak only to hear that his wife, Sarah Imeinu, has passed away. He is then faced with the arduous task of arranging for an appropriate burial for his beloved wife. The Torah describes Avraham’s search for...

The Pot, the Flax and the Donkey

Rav Michael Cytrin - 5768 Each of us faces tests. As individuals, and as a nation, we are tested by the vicissitudes of life. Our emunah is challenged and we are forced to find the inner strength to persevere. The bad news is that we cannot avoid these tests. They are a natural and inevitable...

The Power of Prayer

Mr. Ephrayim Naiman - 5768 In this week’s parsha of Vayera, we read about the destruction of Sodom and the saving of Lot’s family.  However, before Hashem wipes out Sodom, He visits Avraham to discuss the upcoming destruction.  In His introduction, Hashem says (Genesis 18:17): Should I hide from Avraham what I am about to...

Follow Through on What You Believe!

Daniel Rosenfelt - 5768 The Vilna Gaon was once confronted by someone who learned with him as a young child. The man asked, “How is it that you were able to become the Vilna Gaon and I am just a ‘joe shmoe?’ We learned together as kids and you were not necessarily light years ahead of me...

Our Own “Lech Lecha”

Yonah Friedman - 5768 The first pasuk in Parshas Lech Lecha says, “And Hashem said to Avram go for yourself from your land…”  The word lecha, “for yourself,” seems extraneous; the pasuk could just have said “go!” Rashi explains that the term “for yourself” means “for your benefit and for your pleasure.” This explains the...

Avraham – Father of Many Nations

Rav Asher Friedman - 5768 I once knew a quite stingy man, a man who in his business dealings haggled over every shekel, whose stubbornness when it came to even normal expenditures made him exceedingly difficult to work with. One day I was walking down the street with him, and an elderly, toothless woman walked...

A Towering Problem

Rav Michael Siev - 5768 The story of migdal Bavel may be one of the most enigmatic stories in Chumash. It is entirely unclear from the story what fear motivated the builders (11:4, “lest we be scattered across the earth”), how the tower’s construction was to alleviate this fear, and why God did not like...

Noach the Tzadik

Max Weisbrod - 5768 Noach is very often described as a tzadik with many flaws. Firstly, God gave Noach one hundred and twenty years to build the ark in the hope that Noach might be able to affect his generation and open their eyes to their evil ways. Noach obviously did not accomplish this goal,...