All in Parsha

The Guilt of Deceit

Zach Sterman
Parsha

Parshat Vayetze begins with Yaakov’s journey from his family in Canaan to Lavan’s home in Padan-Aram. This journey brings with it 3 different interactions that collectively beg the question: what was Yaakov’s problem? I will explain...

Parshas Vayeitzei: The Stone On The Well

Devir Kahan
Parsha

There is an interesting story in this week’s parsha. We are told  of a group of shepherds who all shared a communal well of water. On top of it they placed a large stone. No single shepherd amongst them could move this rock; it was too heavy for any one person to lift. And then along comes Yaakov who effortlessly slides the rock right off of the well...

Parshas Toldos: Yaakov And The Real World

Devir Kahan
Parsha

We know that we should pay close attention to the first time something is mentioned in the Torah. Or at least so we are told. When it comes to Yaakov and Eisav it's not just a typical difference between brothers. They each have two completely separate ideas on how to view and approach the world. They are, in many ways, mutually exclusive. Yet the Torah is strangely silent about their differences. Most things we know come from Midrashic literature. There's a lot more explicit heroism in the Torah by Moshe, Dovid, Shlomo, Avraham, Yitzchak, and so forth. By Yaakov, however, we really only get business, dreams, stealing, brachos, and that's about it. It is not a life full of heroism. Eisav, too, is not so bad, seemingly, from the posukim alone. No murder. No rape. Not even theft. From the text alone, he seems like a decent guy, even...

Parshas Lech Lecha: Avram’s Existential Crisis

Zach Sterman
Parsha

Parshat Lech Lecha takes us through the initial stories and challenges in the life of Avraham (then Avram), a character introduced in the closing posukim of Parshat Noach. Over the course of these episodes, starting from the opening posuk of the parsha, God interacts with Avraham, giving instructions, blessings, and prophesies. However, at certain points the interactions between God and Avraham become confusing and complicated. Here I will attempt to shed light on the structure and intent of God’s interactions with Avram. But before the question can even be asked, it is crucial to recognize and understand the structure of (the beginning) of Lech Lecha...

Parshas Lech Lecha: What Was Avraham Thinking?

Devir Kahan
Parsha

In this week’s parsha our forefather does a seemingly unthinkable thing. Upon arriving in Egypt due to famine in his own land, Avraham tells his wife to tell the powers that be there that she is, in fact, his sister — and not his wife. As such, they will take her captive, but at the very least, they will let him live. Indeed, it could very well be that Avraham figured there were only two possible ways that the scenario could play out...

Parshas Bereishis: ‘He Shall Rule Over You’

Devir Kahan
Parsha

I know that this week’s parsha isn’t exactly Bereishis, but I haven’t had a chance to write this essay until now, and I think it is important even if it doesn’t exactly fit with the parsha. There is, of course, an infinite amount to say about Parshas Bereishis, but I’d like to share here one particular interpretation of the story of the Tree of Knowledge, though, that helps quite a bit in understanding what the Torah means when it says, in regards to women, “your urge shall be for your husband… He shall rule over you” (Bereishis 3:16). This is a statement, no doubt, that makes many of us living today uncomfortable to read...

Parshas Noach: The Promise Of The Future

Devir Kahan
Parsha

Despite what most people think, the story of Noach actually begins at the end of parshas Bereishis. The last few posukim introduce him for the first time, and talk about how terrible the world had become at that time, and the level of, seemingly, sexual degradation that was rampant throughout the land. Everyone knows about the posuk within Noach itself saying that the land was full of "chamas", or petty theft as it is often translated, but there was actually quite a bit more than that wrong with the world as told to us at the end of Bereishis...