The Talmud (Sotah 13a) relates a unpleasant circumstance that occurred when Jacob’s sons went to bury him. The entrance of the burial cave was blocked by their uncle (Esau), their father’s nemesis, who claimed the land belonged to him and wouldn’t allow Jacob to be buried there. Jacob’s sons got into a heated debate about the […]

Discovering Your Inner Youth It is the end of an era. Jacob has finally been reunited with his beloved Joseph and he lives the final seventeen years of his life in peace, surrounded by children and grandchildren. Joseph had two sons in Egypt and now Jacob, soon to die, talks to Joseph about them. Now, […]

Mario Zacchini, Sensational Human Cannonball, Dies at 87” was the headline of New York Times obituary for the last survivor of an era of men whose livelihood consisted of being propelled from a cannon across a circus tent into a net. He once said, “flying isn’t the hard part; landing in the net is.” Some people […]

What Will Your Desk Say About You? There is significance to how the Torah is broken up into the sections we read each week. The name of the Parsha (weekly section) is usually the first word (or can be found in the first few words) of any given Parsha. This week’s reading is Yayechi-“he lived;” it […]

This week’s reading elaborates on the final chapter of Jacob’s life, when his eyesight failed him in his old age. Joseph (Jacob’s son) brought his sons for a final blessing from their grandfather. He moved them towards Jacob, who kissed and hugged them. Joseph then took his sons off of Jacob’s lap, carefully presenting them […]

This week’s Torah reading is the conclusion of the book of Genesis. Jacob’s family has been reunited and before he dies, he blesses his children and grandchildren. Among those blessings is one that became a permanent fixture in Jewish life from that time forward. Jacob tells Joseph (Genesis 48:20) that in the future parents will […]