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When we look at Yosef’s life in Parshat Vayeshev, he almost seems superhuman. Sold by his own brothers. Taken to a foreign country. Forced into slavery. Thrown into prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Anyone else would collapse under the weight of it all. Yet Yosef stays steady. The Torah doesn’t describe anger, despair,…
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You can be doing everything right… and still feel completely empty inside. You can be doing everything right… and still feel completely empty inside.I know because I lived it. And recently in Yerushalayim, a young man came to my table with a question that hit me so deeply it brought everything back — the numbness,…
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Yaakov Avinu is finally returning home… Yaakov Avinu is finally returning home after twenty years in Lavan’s house. He has a family, wealth, and—most importantly—a clear promise from Hashem that He will protect him and bring him safely back to Eretz Yisrael. And then, just before the reunion with Esav, the Torah describes him with…
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Yaakov and Eisav enter the world together… Yaakov and Eisav enter the world together, yet their lives grow in opposite directions. Yaakov sees the spiritual as a way to serve Hashem. Eisav sees the physical as the goal itself. When they meet, Eisav says, “Yesh li Rav” — I have a lot, but “a lot”…
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You ever have one of those days where your mind feels like it has 57 browser tabs open, everything running slow, random music playing from who-knows-where… and you’re just trying to remember what you forgot? Deadlines.Messages.Notifications.Things you meant to do.Things you forgot to do.Things you’re avoiding doing. That was me a little while ago.My brain…
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“Vayeitzei Yaakov.” Rashi asks why the Torah mentions the leaving when we already know he’s going to Charan. Because when a tzadik leaves, the spiritual atmosphere shifts. His presence lifts the city, and when he’s gone, people feel the loss. If one tzadik’s departure creates a void, imagine the impact of all of Klal Yisrael…
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In Parshat Vayeitzei, when Yaakov arrives at the well in Charan after his dream, he sees shepherds waiting around instead of tending their flocks. He eventually rebukes them — “The day is still long… give the sheep to drink and go pasture them.” But before he says a word of criticism, the Torah highlights something…
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If My Father Were Here Today… In Parshat Toldot, Yitzchak tries to continue Avraham’s path exactly. He digs the same wells. He gives them the same names. And when famine strikes, he prepares to do what Avraham did — go down to Mitzrayim. But Hashem stops him.“Al teired Mitzraymah. Gur ba’aretz hazot.” Ramban explains that…
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Some stories don’t begin at birth. They begin before. Rivka feels a storm inside her and runs to ask Hashem what is happening. His answer sets the tone for all of Jewish history: “Two nations are in your womb… two regimes will separate from within you.” This isn’t a sibling rivalry. It’s the opening chapter…
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Chazal tell us that as long as Sarah Imeinu lived, her tent was filled with open miracles. Bereishit Rabbah teaches that her Shabbat candles stayed lit from week to week, a cloud of the Shechina hovered above her tent, and her dough was blessed. It wasn’t just a home. It was a place where Hashem’s…
