Category: Parsha


  • Recognizing Hashem’s Goodness: The Path to Redemption

    At the end of last week’s parsha, Moshe approaches Hashem, frustrated that not only did Pharaoh refuse to let Bnei Yisrael go, but the slavery intensified. Hashem reassures Moshe, saying, “Ata tireh”—you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. In this week’s parsha, Hashem delivers a transformative message to Bnei Yisrael: “I am Hashem, and I will take…

  • Hashem Heard Their Cry: Why is this Time Different?

    The Struggles of Bnei Yisrael In this week’s parsha, Shemot, we witness the deepening struggles of Bnei Yisrael as they endure worsening slavery in Mitzrayim. The parsha opens with the tragic turning point: a new Pharaoh arises, one who “did not know Yosef,” and initiates the enslavement of the Jewish people. As the parsha unfolds,…

  • Praying from the Heart and the Siddur

    In this week’s parsha, Vayechi, Yaakov blesses his grandsons, Ephraim and Menashe. He then turns to Yosef and assures him that Hashem will be with him, ultimately bringing him back to the land of his fathers. In this moment, Yaakov makes a unique gift to Yosef: the city of Shechem, granting him an additional portion…

  • The Greatest Bracha is Knowing Yourself

    Yaakov’s Unique Brachot: More Than Just Good Wishes This week’s parsha, Vayechi, is packed with powerful moments, and one of the most striking is Yaakov giving brachot to his children. But if you read through the brachot carefully, you might notice something surprising: they don’t all sound like blessings. When we think of giving a…

  • Yosef’s Inspiring Story of Faith, Trust, and Forgiveness

    Yosef’s story is one of the most incredible examples of emunah (faith) and bitachon (trust) in Hashem’s plan. Despite everything he went through—being betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and thrown into prison—he never lost sight of the bigger picture. Yosef understood that every moment of his life, no matter how painful…

  • A Lesson from Yehuda and Yosef: Life’s Repeated Challenges

    This week’s parsha, Vayigash, brings us to one of the most emotional moments in the Torah: Yehuda’s heartfelt plea to Yosef, culminating in Yosef revealing his identity. But beneath this dramatic scene lies a profound lesson about growth and teshuva. Yosef orchestrated an elaborate plan, placing his brothers in a situation eerily similar to the…

  • The Goblet in Binyamin’s Bag: A Lesson in Perspective

    In this week’s parsha, Yosef tests his brothers one final time. After hosting them for a meal and sending them back home with food, he secretly has his silver goblet placed in Binyamin’s bag. When his steward catches up to them and accuses them of theft, the brothers are in shock. They know they’re innocent,…

  • Yosef’s Lesson: The Need to Take Action

    This week’s parsha begins with a dramatic moment: Yosef is rushed out of prison, cleaned up, and brought before Pharaoh. Pharaoh had been troubled by two unsettling dreams. In the first, seven healthy, fat cows emerged from the Nile, only to be devoured by seven thin, sickly cows. In the second dream, seven ripe and…

  • Yosef’s Journey of Bitachon and Hishtadlut

    At the end of parshat Vayeishev, we find Yosef in jail, interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and baker. Yosef lived with emuna and bitachon—he trusted that everything Hashem does is for the best, no matter how it looked at the moment. Think about Yosef’s life up to this point. His brothers hated him…

  • Hate Comes From Distance So Run After Peace

    Shalom (Peace) is one of Hashem’s names. We conclude our tefillah with a bracha for Shalom and the word Shalom is the final word of the powerful Birkat Kohanim. Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi says in Gemara Taanit Yerushalmi that the whole idea why the Chachamim Set up Eruvei Chatzeirot is for Darchei Shalom, to promote…