וַיִּקְרְבוּ יְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָמוּת וַיִּקְרָא לִבְנוֹ לְיוֹסֵף וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ שִׂים נָא יָדְךָ תַּחַת יְרֵכִי וְעָשִׂיתָ עִמָּדִי חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת אַל נָא

What is the greatest blessing you can receive? To truly know who you are. In this week’s Torah portion, our forefather Yaakov bids farewell to

In Parshat Vayechi, Yaakov Avinu dies, leaving the brothers and Yosef in Egypt. After Yaakov’s death, the brothers get worried and feel that Yosef will

Professor Aaron Koller of Yeshiva University has written an important discussion of the word מכרתיהם and I would like to share it. It is found

Bittersweet Exile – A Reflection on Galut Many years ago, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat visited Highland Park, and described it as an example of

Asara B’Teves on a Friday. You may have heard that the Chasam Sofer and Avudraham explain that Asara B’Teves takes place on the day it

In Parshat Vayechi, the Torah speaks for the first time of someone becoming sick before they die. The elderly Yaakov falls ill, prompting Yosef to

When Jacob was a very old man and knew he was going to die, he called all his sons to come together. Everyone gathered around

Throughout his odyssey in the strange and perilous world of Egypt, Yosef displayed extraordinary emotional resilience. Merely surviving the ordeal of being sold multiple times

The Mishna Berura (28:9) notes that men should wrap their tefillin to appear like a dove’s wings. He explains that the intention is to commemorate

Last Sunday I wasn’t feeling well. Our family had just finished sitting shiva for Rabbi Singer zt”l. The physical and emotional exertion had caught up

In the early days, before the Baal Shem Tov haKadosh had publicly revealed his identity to others, he spent time traveling the countryside meeting and