ב"ה
Toldot 5765 - November 12, 2004
To Dig a Well
You need to pick a spot and stick with it. You can’t stop boring when you hit a rocky stretch, and you can’t take the work home with you.
You need to pick a spot and stick with it. You can’t stop boring when you hit a rocky stretch, and you can’t take the work home with you.
Parshah
Toldot in a Nutshell
After 20 childless years, Rebecca bears twins: Esau and Jacob. Esau prefers hunting; Jacob prefers Torah study. Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of red lentil soup. Jacob deceives his father for his blessing, and flees to escape Esau’s wrath.
After 20 childless years, Rebecca bears twins: Esau and Jacob. Esau prefers hunting; Jacob prefers Torah study. Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of red lentil soup. Jacob deceives his father for his blessing, and flees to escape Esau’s wrath.
Who Are You?
In prison, you lose your identity. You can't be a thief when you aren't stealing; you can't be a drug dealer when you aren't dealing. You have no status in the underworld and no status in the real world
In prison, you lose your identity. You can't be a thief when you aren't stealing; you can't be a drug dealer when you aren't dealing. You have no status in the underworld and no status in the real world
The Murky Truth About Truth
Is Torah really absolute, all-encompassing Truth? Do the rabbis never disagree? Could we have invented Teflon™ and Superglue™ just by reading Torah?
Is Torah really absolute, all-encompassing Truth? Do the rabbis never disagree? Could we have invented Teflon™ and Superglue™ just by reading Torah?
Living
The Donkey in the Pit
A donkey fell into a pit, and try as he might, his owner couldn't pull him out. Finally, the farmer decided that since the animal was old, and the pit needed to be covered up anyway, he'd just bury the old donkey right there...
A donkey fell into a pit, and try as he might, his owner couldn't pull him out. Finally, the farmer decided that since the animal was old, and the pit needed to be covered up anyway, he'd just bury the old donkey right there...
It is written, "For you (the people of Israel) shall be a desirable land, says G-d" (Malachi 3:12). Just as the greatest explorers will never uncover the limits of the great and valuable resources which the Almighty has placed within the earth, neither will anyone ever discover the limits of the great treasures which lie buried within a Jew -- G-d's "desirable land."
— Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov
Print Magazine
On Yom Kippur, the souls return to connect to their origin, carrying with them the divine sparks from all they've done in this world.
Their return rises like an aroma of burning incense through the atmosphere, and through endless strata of spiritual realms, until it reaches a place beyond higher and lower. It reaches the...
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