Vayeitzei Videos

A taste of Shazak Parsha, where the weekly Torah portion comes alive! Geared for kids... Great for adults!

Jono tries to beat the world record for the longest time staying awake, and a talking sheep gives him medical advice. Find out why in this week's Parshah Report!

Envy is a grievous sin. It’s on the top ten list engraved on Moses’s stone tablets. And yet even envy can assume a form that is healthy and holy. (“Parsha Perks” with Dr Michael Chighel | Veyetze)

Topics include: Jacob's dream, Laban as the embodiment of the Primordial Serpent, the conception of Reuben, a deeper meaning of the name "Vayeitzei."

We learn from our father Jacob an important lesson in when and how to forgo a personal religious stringency in the face of a greater obligation.

At the tender age of 76, the “Perfect Patriarch” first experiences profound prophecy, and is motivated to articulate his desire to pursue and promulgate peace. Yet despite the seeming predictability of peace as an ideal, something about the entire narrative seems off. This insightful rumination opens with a straightforward analysis of the Scripture, yet swiftly develops into a sophisticated, and profoundly mystical presentation revealing a fascinating perspective on life, living and the purpose of our very existence. Jacob's journeys, and yearnings for peace demonstrate how we can all better achieve inner peace and self-actualization!

Jacob’s seventh son is Gad, a name that means “good luck” (Genesis 30:11). But do Jews really believe in luck?

Jacob has a vision which encapsulates the future of the Jewish people and climaxes with the promise of "Ufarazta" -- the power to spread forth, transcending all limitations.

Study some of the highlights of the weekly Torah portion with insights from various commentaries.

The parsha of Vayeitzei contains 148 verses and the mnemonic for it are the words ‘chelki’ (my portion) and ‘machanayim’ (camps). Explore the coded message in the mnemonic and its connection to the general themes of the Parshah.

On his journey leaving Israel, Jacob sleeps a night at Mount Moriah, where he has a special dream. Prior to retiring he surrounds himself with rocks, and the next morning he anoints oil on the monument of stone. Discover what is the point in all of this.

This fascinating exposition about Mother Leah reveals stunning details of her exquisite persona and the extraordinary power of (her) tears! See how her holy fervour becomes infectious; ultimately inspiring us all with intensified spiritual yearning.

Jacob’s carefully planned marriage is the only wedding party ever documented in the Torah. It ended up becoming an epic matrimonial mix-up, which surprisingly continues to affect the way we do Jewish weddings today. According to the literal biblical narrative, the groom assumed he married his beloved bride, only to find out the very next morning that, in fact, he married her sister. What exactly transpired on that surreal evening, and how would it be possible for a groom not to know who he married? Discover fascinating details that shed a great deal of light on this otherwise enigmatic story.

A tiny fissure in the textual surface alerts us to the deep seismic movement beneath the crust of the Parsha’s opening narrative, as the choice of an unusual word sets off an exploration into kindred yet vastly different paranormal journey's through time and space. Here biblical exegesis and sci-fi quantum physics theories intersect and coalesce – leading us into a profound new understanding of our sacred mission to sublimate reality and transform this world into a holy habitat.

Judaism can't only be about our own spiritual growth—a lesson we from Yaakov and his sheep. (Based on Likkutei Sichos vol. 15 Vayeitzei, sicha 4)

There are some moments in our lives when we are at peace with our inner, spiritual selves. The majority of our experiences are strenuous, often painful, and challenge us to overcome the negative urges of our psyche.

Miri gets a hi-tech lesson on “How Do Prayers Work?” We’re still waiting for the app.

It’s so hard to know when we’re being taken advantage of, exploited, or even worse, abused. Finding the strength to set clear boundaries and knowing when to walk away is challenging. Learn insights and tools to recognize such situations and move forward with greater clarity.

What does it mean to be “a good Jew”? It all depends on which direction you’re heading.

Which sister are you: the perfect, lovable individual or the weary, weakened, worried one? Here's how you can find your own inner light even in if you are surrounded by a harsh, wearying darkness.

Rachel’s reason for naming her son Yosef, affords a healthy perspective when reaching a new milestone.

A conversation between an ancient Roman noblewoman and a Talmudic sage about making matches.

Learning from the stories of Rabbi Akiva’s wife Rachel and Jacob’s wife Rachel in how to empower Jewish women today. (A talk at the Jewish Women’s Retreat in Toronto in 2015)

This class explores the mystical meaning of nature’s most natural shape, the circle. The definition of time in light of Kabbalah is addressed and a new appreciation of Shabbat and its unique connection to our patriarch Jacob emerges.

The three patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all encountered the future site of the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple. However the description of that location differed for each Patriarch. To Abraham it was a mountain, to Isaac a field, and to Jacob a house. This class will explore the significance of these differences and the relevance to our times. (Likutei Sichos vol. 15)

Jewish people have three daily prayer services. The first is Shacharit (the morning prayer), then Minchah (the afternoon prayer), and finally Maariv (the evening prayer.) But from another perspective, one can argue that since the Jewish day begins at sundown, the first prayer is really the evening prayer. Does it make a difference if we view the order of the prayers as morning/afternoon/evening or as evening/morning/afternoon?

What is the objective of prayer? Discover five layers of understanding to the mitzvah of prayer.

The ninth of Kislev marks the birth and passing of the second Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Dovber of Lubavitch. The tenth of Kislev celebrates his liberation from Czarist imprisonment. Learn what’s uniquely special about his life and the connection to the parsha of Vayeitzei.

Yaakov encountered two groups of angels to escort him in his travels, which symbolize two modes of divine service for us as well.

Following the month of Tishrei, which is filled with holidays and mitzvahs, we are fortified with the power to take on and transform the world. Discover the mystical connection to the narrative of Yaakov journeying from Lavan. (Based on Likutei Sichos vol. 15 Vayeitzei, sicha 5)

It's insufficient to rid our world of negativity, the real challenge is to transform the negative to positive.

Why Rashi adds an apparently superfluous layer to why Leah called her firstborn son Reuven.

Shabbos, as you've never understood it before!

The Holy Temple: A story in three acts that captures the spectrum of the Jewish spiritual journey.

Our soul is dramatically elevated through the spiritual work we do in our lives- but the ultimate objective is deeper than that.

Judaism can't only be about our own spiritual growth—a lesson from Yaakov’s preoccupation with sheep.

How we are empowered to radically transform the world.

We learn from Yaakov how to be joyous in the darkest times.

Discover how leaving your comfort zone is the way to truly find your strongest self, as can be learned from this biblical narrative.

Ch. 28, verse 10- 11: Introduction, Yaakov leaves Beer Sheva and goes to Charan. He reaches the place of the Temple and sleeps there because the sun sets early. He takes 12 stones from the area to protect his head.

Ch. 28, verses 12 -15: Yaakov has a dream in which Hashem promises to protect him and his descendants and to give him the land that was promised to his grandfather. Also to return him back to the land.

Ch. 28, verses 16 -22: Yaakov wakes up from his dream and realizes that the place he slept was the house of G-d, and that he had just received a prophecy. He anoints the stone and calls the place Luz. He then asks Hashem to give him "food to eat and clothes to wear" and to return him back to his father's house in peace. In return he promises to give one fifth of all that he has to G-d.

Ch. 29, verse 1 -12: Yaalov travels to Charan. He comes to a well where three Shepherds are waiting to water their sheep. They are waiting for the other shepherds to roll the stone off the well so that they can all water their sheep. In the meantime Rachel comes and he kisses her and he cries. Rachel runs to tell her father that Yaakov has arrived.

Ch. 29, verses 13 - 25: Yaakov meets Lavan. Lavan hires Yaakov to tend his sheep and agrees to work for seven years to marry Rachel. Lavan tricks him and gives him Leah his older daughter instead. The night after the wedding Yaakov realizes that he has been duped and confronts Lavan and asks him, why he tricked him?

Ch. 29, verses 26 - 35: Lavan explains to Yaakov why he gave him Leah instead of Rachel. He agrees to work another seven years for Rachel. He marries her seven days later. Hashem sees that Leah is not loved and gives her four sons, while Rachel remains barren.

Ch. 30, verses 1 - 21: Rachel sees that she is not bearing any children so she gives Yaakov her handmaiden Bilhah as a wife. She bears him two sons. Leah who has also stopped having children gives Yaakov her handmaiden Zilpah for a wife and she bears two more sons for him. Then Leah gives the "mandrakes" that her son had given her to Rachel in exchange for a marital night with Yaakov and she gives birth to Issacher. She then bears the tenth son to Yaakov, Zebulun. After that she gives birth to a daughter, Dinah.

Ch.30, verses 22-43: Rochel gives birth to Yosef, and Lavan strikes a deal with Yaakov to tend his sheep for profit. Lavan tries to cheat Yaakov many times, but Hashem protects him and he becomes very wealthy in spite of Lavan's deception.

Ch. 31, verses 1 - 35: Yaakov realizes that his relationship with Lavan has deteriorated. He had his wives come out to the field and he informs them that Hashem has told him to return to the land of his father. They agree, and he leaves without Lavan's knowledge. Rachel takes her father's "terafim" with her. Lavan hearing that Yaakov has fled, chases after him. He is visited by G-d in a dream and told not speak neither good nor bad to Yaakov. Lavan reaches Yaakov's camp and rebukes him for leaving without saying good bye, and asks why he had stolen his gods? Yaakov tells him that "with whomever you find your gods, he shall not live." He searches and finds nothing.

Ch. 31, verse 36 – Ch. 32, verse 3: Yaakov expresses his anger that Lavan has searched all of his possessions. They decide to make a treaty between them at "Galaid." They sit down to a meal, and Lavan spends the night. Lavan gets up early in the morning and goes back to his place. Yaakov leaves and he is met by the angels of Hashem.

We rush out of work and head to our homes as if we're escaping from a dark prison cell. Does G-d really want us to subject ourselves to this self-imposed daily incarceration?

Jacob’s dream of angels ascending and descending on a ladder teaches us a lesson about seizing opportunities. Presenter: Rabbi Glass