Jacob Blesses his Children

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

Topics include: a mystical reason for why tefillin are made of leather, the connection between Jacob and Rabbi Akiba, and why Jacob did not bless two of his twelve sons.

In the fifth section of the Torah portion of Vayechi, Jacob's blessings to four of his sons are grouped together: "A troop marches forth from the tribe of Gad... The tribe of Asher will be a wellspring of olive oil... Naftali is a swift gazelle... Joseph,...

A lesson from Jacob's blessing to his grandson Efraim.

"[Jacob] blessed [Ephraim and Menashe] on that day, saying: With you, Israel will bless, saying, 'May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe,'" (Genesis 48:20). Why do Jewish parents continue to this day to bless their children to be like these two gr...

From Yaakov rearranging his hands when blessing Yosef's two sons, and different from Yosef’s preference of whom to give precedence, we learn two key methods for spiritual success in spiritually unhealthy places.