The Difference a Day Can Make
Oct 3, 2014 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Yom Kippur
Wouldn’t it be grand to wipe the slate clean? What if there were a day in the calendar when the slate was simply wiped clean once again? No marks against you. No petty quarrels remembered, no grudges borne, no more grievances for trespasses petty or grievous. What if?
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On This Very Day
Sep 26, 2014 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Ha'azinu | Shabbat Shuvah | Yom Kippur
It’s difficult to overstate the pathos of Moshe’s last days. This man (and he is most assuredly a man, not a god, not a saint), who never wanted to be a leader—and after his first, impulsive attempt at leading was met with contempt from those he tried to save and condemnation from Pharaoh, his adoptive father (Exod. 2:11–15)—carried the burdens of prophetic leadership with fierce loyalty to both of his masters, God and the people.
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Lighting the Darkness
Jan 11, 2008 By Lisa Gelber | Commentary | Bo
It’s difficult not to notice darkness at this time of year; so many of us set out for work in the dark and leave our places of business long after the sun has set.
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Blessings From a Deathbed
Nov 22, 2007 By Charles Savenor | Commentary | Vayehi
Laying on his deathbed, Jacob beckons for his grandchildren, Ephraim and Manasseh.
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Jealousy As a Test of Virtue
Dec 14, 2007 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Vayiggash
Gifts can make you crazy. Picking them is hard, and so is accepting them with grace.
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Joseph the Righteous One
Dec 1, 2007 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Vayeshev
I have always been deeply curious as to why—of all the characters in the Torah—the Rabbis attributed to Joseph the appellation, “ha-Tzadik” (the righteous).
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Jacob’s Struggle Is Our Struggle
Nov 24, 2007 By Marc Wolf | Commentary | Vayishlah
“In olden times when wishing still helped, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which was seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face.”
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Why Are We Called the People of Israel?
Nov 17, 2007 By Edward Feld | Commentary | Vayetzei
We are called not the People Abraham, nor the People Isaac, rather we are called the People Israel, named for the third of the patriarchal family, Jacob.
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