Category: All Teachings
V’yeira: Four and Twenty Levites all Standing By!
This portion begins by taking a slight break in the narrative to introduce the heads of the families of the first three tribes. Previously, Aharon and Moshe had called upon Pharoah to release the...
Shemot: Riverboat Moses
The book of Exodus begins with the birth of Moshe, who inevitably becomes the Savior and Deliverer of the nation of Israel and who sets them free from their bondage in Egypt. In the...
Y’echi : The Mystery of Yosef’s Coffin
Genesis 50:25,26 “Yosef died at the age of one hundred and ten years, they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin/ark (ARON) in Egypt.” The bones (עצם) of Yosef were placed in...
V’yigash: Goshen, Chanukah and the Temple
This week’s portion is packed full of some of the most amazing connections to the Messiah; some are obvious and some not. So here is a rather unique perspective on the land of Goshen...
Mikketz: And Now the End is Near
One of the most important patterns in Scripture is the concept of the “Two Ages.” Understanding this gives us a window into how the sages viewed the Temple. They saw these ages as overlapping...
V’yashav: The Coat of the Righteous in the World to Come.
Perhaps one of the most enduring images in the Bible is Joseph’s coat of many colors. How many of us have put this picture up on a flannel board for a Sunday school class?...
V’yishlach: Rolling, Rolling, Rolling, Keep that Minchah Rolling
My attention was drawn in this week’s portion to the continual word play between the words for “favor,” “tribute,” and “camp.” It is something only seen and heard in the Hebrew language itself. An...
Jacob, A Perfect Ten
Parshah Vayeitzei – Genesis 28:10-32:3 The imagery of the Temple is captured in the “place” Jacob laid his head and in the service he performed in the Holy of Holies as High Priest. Although...
Two Kingdoms in Conflict from Birth
The oldest conflict in the world begins in the garden where the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil serve as metaphors for two opposing kingdoms, the Kingdom...