Parashat Vayigash (Bereishis 44:18-34; 45:1-28) presents one of the most emotionally charged moments in the Torah. Yosef reveals himself to his brothers, the secret is uncovered, and the family begins ...

As I have mentioned in previous articles, one of the things I love about Judaism is that every week we as Jews are connected in our study of the weekly Torah portion. Jews all over the world are ...

The Torah describes the emotional upheaval, the sharp transition from deep sorrow to astonishment and joy, when Jacob discovers that Joseph is alive and even holds a senior position in Egypt. The ...

Our guest this week is Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Dean of the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. A descendent of 10 generations of rabbis, Rabbi Kelman became the first woman to be ordained by the Hebrew ...

What makes Joseph so keen on settling his family in a suburb of Egypt, in a place called Goshen (Genesis 46:31–34)? Isaac Arama suggests that Goshen was not a special place. As with many attractive ...

Our Guest this week is Rabbi Steven Schwartz, senior Rabbi of the Beth El Congregation in Baltimore. Rabbi Schwartz is a graduate of Brandeis University. He went on to earn a Masters degree in ...

When Jacob meets his son Joseph after twenty-two years of separation, the Torah states, “And he wept on his neck” (Genesis 46:29). The sentence speaks of only one individual crying: “And he wept.” To ...

At that moment Joseph breaks down completely. He orders everyone out of the room and weeps so loudly that the sound carries through the palace. He reveals himself to his brothers, embraces Benjamin, ...

Here, in our parsha, the Torah reinforces the idea that leadership is defined as the ability to provide for the physical and spiritual needs of others. How did Judah emerge from all of Jacob’s twelve ...

During times of distress, we pray יענך ביום צרה ישגבך שם אלוקי יעקב (תהילים כ). We are all familiar with this pasuk from weekday davening. Why the plea to the Lord of Jacob? Why not Avraham or ...

Why did Yosef tell his brothers to bring his father down to Egypt? We know that leaving the land of Israel was not something taken lightly by the forefathers. It was done in times of famine and only ...

It was over 45 years ago that I celebrated my Bat Mitzvah on this Shabbat, at Kehillat Eshel Avraham, in Beer-Sheva. The first bat-mitzvah of our synagogue, we were meeting in the library of a ...