blessings
Did Moses Forget to Bless Simeon?
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz The Torah is not really a very large book. In a mere 79,976 Hebrew words, the Torah (Five Books of Moses) covers all of history from the creation until the Jews were ready to enter the Land of Israel. With such a...
Make the Right Choice Today
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz People who know me know that I cannot remember dates at all. I celebrated my 60th birthday twice because I couldn’t remember what year I was born. But I remember my daughter’s birthday every year. Why? A little...
How a Prophet Became a Contract Killer
The Torah portion of Balak features Balaam, an elder with a global reputation as a philosopher, magician, and moral degenerate. Balaam lived in Aram-Naharaim, the area between the northern sections of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, now...
How a Biblical Blessing can Change the Lives of your Children and Grandchildren
What is the power of a blessing? Can I really improve the lives of the people I love by blessing them? Though prayer and blessings are critically important to both Judaism and Christianity, there are surprisingly few formal prayers...
“Read the curses out loud”: From the Holocaust to the Holy Land
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin told the following story about Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, the spiritual leader of the Sanz-Klausenberg sect of Hassidic Jews. Rabbi Halberstam's wife, eleven children and most of his followers were murdered by...
Counting Jacob’s Blessings
Before he leaves the world, Jacob blesses his sons (Genesis 49). Similarly, Moses also blesses the tribes before he dies (Deuteronomy 33). But the two sets of blessings are very different. Not all of Jacob’s blessings are positive. It is,...
The Portion of Toldot
Our portion tells the story of Jacob and Esau, from birth through their famous feud. It also includes Isaac’s experiences in the land of Gerar, where he re-digs the wells of his father.
The Portion of V’Zot Habracha
V’Zot Habracha is the final portion of the Torah. In it, Moses blesses each of the tribes, as is customary in the Bible for parents to bless their children before dying. When Moses is done, God instructs him to ascend the mountain where...
The Portion of Behukotai
This week’s portion is the final one in the Book of Leviticus. It is often read in conjunction with the previous portion, Behar. Our portion contains a brief passage outlining the blessings God offers the Children of Israel on...
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