By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Learning Torah with my ten-year-old son is a challenging experience. He asks the obvious questions that are disturbingly difficult to answer. “Abba, did God promise all of Israel to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?” he...
After settling in Hebron, Jacob’s sons (minus Joseph) traveled north to herd their flocks in Shechem. Jacob, now called Israel, sends Joseph to meet his brothers. Joseph arrives in Shechem, a distance of about 50 miles from Hebron, but...
The city of Shechem is mentioned as one of the first places Abraham passed through when he arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:5). Later in the Bible, Dina, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, was raped by Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite,...
This map features Avraham’s journey to and throughout the Promised Land, as described in Genesis 11:31-23:20.
Jacob is torn between two values – the desire to live in peace and be accepted by the local inhabitants, and the desire to defend the honor of his daughter and of his family. This week’s portion tells of Jacob’s return to the Land of...
