This Week

Eikev: Remember the Entire Road

By Zachary Fish “Trauma” is a buzzword nowadays. In the modern language around trauma and trigger warnings, the instinct is often to avoid revisiting painful experiences and, as much as possible, leave them in the past. In this week’s parsha, though, the Torah tells us something almost opposite: וזכרת את כל הדרך אשר הוליכך ה׳ אלהיך זה ארבעים שנה במדבר למען ענתך לנסתך לדעת את אשר בלבבך התשמר מצותו אם לא. ויענך וירעבך ויאכלך את המן אשר לא ידעת ולא ידעון אבתיך למען הודיעך כי לא

Zachary Fish

Jul 304 min read

Comfort In Hope

That is the vision of Vaetchanan. To keep yearning. To keep believing. To keep looking beyond what our eyes immediately see. To refuse despair, even when hope feels irrational.

Ian Schwartz

Jul 263 min read

Vayishlach: The Battle of Darkness and Dawn

By Rabbi Josh Appel Winston Churchill often spoke of his personal battles with what he called his “Black Dog,” a metaphor for the depression that followed him through much of his life. For a man celebrated as a beacon of resilience during some of the darkest days of human history, this internal battle was no less tumultuous than the external war he helped to win. This brings us to Yaakov, who also faced a mysterious and lonely battle in the dead of night: Jacob was left alone

Josh Appel

Dec 5, 20253 min read

Vayera: Beyond Our Nature

By Seth Jacobs Avraham and Yitzchak were walking together towards הר המוריה. The wheels in יצחק’s head were turning, and he was beginning to realize what was happening. He turned to אברהם and said "אבי" my father and then remained quiet, waiting for a response. The כלי יקר explains that this was actually a question. יצחק wanted to see whether אברהם still saw him as a son, or whether he no longer cared and was acting out of his own volition. When אברהם responded "הנני בני",

Seth Jacobs

Nov 7, 20253 min read

Bereishis: When Life Doesn’t Follow the Script

By Aryeh Bienstock At the end of the 6 th day of creation, the Torah says that Hashem saw that all that he made was very good. וַיַּ֤רְא אֱלֹקִים֙ אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם הַשִּׁשִּֽׁי׃ However, throughout the opening perakim of Bereshit, we see that things didn’t go so well or seemingly as planned. We have the sin of Adam and Chava with the Etz HaDaat , Kayin killing Hevel, the destruction of the world in the floo

Aryeh Bienstock

Oct 17, 20252 min read