The Library

“His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all the brothers - so THEY HATED HIM...(37:4)" As we continue the Story of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, we learn in this Parsha about one of the most unimaginable episodes of the entire Torah. How could t...

The Torah relates that when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph, he adamantly refused. Then he said to her, "My master has entrusted me with everything he owns, and has not kept anything back from me except you, for you are his wife. How could I commit such a great wro...

"Battleworn" posted the following powerful Chizuk on the forum from a Shmooze by R' Tzvi Meir Zilberberg - Shvi'ee Shel Pesach 5759 (edited for clarity): The Chozeh from Lublin, The Beer Mayim Chaim, R' Hershele of Ziditshov, R' Tzadok Hacohen and other tzadikim all sai...

It's interesting to note, that although there were four people who never sinned; Binyamin, Amram, Yishai, and Kilav (son of Dovid HaMelech), only Yosef is called a Tzaddik - Yosef Hatzadik. Why? Because he was tempted and withstood the temptation. In my opinion, every mem...

I didn't want to get into my work today (Sundays are always hard to get back to work), so I surfed around. I wanted to surf lightly, not anything too arousing because I didn't want to fall this week. But of course, one thing led to another, and next thing I know, I'm surf...

"LampLighter" wrote on the forum: This week's parsha is talking to US! It deals with Yehuda's sons, who were killed for wasting seed, and this is the source brought down in Shulchan-Aruch for this aveira! We should always try to see the Torah as being given to us "hayom" ...

Vayafkichsau ess Yosef ess kitanto ess kisonas hapasim asher alav. Vayikachuhu vayashlichu osso haborah (37:23-24) Vayazov bigdo b'yada vayanas (39:12) Yosef lost his clothes twice; once through his brothers when they threw him into the pit, and once when he ran away from...

In Rabbi Frand's Shiur last night, he quoted the Tzror HaMor who quoted a Medrash that says that when the wife of Potifar was seducing Yoseph, he was trying to say no. Finally she was able to convince him to say, "Ok not today, but tomorrow". Yoseph agreed, which ultimate...

I heard the following from Rabbi Yisrael Dovid Shlesinger shlita (from Monsey): Yehuda said, "What gain will we have if kill our brother and hide his blood?" Anything a person does that he feels the need to hide afterward, shows that he realizes maybe he should not ha...

One of the rarest and most unusual "Trup" notes in the Bible is known in Hebrew as the "shalsheles." No other Trup is rendered in a repetitive style except the shalsheles, which stubbornly repeats itself three times. The graphic notation of this note, too, looks like a st...