The Library

הודו להשם כי-טוב כי לעולם חסדו "Thank Hashem for He is good, for His Kindness lasts forever!" (Psalm 118): As we continue the Story of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, we learn in the Parsha about Yakov's marriage to Rachel and Leah - (which I find interesting since Yakov ...

We all know the story of Yaakov and the shepherds from Parshas Vayetze. Did you ever wonder how Yaakov Avinu single handedly removed such a large rock from on top of the well? If he was an “Ish Tam Yoshev Ohalim” how did he have this kind of super-human strength? To answ...

In this week’s parsha (29-10) we find that Yaakov Avinu was incredibly strong. He moved a stone, which required many shepherds to roll, without difficulty. Rash”i says that the Torah tells this to us to show us that he was very strong. The obvious questions are: 1. How di...

The possuk says that the Malachim were עלים וירדים בו. Rashi points out that first they were going up and then going down. I think Rashi is giving a mesage of chizzuk. In order to fall one must go up first. So if you do fall know that there must have been an aliyah fi...

Vayesfu kol ha'adarim v'galelu ess ha'even me'al pi habe'eir.Every one of us walks around with 'wellsprings' in our hearts. But - a problem! There is a huge rock on top! We cannot remove it by ourselves. The individuals who can singlehandedly remove the stone are few &...

"Vayelech Yakov Charanah" - Yakov left with the intention of reaching Charan. Later on, it says "Vayelech artzah bnei kedem."The Meshech Chochmah explains: originally Yakov left with the intent on running and hiding with his mother's family, in Charan, to keep himself saf...

“And Jacob said to his brothers: ‘Gather stones’.” ~ Genesis 31:46 Jacob only had one brother, Esau. Moreover, it’s disrespectful to instruct those who aren’t obligated to obey. So Jacob must be speaking to his sons. Yet the verse refers to them as his brothers - ...

A Gerrer chasid took leave from his Rebbe before departing on a business trip to Paris. The Rebbe had a request for him, can he please buy some Cuban cigars for the Rebbe in Paris? The Chasid gladly agreed, thrilled at the chance to be of service to his Rebbe! While in Pa...

Jacob reprimanded the shepherds who were sitting idly by the well: "Water the sheep and go graze them." The shepherds explained that they could not move the boulder that covered the well until all the shepherds came (Genesis 29:7-8). Couldn't Jacob see that there was a hu...

In Parshas Vayeitzei when Yaakov Avinu came to the well and met the shepherds there, he asked them "From where do you come?" and they replied "from Charan". Explains the the Holy Noam Elimelech that Charan mean "wrath", and that the Pasuk is alluding to our spiritual grow...

On Pesach we say "Bikesh Lavan La'akor es Hakol" - "Lavan tried to destroy everything" (even more than Pharaoh). The question is asked, where do we find in the scripture that Lavan tried to destroy everything? The holy sefer, the "Ma'or Vashemesh" writes that Lavan is sym...

With Hashem's help, I reached 90 days over the summer - which was quite an achievement for me. Unfortunately I fell a few weeks later, just before Yomim Noraim and I've been up and down since then, peaking at 30 clean days. The falls come and go - they've been emotionally...

At the beginning of this week's Parsha, the Torah tells us of the vision of the ladder which Ya'akov Avinu was shown as he fled from Esav. Rav Dessler ZT"L sees the ladder as the symbol of man's "ascent" in his service of HaShem. This service is like a ladder firmly plant...