Parasha Insights

Today Friday, December 20th, is Yud Tet Kislev the nineteenth of Kislev marks The Rosh Hashana of Chasidut, and the day when the light and life of the depths of our souls was given to us, and a Chag hachagim on the release of the first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, from Russian prison 225 years ago. He had been imprisoned by the Russian Tzar who disliked the Jewish people and blamed the Rebbe for his constant financial support for the Jewish community in Israel (punishment for supporting Israel is nothing new!), which was then under part of the Ottoman Empire (who were considered enemies of Russia). He sat in a Russian jail for 53 days; his liberation was a celebration for the entire Jewish people and the teaching of the … Read More »

A Jew ends up sleeping in the same train compartment as a general of the Russian army. He tells the conductor to wake him up at 4 a.m. so he can get off at his stop. He is awakened at the proper time, yet in the dark, he mistakenly puts on the general's clothes instead of his own.

When he gets home, his wife asks him if everything is all right. He looks in the mirror and answers, "It seems like the conductor woke up the general instead of me."

The episode in this week’s portion, Vayishlach, in which the Jewish people acquire its eternal name, Israel, is among the most mysterious in the entire Torah. Yet if we fail to grasp this enigmatic story, we cannot understand who we are and what our name, calling, and destiny are.

T… Read More »