Jacob comes back to the land he left, and hears that Esau is coming out to meet him with 400 men. Frightened for his family, he splits the camp, sends them ahead and stays behind the Jabbok River that night by himself. That night he wrestles with an angel, who
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world– our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who
Have you ever been to therapy? Not physical therapy, but emotional/mental therapy? I did when I was a kid, for about 6 months, and also when going through my divorce, for almost a year. It did some good, but I have found that a loving partner, or even a good friend,
Another great story from the bible. Jacob goes to find a wife, sees and immediately falls in love with Rachel, the daughter of Laban. Laban, the head of the family, welcomes Jacob in and Jacob lives with them. Laban offers to pay Jacob for the help Jacob provides, and Jacob
David tells us, over and over in the psalms he wrote, that the joy of the Lord is wonderful. When we think of God we think of love, peace, joy and salvation. It is true that knowing the Lord has given me a sense of peace I never had before, and
Paris, Paris, Paris- that’s all the rage now. People change their FaceBook page to reflect the Parisian flag, they post requests to pray for Paris, it’s the top story in all the papers. I remember Paris back in the day when it was the safe house for all terrorists. The Parisian
This parashah has one of the best known stories of the bible- the selling of the birthright. Esau is hungry and asks his brother, Jacob, for some lentil stew he was making. Jacob says he will give it to Esau if Esau sells his birthright as the firstborn to Jacob. Esau
The first reason I gave why maintaining our faith is so difficult (Nov 9, 2015 post) was because we live in a disposable world. This second reason is similar: we want immediate gratification. I know that all good things come to those who wait, but I don’t want to wait. I want
What makes faith so difficult to have? It’s probably because you have to believe in something that isn’t really there- you can’t touch it, you can’t see it, you can know it’s presence and you can see it’s effect on the world around you, but still- it’s not like you
We start with the death of Sarah, and end with the deaths of Abraham and Ishmael. The main part of this parashah is how God led Eliezer to find Rivkah (Rebekah) for Yitzchak (Isaac) and we already get to see in Laban’s actions his treachery and greediness. He was attracted