POPULARITY
Welcome to our daily Bitachon series. We're now in Haggadah shel Pesach in the unit of Metichila Ovdeh Avodah Zarah , going through the history of how we came from weak spiritual beginnings and ended up at the great levels that we reached. It started with Avraham who went through his Nisyonot , and then Hashem gave him Yitzchak . We're now in a pasuk in Yehoshua : וָאֶתֵּ֣ן לְיִצְחָ֔ק אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹ֖ב וְאֶת־עֵשָׂ֑ו וָֽאֶתֵּ֨ן לְעֵשָׂ֜ו אֶת־הַ֤ר שֵׂעִיר֙ לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אוֹת֔וֹ וְיַעֲקֹ֥ב וּבָנָ֖יו יָרְד֥וּ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ I gave Yitzchak two children. And I gave Eisav Mount Seir. And Yaakov and his children went down to Mitzrayim. Based on the reading, it sounds like somehow this connects our story from the beginning, M'tichila , and in the end He brought us close and then we talk about going down to Mitzrayim . How exactly does that connect? In Bereshit 36 pasuk 7 , the pasuk tells us that Eisav took his wives and his sons and his daughters and everyone in his household and his cattle and his assets and he went M'pne Yaakov achiv away from Yaakov his brother. Seemingly, M'pne Yaakov Achiv he went away from Yaakov because he didn't want to hang out with him. But Rashi quotes a different explanation from the Midrash . M'pne Yaakov achiv . M'pne sh'tar chov . It was because there was a contract of debt. What contract of debt? The gezera ki ger yeh zaracha . The B'rit B'nei B'tarim debt. There was a debt that Your children are going to be sojourners , which was placed on Zaroh shel Yitzchak / the seed of Yitzchak . Abraham Avinu was told that Hashem was going to create a nation from him that's going to be connected to God. Abraham then went through his test, and had Yitzchak . Now Yitzchak has Yaakov and Eisav and Eisav decides to abdicate and get out of it. He says, Eylech mi kan. Ein Li chelek I don't want to get the gift.. And I don't want to have to pay off this debt. I'm not interested. So now we can make sense of what's going on in this pasuk . This pasuk of Yehoshua is telling us that in order to reach greatness, we're going to have to go through trials and tribulations. Abraham Avinu started with Va'Arbe . Hashem gave him many of tests and challenges. Then Yitzchak had a child, Yaakov , and in order for him to be successful, he had to go down to Mitzrayim. It was in order to purify him; in order to make him great- because that's the way to reach greatness. We reach greatness through tests. The Ramchal in his Sefer Derech Hashem , Unit 4, Chapter 4, says that the purpose of Galut Mitzrayim was to make the Jewish people special forever. After Adam HaRishon sinned, the world was in a state of ruination, and evil was overcoming good. There was no real, strong, good spot until Avraham Avinu came about, and now he was going to be separate along with his children. But it still wasn't enough to create a nation , a nation that should reach the level to be crowned in greatness, because of the evil that was in the world. To quote the Ramchal 's words, They had to be exiled to Egypt. Yishtavdu sham, to be enslaved there. Votoh hashibur hagadol, through that great enslavement, y'tzuful, you'll become purified, kezahav, like gold betoch hakor, like you smelt the gold in a smelting pot. That's what was happening to the Jewish people. This is an important fundamental- that Galut is here to purify us and make us great. The Chida says something unbelievable. In sefer Chomot Anah , on Yeshayah 54,11, he says that the reason for Galut Mitzrayim was that the Torah is spiritual and cannot land on, or be held by a person who has improper thoughts, specifically arrogance. So in order to humble the Jewish people, we had to go to Mitzrayim , and that way could receive the Torah . In his sefer Yosef Tehillot , on Tehillim 119,72, he says, that's why the Galut we're going through today is so long. Why? Listen to these words, only the Chida could say this: Ki Zot ha-Torah , The Torah we have today, he hevel , is like hot air, lefnei torato shel Mashiach , compared to the Torah of Mashiach . In Mashiach's times, shigalet talumot v'sodot ha-Torah , It will be revealed, the hidden secrets of the Torah, in order to receive that level of depth of the Torah. The Torah is not going to change, rather, we're going to have a deeper understanding. Sarich ha-Achna'ah gedolah , we need tremendous levels of humility . That's why the Galut today is so difficult. This is an important rule- any time we are going through difficulties and challenges, we have to know Hashem is preparing us for things that are even greater. That's what we're being told here, in this Metchila Uvdeh Avodah Zarah Avoteno piece. It's talking about the spiritual greatness that we're going to reach. We started off with weak spiritual beginnings, but we're going to have an unbelievably happy ending. In order to get there, we have to go through trials and tribulations and challenges. That is the lesson of this unit. It's not just Avraham , it's not the Jewish people of Mitzrayim , it's every single individual in their lives. Furthermore, in Yosef Tehilot , again in 119.72, he says, that's why we see that people who learn Torah have financial struggles and difficulties. And he asks, What's going on? Doesn't Hashem want that the people that are learning Torah should be financially stable and have everything good? He says, No. Since Torah is spiritual, and those that learn have to be humble, they have to have certain challenges and difficulties. This is an eternal approach that G-d has. Bnei Yisaschar, in his Mamarim of Chodesh Nisan , essay number nine, brings down this concept. And pasuk actually says (Shemot 1,11), לְמַ֥עַן עַנֹּת֖וֹ בְּסִבְלֹתָ֑ם In order to pain or humble them in their hard work. He says that this was G-d's way of making us better. He adds that when a sick person is being treated by a doctor, quite often the treatment is very difficult and very painful. But after he goes through the treatment, the patient is going to hug the doctor and thank him for healing him. That is what is going on for us now, and it's an important Emunah lesson, that we learned from the Haggadah , specifically, from this unit of Metchila Ovdeh Avodah Zarah Hayu Avotenu .
Explaining the encrypted Letter. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah%20pdf/sx6txkff7uswifokbmzl.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yechezkel-hartman/support
Rashi (Bereishis 32:23) says that Yaakov hid Dinah in a box to prevent Eisav from taking her. He was therefore punished with Dinah being raped by Shechem. This episode discusses the following questions and more: 1) Would it really have been a good idea to use Dinah to bring Eisav to Torah? 2) Why was this appropriate punishment for Yaakov? 3) Where's the justice to Dinah?
Rabbi Feiner shiurim
Eisav was coming with 400 men. How did Yaakov Avinu fall asleep that night?
In this shiur, delivered at the Young Israel of New Rochelle Mishmar, Rav Burg explores Yaakov Avinu's psychological state after surviving Lavan and how he struggles with his inner Eisav to prepare for the battle ahead.
Two types of strengths and two different encounters with Eisav
In this week's episode Sara and Danny explore the enigmatic episode of Jacob's epic battle with Eisav-- and they bring out practical life insights. Some of these ideas were based on lessons from Rabbi Shmuel Silber and others. Enjoy this insightful analysis of Parshas Vayishlach.
Rabbi Feiner shiurim
The Gemara in Masechet Hagigah (5b) tells of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah, who was exceptionally effective in responding to the heretics of his time, those who worked to challenge Judaism and oppose the Jewish faith. When he grew old, and it was apparent that he would soon leave this world, the Rabbis approached him to express their concern over how they would deal with the heretics after his passing. Rabbi Yehoshua reassured the Rabbis by citing a pasuk (Yirmiyahu 49:7) indicating that when wise people are lost from the Jewish Nation, the wise from the enemy nations are lost, as well. Meaning, Hashem ensures to maintain a constant balance in the world between the forces of good and the forces of evil. And so if Rabbi Yehoshua, a strong counterforce to the powers of evil, was departing, then those forces will necessarily be diminished. Rabbi Yehoshua drew further support for this concept from a pasuk in Parashat Vayishlah. After Yaakov and Esav's dramatic reunion, Esav extends an offer to Yaakov, asking that they travel together: נסעה ונלכה, ואלכה לנגדך – 33:12). This indicates that "Yaakov" and "Esav" work in tandem. There is a certain balance between good and evil. Hashem sees to it that the forces of "Yaakov" and "Esav" work together in the sense that there is always good, and there is always bad. To probe a bit deeper, and to understand how this concept is practically relevant to each and every one of us, let us look at Yaakov Avinu's response to Esav's offer. Yaakov tells Esav to continue forward without him, עד אשר אבוא אל אדוני שעירה – until Yaakov would eventually catch up to him, in Seir. Meaning, Yaakov declines Eisav's offer, preferring that Esav go forward while he, Yaakov, would travel at his own place and join Eisav at some point in the future. Of course, as we know, Yaakov never went to join Esav in Se'ir. He went to Eretz Yisrael , and his descendants, the Jewish People, have always lived separate and apart from Esav. Rashi explains that Yaakov referred to the time of Mashiah , when the world will reach perfection, at which point the descendants of Yaakov and Esav will be reunited. In our current reality, until the time of Mashiah , we are in a constant state of limbo. We are always on a journey, making our way to our destination, without reaching it. This is true both in the national sense, regarding Am Yisrael 's journey, and individually, in the life of each person. The Jewish People have almost always been on a journey, having experienced virtually no periods of perfect stability, where we were right where we were supposed to be. But this is true also individually. Is there any person who can say that he is precisely where he wants to be, that his marriage is perfect, his income is perfect, his health is perfect, his children are perfect, all his relationships are perfect, his religious observance is perfect, and everything in life is exactly the way he wants it to be? Of course not. In every person's life, there is a "balance" between "Yaakov" and "Esav," between good and bad. There are things to be grateful for, and there are things which we would prefer not to have to deal with. Until Mashiah comes, we are on a journey, during which we balance these two aspects of our reality. It is vitally important for us to recognize this truth, that life is not supposed to be perfect, that we cannot and should not expect it to be perfect. We feel discontented and aggravated because we expect to already be at our destination, to reach the completion of our journey, to experience perfection. When we live with this expectation, we make it all but inevitable that we will feel unhappy and bitter due to life's challenges. Once we realize that life is supposed to be a journey, that we are supposed to live in limbo, then life's challenges become so much easier to deal with. We accept them as part of our journey, as part of the "Yaakov-Esav balance" that we are supposed to experience. We will recognize that we have so much goodness in our lives to rejoice over, alongside the hardships which we are expected to handle to the best of our ability. Many people go through life thinking that once such-and-such problem is resolved, their lives will be perfect and they will feel happy. But by the time that problem is resolved, there is another problem which arises – and this becomes the problem that needs to be solved in order to attain happiness. We must train ourselves to accept the reality of our life's ongoing journey, that life will always be a balance of "Yaakov" and "Esav," of the good and the less good, and we can feel content and blessed with the good fortune we enjoy even while struggling with the less desirable aspects of our lives.
Chanukah is almost upon us! We begin our Chanukah journey this year with a deep dive in to the fight between Yaakov and the Angel of Eisav. The hit in the hip reveals all!
In this week's parsha podcast, Rabbi Elchonon Cohen gives an overview of the weekly parsha, and we delve into the preparation and meeting of Yaakov and Eisav. If you enjoy the Toras Chaim Podcast, please help us spread the word! You can share a link on social media, leave a review or rating on your favorite podcast platform, or best of all, discuss what you've learned at the shabbos table! We love to hear from our listeners. Be it comments, questions or critique. You can send an email to overtimecook@gmail.com or via instagram @OvertimeCook or @Elchonon. Thanks for listening!
Chag Hageulah - Yud Kislev (27:12)
In this shiur, delivered in Ba'er Miriam, Rav Burg explains the difference between how Eisav raises his children in resentment and Yosef raises his children to let go of their trauma and find greatness in their struggles.
You Must Know How to Respond to the Voices in Your Head Trying to Detach You - Weekly Women's Class: This class was presented on Tuesday, 9 Kislev, 5785, December 10, 2024, Parshas Vayishlach, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9515
Rabbi Jacobson will discuss the following topics: How should we react to the horrific murder of R' Zvi Kogan hy”d? What are its deeper implications? Is this a sign of a widening war against Jews? Should we be afraid? How are we to understand Iran's extreme hostility and hatred toward Israel and Jews? If we defeated the Persians on Purim, why do we still need to contend with Iran? Can we interpret the Yalkut Shemoni as referring to today's events? Would it be correct to say that the current Iranian regime, established in 1979, is like an alter ego (le'umas zeh) of Chabad, l'havdil elef havdolos? Is evil a creation or only the absence of good? Why do we need evil, especially extreme evil? How do we explain why we are challenged today to face rising crime and terrorism? How does the Rebbe Rashab explain why saying amen yehei shmei rabba with all our might eliminates negative decrees? What do we learn from Parshas Toldos? What can we learn from the Baal HaTurim explaining the connection between the end of last week's portion and the beginning of this week's? What is the central theme of this Torah portion? Why did Rivkah not try to intervene after hearing that she was carrying the wicked Esau in her womb? How could Eisav legally sell his birthright, and how could his blessings be “stolen”? Should I attend a family Thanksgiving turkey dinner?
Parshat Vayetzei Erasing all your aveiros! (Even Eisav) Torah from the ghetto doesn't work in the shmutz! Can the younger sibling get married before the older!?!?
Rabbi Feiner shiurim
This one gets heavy. We begin with the background of Yaakov & Eisav , but quickly become aware that there is more than meets the eye in their incredible story. -WARNING-This one gets pretty emotional at the end as it finds its climax in the enormous power of Leah's tears.
After Yaakov expressed concern that Yitzchak would feel him and notice he wasn't Eisav, why didn't Rivka immediately tell Yaakov her plan of putting hairy skins on his arms and neck? And what did she tell him?
Rashi (Breishis 25:26) tells us that Yaakov was grabbing Eisav's heel while emerging from the womb because he was trying to take the bechora that rightfully belonged to him. This episode analyzes this strange midrash and other pesukim/Rashi's that discuss the meaning(s) of the name “Yaakov.”
Rabbi Feiner shiurim
Although he was not twenty years old. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah pdf/cqkiclyvr3vej0tdw3d9.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yechezkel-hartman/support
In this episode Menachem explores the jewish idea of meaningful feasts (and the American tradition of a Thanksgiving Feast) and how that correlates to the story of Yitzchak Avinu in specific his relationship to Eisav... Sign Up for our Newsletter!! Please visit our website Thelightrevealed.org for more great content and to reach out or check us out on social media and reach out by email!The Conscious(ly) teamHost: Menachem PoznanskiSocial Media: Zoe PoznanskiMusic by Eitan Katz F/t ZushaWebsite: TheLightRevealed.orgEmail: TheLightRevealed@TLRFamily.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelightrevealed/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelightrevealed/
Shiur given by Rabbi Chezky Sherman at Night Seder Thursday Night. Shiur recorded in Yeshivas Ohr Reuven, Monsey, NY.
The story of Yaakov and Eisav reveals the tragic nature of the loss of a great potential reality
Why was Yaakov preparing Lentil soup? What did Eisav mean when he said "look, I am going to die"? Why Did Eisav call it 'red stuff' instead of just calling it 'lentil soup'? What was so special about the blessings that caused both Eisav and Yaakov to want them so badly? How were these blessings different than the ones Yitzchak eventually gave to Eisav?
HaRav Nosson Nusbaum recounts the story of Yaakov and Eisav, and shares some very interesting nekudos, which shed light on their complicated relationship.
Was Eisav good or bad? He married a good woman, but didn't leave the bad ones...Yitzchak was intent on the good side of Eisav wanting to bless him, how do we navigate the mixture of good and bad and sometimes the hypocrisy in it? What about when I think something is good but perhaps its actually not? Learn the Sicha and hear what the Rebbe has to say :) Chelek Lamed Hay, page 131
This morning we discuss the blessing Yitzchak gives his son (thinking it is Eisav, actually Yaakov). Rabbi Yaakov Neuberger suggests that the blessing is in two parts, and both parts are necessary, including when we bless our children and grandchildren. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (rabbi@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.
Welcome to our Summer Learning Series! This series is on the topic of Chassidic insights into the wedding ceremony. This episode kicks off with Part 1 of a 2-part session featuring Mrs. Tzipah Wertheimer, shlucha to Queens College, writer, educator and Mikvah.org certified Kallah Teacher. In this episode we begin learning about fasting and renewal on the wedding day and how we can learn this from Eisav. Click here to view the source sheet Click here to view the text of the Sicha --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mikvah/support
Rabbi Feiner shiurim
In this exceptionally deep shiur delivered in Tomer Devorah Rav Burg explores the nature of sibling rivalry as it relates to Galus. From Yaakov and Eisav to Yosef and his brothers and ultimately to Rav Akiva's Talmidim, Galus is a product of the wounds we do not heal and the healing words left unsaid. Only through communication will we let go of resentment and choose love. Source sheet can be found at www.sefaria.org/sheets/563324
The problem with Eisav is not open entity, but treachery
A dvar Torah on parashat Vayishlach by Ms. Ezra Furman. Featuring Jacob/Israel, Eisav, a mysterious man, Abraham, and enemies.
Eisav was a lover of luxuries. But what's that got to do with me? Am I not entitled to spoil myself a little?
If you don't appreciate it, you may as well not have it. Isn't that a disturbing thought? Of course, appreciation is at the core of kibud av v'eim, a mitzvah that Eisav HaRasha excelled in. Think about it. By the age of fifteen, Eisav had already killed a man, lived with a married woman, denied the Torah and renounced mitzvos, techias hameisim and olam haba. Devoid of morality, it seems puzzling that he was so careful to honor his father Yitzchak. In this week's Shmuz on the Parsha, Rabbi Shafier takes a deeper look as to why kibud av was so instinctual to even a lowlife like Eisav. Ready to gain a golden ticket to happiness and meaning? Listen now