Rabbi Levin's Blog

Dedicated to the memory of the holy martyr Rabbi Zvi Kogan, may Hashem avenge his blood.  Esav was an unsavory character in many ways.  In contrast to his holy brother Yaakov, he was a murderer, a rapist, and a lot more.  A word that came to my mind recently to describe him in modern terms is “entitled.”  He was the epitome of entitlement.   There are many Midrashic and mystical explanations for why the whole story with the blessings happened as it did, why Yitzchak favored Esav and why Yaakov had to trick his father to “steal” the blessings from his brother, but let’s look at the narrative on a simple level.   Yitzchak was planning to give the greatest blessings ever bestowed on anyone to his firstborn son, in order for him to use those blessings to improve the world.  Esav had tricked his father into believing that he at least had some righteous tendencies or potential.  He showed tremendous respect and deference to his father.  A...

There is a general principle in giving according to Torah that while we should be generous, we should not give everything away.  Rambam (Mishneh Torah Arachim 8:13) writes:  “A person should never consecrate all of his property or designate it as a dedication offering. A person who does so violates the Torah 's guidance, as [ Leviticus 27:28 ] says [of a person designating a dedication offering] "from all that is his." [Implied is that he should not give] "all that is his," as our Sages explained.  This is not piety, but foolishness, for he will lose all his money and become dependent on others.” It is therefore a little hard to understand why Avraham didn’t follow this teaching. His son Yitzchak was not allowed to leave the Holy Land.  He had been offered as a sacrifice, and therefore needed to remain within the boundaries of what would later become Israel.  Avraham wanted to find him a wife.  The local Canaanites were corrupt and Avraham wanted to assist ...

  Empathy.  It is a powerful emotion that can change another person’s life.  Empathy means to really “get” the other person. To understand and feel what they are going through and their needs.  Empathy begins with noticing the other and their state of mind. Modern psychology places a tremendous emphasis on empathy.  There are many books and podcasts and lectures dealing with this subject, and the Torah taught us this over 3,300 years ago.  In the Parsha this week we find a demonstration of empathy by no less than the first father of the Jewish people, Avraham. The Parsha opens with Hashem appearing to Avraham.  As our Sages explain the story, Avraham was in pain after having circumcised himself three days earlier at age 99.  Hashem, Who observes His own Mitzvot, came to visit the sick.  Then Avraham looks up and sees three men.  “He saw and behold three men were standing before him, and he saw and he ran towards them from the entranc...

Abraham is the first of our three forefathers. He is, then, the father of the Jewish Nation and its founder. Yet he is referred to in the Torah as the “father of a multitude of nations.” Adam and Noach are universal leaders. Adam is the father of all humankind, as is Noach since the rest of humanity was wiped out in the Flood, as we learned in last week’s Parsha.  Our forefather Yaakov (also called Yisrael) and our Moshe Rabbeinu were Jewish leaders. The Jews are known as B’nai Yisrael - Israel’s children, and we are all descended from him (or have joined his children by conversion).  Moshe took us out of Egypt and brought us the Torah. He is to this day referred to as Moshe Rabbeinu, our teacher and leader.  Avraham has both distinctions. On one hand he is the founder of Judaism. He recognized Hashem in a time when the world was idolatrous, and Hashem made a special connection with him, promising the Land of Israel to his children and that his legacy would always continu...

The opening verse of the Parsha of Noach says  “ The following are the descendants of Noach. Noach was a righteous man; faultless in his generations. Noach walked with Hashem. ”    Wait a second. I thought you were telling me about Noach’s descendants. You don’t expect the Torah to shift in the middle of a sentence. Only in the next verse, after the interruption, does it state: “ Noach was the father of three sons: Shem, Cham, and Yaphet.” Rashi comments on this. “‘ The following are the descendants of Noach – Noach was a righteous man ’ - Since the verse mentions him, it relates his praise, in accordance with what is written: ‘The mention of a right­eous person is for blessing.’  Another explanation why his descendants are not immediately mentioned: It teaches you that the main progeny of righteous people is their good deeds.” In 1984, the Rebbe commented that this teaches a very important lesson for children’s education.  A preface: While Rashi’s commentary is...

I grew up listening to stories about Simchat Torah in the most difficult circumstances.  My grandmother, who had been left alone to raise her children after the Soviets had arrested her husband for being Jewish, heard a rumor that there would be a secret Simchat Torah celebration several miles away from where she was living.  She took her children and walked for miles so they could see it.  It took some convincing to get the Chassidim to let her in and not worry that their secret would get out. Through thick and thin, under the most difficult and dangerous circumstances, Jews have gotten together to celebrate Simchat Torah.  In exile in Babylon, under the Romans, during the Inquisition, through the persecution of the pogroms, in Nazi death camps, Jews have observed this day with joy.  In hidden cellars in the Soviet Union, they danced in their socks and whispered the songs in order not to be caught.  I have also heard from Russian Jews that even though it w...

(Reminder to make an Eruv Tavshilin on Wednesday in order to be permitted to cook on Friday for Shabbat.  See the details here .) The “Time of Our Joy” is upon us.  Sukkot follows the solemn High Holidays, when we accomplished great spiritual things and brought new Divine light to the world, and now on Sukkot we celebrate that with great joy.  It is the celebration that brings the potential blessings of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to fruition. Well, how easy is it to celebrate when Israel is facing an existential war for its very existence?  As we sit in our Sukkah and as we wave our lulav, etrog, willows and myrtle to the Hallel songs, our brothers and sisters are sacrificing their lives at war with enemies on all sides.  It seems difficult to celebrate with abandon and to express open joy, let alone to dance. In 1973, right after the beginning of the Yom Kippur war, when our enemies sought to wipe us off the face of the earth, the Rebbe addressed the same ques...