by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Dec 6, 2013 | Vayigash
I remember taking a walk with my wife in one of the towns along the Hudson. We stumbled upon an art gallery. From the window we could see an unusual amount of Judaica so we decided to walk in. In fact the proprietor was an Israeli woman, happy to see us she began...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Nov 29, 2013 | Chanukah
I was thinking about Chanuka, and a new idea occurred to me. Chanuka, the Festival of Lights, occurs at the darkest time of the year — the time when you would least expect it. And this is an important characteristic of Judaism: that light, and holiness, occur...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Nov 22, 2013 | Vayeshev
If the sons of Yaakov were such great men why did they want to kill their brother? The sons of Yaakov were all great men. The Medrash draws a metaphor to a king who wanted to build a beautiful palace. He tried building it on one support pillar and it collapsed. On...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Nov 15, 2013 | Vayishlach
Bad enough for Yaakov to have to struggle with Esav and constantly have to watch his back. In this weeks Parsha we find a new struggle. Yaakov has to struggle with Esav’s Malach also. It’s a bizarre story. Yaakov meets up with an Angel and gets into a fight. He...
by Rabbi Yaacov Haber | Nov 1, 2013 | Toldot
In this week’s parsha, we read how Isaac married Rebecca. “And Isaac entreated the L-rd opposite [`lenochach’] his wife, because she was barren; and the L-rd let Himself be entreated by him, and Rebecca his wife conceived” (Gen. 25:21). Rashi...
