by Rabbi Sender Haber | Sep 9, 2013
I Many years ago our forefather Yaacov married two wives, Rachel and Leah. He later married their two maidservants Bilha and Zilpah as well. The Torah tells us that Yaacov spent more time with Rachel than with any of his other wives, despite the fact that Leah was the...
by Rabbi Sender Haber | Dec 30, 2012
When Yaacov first met Rachel he cried. The Medrash says that he cried because he would not be buried with her. Before his death, Yaacov apologized to Yosef for not burying Rachel in Me’aras Hamachpeila. He had buried her by the side of the road outside Beis Lechem. He...
by Rabbi Sender Haber | Dec 30, 2012
I had occasion to visit the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth this week. It was not very hard to get in, but there was serious security and I did need to prove to them that I belonged there. As soon as I was cleared by security, I entered and noted a very large...
by Rabbi Sender Haber | Nov 22, 2012
Yaacov was an Ish Tam. He was a very simple and straightforward man. Yet he tricked Eisav into agreeing to the worst deal in history. How could he have known that Eisav would agree to such a ludicrous deal? Rav Nachman Levovitz explains that from the moment that Eisav...
by Rabbi Sender Haber | Nov 7, 2010
Recently, I’ve been struck by the recurring theme of identity fraud in Sefer Bereishis: Yaacov received the Brachos by masquerading as Eisav only to be fooled into marrying Leah when she masquerades as Rochel. Yosef’s death is faked and he emerges as an Egyptian...
