Vayetze

Jacob said to his kin: Gather stones. They took stones, made a mound, and ate there by the mound. Laban called it Yegar-Sahaduta, but Jacob called it Gal-Ed. (Gen 31:46-47) Two different languages, the same name. Witness-mound. Laban’s name for the site of this peace treaty is in Aramaic; Jacob’s is in Hebrew. How did...

As Jacob meets Rachel and Leah, the text shares a rare visual description of both women. We learn that Rachel is beautiful and Leah’s eyes are “weak.” The word describing Leah’s eyes, “rakot,” can also be translated as tender, soft, or gentle. It is difficult to determine if Leah’s eyes are an impairment or a...

A few weeks ago, Hurricane Sandy blasted through the Caribbean, the United States and Canada. In her wake, more than 100 people have died along with untold damage to public infrastructure and personal property. For days the images poured in of families evacuating their homes in search of higher altitudes, of empty streets overflowing with...