Close To Torah

Last week’s Parsha ended with a list of Eisav’s elaborate descendants. Scores of kings and families are mentioned. This is contrasted by the opening verse of this week’s Parsha which only mentions Yaakov as the father of Yosef. Rashi (Bereishis 37:1) is perplexed by this comparison and brings down the famous Midrash which explains the lesson.

There once was a faithful blacksmith. One day, an evil salesman… Continue reading

בָּטַח בָּהּ לֵב בַּעְלָהּ וְשָׁלָל לֹא יֶחְסָר

“Her husband’s heart trusts in her; he shall lack no fortune.”
One of the most important components of any healthy relationship is trust. This is certainly the theme here. The first word of the Torah is “Bereishis” which begins with the letter Beis. The Kesubah, wedding document, specifically begins with a Beis as well (B’Echad B’Shabbos, etc.). Chazal

Towards the end of his struggle with the angel, Yaakov asked him for his name (Beraishis 32:30). The answer he received was “Why are you asking?” I once heard from R. Wallerstein that this is one of the basic tactics of the evil inclination, he wants to catch us off guard, and when we let our guard down for that one split second, he can overtake us completely. The evil… Continue reading

אֵשֶׁת חַיִל מִי יִמְצָא וְרָחֹק מִפְּנִינִים מִכְרָהּ

“A woman of valor who could find? She is far more precious than pearls.”
Two of the hardest words to translate in this entire song are the words: Aishes Chayil! Here are a few of the commentators words:

Industrious and honest woman (Metzudos), rich woman (Ibn Ezra), protective wife (Vilna Goan), proper and kosher woman (Targum), woman with multitudes… Continue reading

Out of the 613 Mitzvos, only three of them are found in the entire Sefer Bereishis. To have children and to give one’s son a Bris come before the final Mitzvah of not eating the Gid Hanasheh, sciatic nerve. We are told in this week’s Parsha that when Yaakov battled with the angel of Eisav (the Zohar says that this angel was none other than the Yetzer Harah)

Yaakov spent twenty years working for the crooked Lavan. Finally, Hashem told him that it was time to leave. Yaakov knew that Lavan would not let him go and thus he fled with his family under the cover of night. Lavan pursued him with the intent of inflicting revenge, however, Hashem warned Lavan not to hurt Yaakov. Yaakov and Laven met and erected a monument to

אֵשֶׁת חַיִל מִי יִמְצָא וְרָחֹק מִפְּנִינִים מִכְרָהּ.

“A woman of valor who could find? She is far more precious than pearls.”
Gold, silver, diamonds, sapphire… There are many precious items in the world, why does the verse specifically compare the Woman of Valor to be more precious than pearls?

To understand, let us examine the construct of a pearl. A pearl is a… Continue reading

On behalf of the entire CloseToTorah family, I wish to extend a warm Mazel Tov to our dear founder,

Rabbi Dovid Boruch and Ahuva Kopel on the birth of a beautiful baby girl!

May the merit of the Torah studied on this site shower the Kopel family with only blessings.

May we only share simchas together!… Continue reading

I recently heard an interesting Gemara that speaks about this parsha. The Gemara says that a certain Amora was quoted as saying that the honor that Esav gave to Yitzchak was much greater than the way he did. He explained that while he went to visit his father, he would wear the same clothing that he had worked in that day, while Esav would put on his finest when he… Continue reading

This weeks parsha talks about the birth of Yaakov and Esau. In its description of Yaakov, the Torah tells us (Beraishis 25:26) that he emerged holding on to the heel of his brother.

The Kli Yakar explains that this alludes to the future of the two siblings. Esau will eventually degrade the right to the firstborn, just like a person tramples things with his heel, causing it to be… Continue reading