Vayeshev 5779

“…and they could not speak to him peacefully” (Bereishit 36:4)

Rashi: From their disgrace, we learn their praise, [because this indicates] that they did not have one thing in their mouth, and another thing in their heart.

The Ceremonial Offer

Mazal tov! Shlomi and Tamar welcomed their sweet little baby boy into the world. Within minutes, Shlomi and Tamar were on the phone with their parents, sharing the wonderful news of the birth of their first child. After hanging up with his parents, Shlomi picked up the phone again, and called his uncle Avraham.

“It’s a boy!” Shlomi exclaimed.

“That’s wonderful, Shlomi,” responded Uncle Avraham. “That means that I’ll get to be the sandek!”

“Sandek?!” stammered Shlomi.

Vayishlach 5779

הַנִּזְהָר שֶׁלֹּא יְסוֹבֵב צַעַר מֵחֲמָתוֹ לַזּוּלַת יְסַיְּעוּהוּ מִן הַשָּׂמִים שֶׁרְצוֹנוֹ יְקֻיַּם כְּמוֹ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ בְּיַעֲקֹב אֲבִינוֹ: 'וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ' – שֶׁהִצְטַעֵר שֶׁלֹּא יַזִּיק אֲחֵרִים, זָכָה שֶׁלֹּא בָּאָה תַּקָּלָה עַל יָדוֹ..."

(סֵפֶר תּוֹכַחַת חַיִּים לַגה"ק רַבִּי חַיִּים פָלָאגִ'י זצ"ל)

Open Door Policy

In Yeshivat Aish Kodesh, the students have off for an hour in the afternoon. Many of the students take the opportunity to catch up on sleep. One day, one student, Yaakov, returned to his dorm room, after lunch, and lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes, when he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten something in the storage room, upstairs. He ran upstairs, retrieved his forgotten object, and hurried to leave the storage room, in order to capitalize on what remained of his break. He was about to leave the storage room, when the door swung shut on its own.

Vayetze 5779

“…Just because you are my relative, should you work for me for free? Tell me what your wages are.”

(Bereishit 29:15)

Honorary Chairman

One evening, Udi sat down to do his homework. He opened his backpack to take out his math book, when he realized, much to his chagrin, that he had left his book in school. He raced out the front door, and ran the few blocks to his school building. To his relief, the lights were still on.

Toldot 5779

"איש יודע ציד"- לצוד ולרמות

(רש"י) 

Letters of the Law

Shimon turned the page of the newspaper that he was holding, and let the paper rest against the counter, in front of him. The clang of the store bell drew his attention away from the sports section, and onto the two young men who had just entered the store. “We’d like to buy a mezuza,” they informed Shimon. “Can you show us something high quality, mehadrin?”

“Of course, of course.” Shimon responded. The customers’ impeccable Hebrew accent was not lost on Shimon. He hurried to find them what they were looking for. “Here, a mehadrin level mezuza. That will be four hundred shekel.”

Chayei Sara 5779

…and Lavan ran toward the man 

Rashi: Why did he run, and for what did he run? Because [as the verse below states] “and it was when he saw the nose ring,” [Lavan] said “This man [Eliezer] is wealthy, and he set his eyes upon his money.”

(Bereishit 24:29)

Taxi Collector

Dani gave a sigh of relief, when the taxi he hailed pulled up in front of him. It was late at night, and it was just time to go home already. Dani opened the car door, and sank into the faux leather upholstery. After exchanging some pleasantries with the driver, Dani closed his eyes, and allowed himself to relax.

When the taxi was a few minutes from Dani’s house, he put his hand into his pocket, in order to find money, to pay the driver. To Dani’s chagrin, his wallet slipped from his hand, and fell onto the taxi floor. He bent down, and began to feel around for his wallet, but couldn’t manage to locate it in the dark. Soon, the taxi came to a stop, in front of Dani’s house.