Talk about passion! Oorah’s Thursday-Thought series Special Edition in honor of the upcoming getaway retreats, featuring TorahMates coordinator Rabbi Louie Friedman. Short and to the point, guaranteed to fill your […]
Weekly Torah Portion
Insight and themes on the weekly Torah portion (parshah) read aloud in synagogue.
Why Are We Called Yehudim? Have we ever stopped to consider why the Jewish people are called Yehudim? After all, Yehudah was not the firstborn—he was the fourth son of […]
Yaakov’s Final Blessings and the Language of Animals What does it mean that Yaakov (Jacob) compared some of his sons to animals? In this week’s Torah reading Yaakov calls all […]
Jacob was about to reveal to his children about the messianic era, the time that Mashiach would arrive. But the holy Divine presence was removed from him, so instead he […]
Exploring the reason behind our desire to fit in Yosef’s Strategy in Presenting His Brothers to Pharaoh In this week’s Torah reading, Parshas Vayigash, the family of Yaakov (Jacob) moves […]
The Emotional Reunion of Yaakov and Yosef Words can hardly capture the emotion that Yaakov (Jacob) must have felt when he was finally reunited with his beloved son Yosef (Joseph) […]
How would YOU get back at your brother?! Oorah’s Thursday-Thought series continues with a thought-provoking look at the Torah portion of this week, Parshas Vayigash, featuring TorahMates coordinator Rabbi Mordechai […]
As December marches on towards the end of the year, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon. All sorts of companies are producing “Year in Review” e-mails to remind me of my […]
This week’s Torah reading begins with Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh dreamed one dream in which he saw seven fat and healthy cows rise from the Nile, and then they were swallowed […]
One of the great miracles we commemorate on Chanukah is the victory the Jews had over the Greeks. The Greeks severely oppressed the Jewish nation, especially in outlawing the practice […]