Vayeshev | The Apocrypha and the Midrash, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

Is there anything legitimately "Jewish" about apocryphal Midrashim?

We are accustomed to thinking of the Apocrypha (the "hidden" or "buried" writings of the 3rd century BCE through the first century CE) as external to our Rabbinic tradition and to reflecting purely sectarian approaches and interpretations. Yet - we sometimes find a common thread between the interpretive approaches taken in these somewhat esoteric books and those found in our "mainstream" Midrashic literature. We examine an unusual passage in the apocryphal "Testament of Judah" and find a curious commonality appearing nearly a millennium later in Midrash Bereishit Rabbati.

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Two Giants, One Vision: The Legacy of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and Rav Yehuda Amital, by Rabbi Michael Rosensweig

Our overseas talmidim were zocheh to Rabbi Rosensweig, '73, telling them about his time at Gush with stories of Rav Lichtenstein zt"l and Rav Amital zt"l.

The shiur examines how Yeshivat Har Etzion benefited from two contrasting gedolim: Rav Amital's passionate decisiveness and transformative honesty, and Rav Lichtenstein's analytical depth and measured deliberation. Like Yaakov Avinu who synthesized Avraham and Yitzchak's qualities, these leaders offered diverse role models united by integrity and mutual respect. Their complementary approaches demonstrated that Torah leadership can embrace different styles while maintaining shared values and unwavering commitment to truth.

Rabbi Rosensweig is a Rosh Yeshiva at RIETS of YU and the Rosh Kollel of the Beren Kollel Elyon.

Vayishlach | 5786 | Thus says the Lord God Concerning Edom, by Rav Eli Weber

What was Esav's plan? Who is Edom?

Vayishlach | Hegemonism or Conquest? by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

ולזרעך נתתי את הארץ - What was at the core of Yaakov's dispute with his sons after the massacre of Sh'khem?

Continuously throughout Sefer Bereishit, our Patriarchs are promised by Hashem that their descendants will be "given" the Land - but there is no indication of how that gift will be given, of how that "inheritance" will be achieved. We explore what may have been the perspective of our Avot in that regard - and how and why it changed by the time we arrived in Mitzrayim.

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Vayetze | Back to Gerar (The Parenthetic Statement), by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

How do we explain the references to Avraham having passed away in Beresheet 26 if, as proposed, this narrative cycle took place before Yaakov and Esav were born (i.e. well before Avraham passed on).

As a follow-up to our shiur about Gerar and my argument that the events described in Bereishit 26:1-33 took place during the twenty years of Yitzchak and Rivka's childlessness, several thoughtful and pointed challenges were raised by podcast listeners and participants in the shiur. By surveying and classifying the various types of parenthetic statements in Biblical narrative, we respond to these challenges and, thereby, explain two anomalous verses (v. 15 and v. 18) in the Gerar narrative.

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And Thou Knowest No God but Me | Vayetze | 5786, by Rav Eli Weber

Hoshea 12:13-14:10. On the difficulties in the Jews' relationship with God

Yet I Love Yaakov. And I Hated Esav | Toldot | 5786, by Rav Eli Weber

Malachi 1:1-2:7. How should we worship God?

Toldot | The Gerar Conundrum, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

What happened during Yitzchak and Rivka's twenty years of childlessness?

In reading through the presentation of Yitzchak's life in Parashat Toldot, there seems to be a disconnect between the opening narratives of the birth and early years of Yaakov and Esav, and the subsequent narrative cycle of Yitzchak and Rivka in Gerar (chapter 26:1-33). We propose what at first seems to be a revolutionary explanation for the puzzles this sequencing raises - but, on further reflection, note that it is built upon an approach that is well-anchored in rabbinic sources.

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Chayei Sara | Ketura and the Sons of the East, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

Why Ketura? As the story of Avraham's life comes to a close, we are informed that at some point (perhaps after Sara died), he took another wife - Ketura and, as the straightforward reading indicates, he also took several concubines. He had children with all of these and sent the sons of his concubines away - to the east - with gifts. We aren't told where he directed Ketura's six sons and their progeny to go. More intriguing is the story itself - why did he marry again, and have so many more children - only to send them away? We explore several points in Avraham's life, informed by the opening charge to him (Bereishit 12:1-3) and how his understanding of this charge evolved over time.

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Now King David was Old | Haftara | Chayei Sara | 5786, by Rav Eli Weber

Rav Eli Weber begins a new series of shiurim, "This Week's Haftara". What is the legacy of David HaMelekh?