From a surface reading of the story of Jacob and Esau, it really seems Esau got the short end of the stick by being cheated out of the double-portion entitled to the firstborn. But we never read about Jacob receiving this either. What he receives is given by God and it's far greater than material blessings. Join us as we unravel this complex story of brothers and birthrights.

In the Torah portion of Chayei Sarah, Abraham purchased a field and a burial curve for his beloved wife, Sarah. But in reality it was so much more. Abraham, the father of many, had an incredible eye for the future and for the generational mission he had been given. Shalom Macon is taking a lesson from Abraham in this. Learn all about it here.

Abraham is affectionately called Avraham Avinu, "Our Father Abraham." Paul says he is the father of "all who believe." Is this just a title or are there expectations that come along with being children of Abraham? Our Torah portion reveals a lot to help us answer this question.

Noah’s success in the mission of survival was a great success. But there was a second mission, revival. How did he do? Was Noah the hero that God was looking for? The Torah uses small clues to point to the answer.

It’s at the top of the list of favorite Bible stories — Noah’s Ark. It’s obvious that righteous Noah had a big job to do, a mission from God to build this boat and survive the flood. He was faithful to the task. But Noah had multiple missions and the Torah makes them pretty clear if we look carefully. This teaching explores the multiple missions of Noah and how well he succeeded in accomplishing them.

As the Torah cycle starts with Genesis, we once again marvel at the mystery and majesty of creation. One mystery is particularly unique. The text says, "Let us create man in our image." This teaching explores interpretations of this curious text, introduces a challenging new interpretation and reveals a profound shadow of the messiah.

After the High Holidays, we made some decisions and commitments to take action to become our better self. There’s always one challenge that rears its head as we move forward in this direction. The sages of Israel use the valuable illustration of the horse and rider to teach about it. In this message, Rabbi Eisner brings that idea home as the conclusion to this series.

You have an illness. Actually more than one illness. It's not just sin, but a host of other maladies that keep you from living up to the potential that God intended for you when He created you. What's the remedy? The Great Physician has it waiting on you if you'll be honest about your symptoms.

When it comes to making resolutions to change, sometimes it feels like a losing battle, a hopeless cause. We look back at the list we made the year before and think, "What's changed?" But if haven't given up, but continued the struggle, we'll eventually see something on our list that has changed. It may be small, but it's progress. And a little progress over time can go a long way to changing your habits and ultimately your identity.

Is all of humanity damned by default because of original sin? This is what traditional Christianity teaches. But what does Judaism teach and where should Messianic Judaism land on the topic? This controversial message addresses this subject going all the way back to the very definition of sin.