'In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth, and the Earth...' - From the opening of the Torah until this week's parasha we do not hear of the stuff of the Heavens. But here, God stands there atop a ladder firmly planted on earth stretching to the Heavens with God's messengers running up and down it. It is with this vision that God gives a message to Jacob: 'I will be with you wherever you walk and I will not leave you until I bring you back home'. God is with Jacob on this mission - but why the vision? What is the connection of the vision to the message? This is asked by the 19th century rabbi Eliyahu Benamozeg and in this episode we offer an answer that applies to our lives right now. 

Esav shared a womb with Jacob, grew up in the same house, and has the same parents and grandparents. The rabbis of the Talmud call him a 'heretical Israelite'. There is something very close to home about Esav, his worldview and his descendants that is important for us to take seriously. In this 20 minute treatment it looks at one aspect that has current and relevant implications to all our lives. 

The first time we find the word love used between two people is in Haye Sarah. Isaac loves Rebecca. In this episode we examine why there is a delay with this word, why it tends to come out around Isaac, and what discoveries Abraham made in his life that brought it about. 

God's command for Abraham to bind Isaac and place him up on an altar is perhaps one of the most difficult passages in all of Torah. This talk offers a perspective -- a hard and awkward truth -- on the story. 

God enters into covenant with Abraham in this parasha. But before doing so, he tells Abraham to leave home and all that is familiar for his own sake. In this talk we explore what that means. How does one 'go' for oneself? And why must it happen before covenant?

It is not assumed that God should enter into covenant with the world. He does it here for the first time. Before this He is creating and destroying worlds. What does covenant mean in terms of God and His relationship to us?

Also in this episode - a thought I heard from my Rav, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef z"l as this was released on the date of his yahrzeit.