Rabbi Polansky's Blog

The Rabbis question the positioning of the plague of darknesses as the ninth, second to heaviest plague. Why was darkness rather than disease—the precursor to death and much more serious of a curse, the ninth rather than the fourth or fifth plague?

The midrash has a very curious answer as it tells us that the plague of darkness came just before the final plague so that the Israelites could bury their dead without the Egyptians...Read more...

            Parashat Vayeshev introduces us to young Joseph and his brothers. Right away, we hear that there was conflict between them.  The Torah text suggests that Joseph would tell tales about his brothers and report them to their father: “At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And...Read more...

In the old days, when someone wanted to meet people, they would go to the well. This was the busiest place in town—sort of like the town square (or a pick-up joint!) It’s no wonder that we sometimes call a pub a “watering hole.”

In this week’s parashah, Chayei Sarah, Abraham sends his servant Eliezer on a mission to find a bride for his son Isaac. Where does he go? To the...Read more...