Parshah Columnists for Vayetze

Explore multiple insights into this classic mystery.

Jacob’s simple ladder foreshadows the trajectory of human development.

When we understand that everything is a gift, then we escape the trap of an entitlement mentality.

In five instances, the Torah describes the phenomenon of love at first sight: in the love of Adam for Eve, of Rebecca for Isaac, of Jacob for Rachel, of David for Abigail, and of David for Bathsheba. These five, in their historical order, are descending examples of how the intensity of love at first sight can be focused into mature, rooted love

Jacob was in a difficult moment in his life. He, himself would have been the first to admit it, but he refused to get depressed or lose hope...

I know what she wants; she wants me to nurse her, she wants me to kiss her and comfort her...It's like her way of "checking in" to make sure that I'm still there and that I love her...

Jacob, the quintessential scholar, finds a "permanent home" with the birth of Zebulun, the archetypal businessman. Such is the reality in a Divinely ordered universe, where some things refuse to rhyme but everything has a reason

Genuine love not only respects the individuality of the other, but actually seeks to cultivate it. Love, like the act of creation, is the courageous act of creating space for the presence of the other.

Every child has his or her own way, their personal journey. The role of an educator is to figure out how to travel alongside children as they discover the world around them.

Envy is a grievous sin. It’s on the top ten list engraved on Moses’s stone tablets. And yet even envy can assume a form that is healthy and holy. (“Parsha Perks” with Dr Michael Chighel | Veyetze)

Far from home, Jacob now must struggle to maintain his inner spirituality.

Isaac had attained such a lofty nature that his body was a loyal agent of his soul.

Why are all Jews called by the name of just one of the tribes, Judah? What is it about thanksgiving that captures the essence of the Children of Israel?

Prayer makes a difference to the world – but how it does so is mysterious.

We are defined for all time as the descendants of Jacob, the children of Israel. Hence the force of the question: Why Jacob?

There is an element of the religious life that is beyond conscious control. It comes out of nowhere, when we are least expecting it.

You cannot build a family, let alone a society, on love alone. For that you need justice also.

Why would angels use a ladder to ascend to heaven? Don't they have wings?

“In the circumstances I currently find myself . . .” the philosophy student began. Whereupon the Rebbe interrupted him: “No one ‘finds himself’ in circumstances. We create our own circumstances.”

As much as we want to protect ourselves and our children from the ravages of our world, it is precisely here that each of us fulfills the purpose for which our world was created.

Each struggle that we confront and every small victory that we win become the sweetest and most beautiful offerings in G‑d’s eyes.

The dream of the ladder in our Parshah is something that has captivated people’s imaginations for thousands of years . . .

We are taught that Jacob embodied the quality of Torah study; yet the Torah recounts at length how much of his time was taken up by business dealings raising his family

The border between Jacob and Laban is seen as the divide between the sacred and the profane. This distinction is important. One has to know clearly what represents the Jewish dimension of holiness, and what does not.

How could Jacob marry two sisters? How can one reconcile their own needs and personal improvement with assisting others with their improvement and needs? A timely lesson from this weeks Torah portion.

Parents want to provide their children with that what the parents grew up without. Perhaps a greater accomplishment would be to provide their children with that what the parent took for granted...

This is the same courageous Jacob who was willing to stand up to murderous Esau and claim the blessings that were rightfully his. Even he was afraid to venture into uncharted grounds of immorality and sin; he hesitated at the thought of raising a family in a religious and ethical danger zone...

Leah’s soul stemmed from the world of thought; Rachel’s, from the world of speech. Leah was introspective, a master of meditation. Rachel was a communicator, charismatic and appealing.

The very fact that one can steal an idol shows the pettiness of ascribing supernatural powers to figures of stone and metal.

The angels scurrying up and down Jacob's ladder teach us a valuable lesson about Divine providence.

The rich person prays for even more wealth. What does the poor person pray for?

All day, I couldn’t shake the haunting image of a child, shaken from sleep, startled out of complacency, crying instinctively for his mother.

Is life a journey or a destination? Is this a process or a product? How can I live my current life to the fullest, while holding out hope that this is nothing but a temporary assignment?

For the entire fourteen years that Jacob was secluded in the study house of Eber, he did not lie down. Nor did he lay himself to sleep for the 20 years he labored over Laban's sheep. In between, he spent one night at the holiest place on earth -- "and he lay down in that place" (Genesis 28:11). What is the deeper significance of that single horizontal night in 34 vertical years?

Is it a self-improvement thing, like a woodworking class or a therapy session? Is it a duty, like obeying the law of the land and going to work in the morning?

One would think that after all that Rachel had gone through in the last 14 years, there’d be at least a moment of contentment. Isn’t it strange to name your firstborn child “I want another son”?

If G‑d really wants us to do His will, it's natural for us to wonder why He doesn't make it easier for us. If He expects us to have impeccable standards, why doesn't he remove all temptation from our path?

Why is important to tell us all these details, a whole Torah portion of Jacob's difficulties?

The first question the heavenly court asks upon your return home: “Did you do business with integrity?” For that is when you truly fixed up this world.

Your work and your time for study, contemplation and prayer need one another.