Timeless Torah

Marriage and Reincarnation

Jacob arrives in Charan, and the first sight to greet him is that of several flocks of sheep. Soon Jacob is a shepherd himself, caring for sheep, receiving his wages in sheep, breeding sheep, dreaming of sheep, amassing a fortune in sheep, and finally leading his flocks back to the Holy Land where he will present his brother Esau with a huge gift comprised largely of...you guessed it...sheep.  read more »

In this week’s Torah portion, Jacob, who has run away from Eisav in order to escape his brother’s animosity, arrives in Charan seeking refuge. His first stop in the new land is the local watering hole where several shepherds are lounging around.  read more »

Today’s Fax of Life comes to you just weeks prior to the holiday of Yud-Tes Kislev, popularly known as the Rosh Hashana of Chassidus. This auspicious date commemorates the liberation of the first Chabad Lubavitch leader from Czarist incarceration which vindicated the movement.  read more »

Jacob, alone and far from home, lay down with only stones for a pillow. Isolated and vulnerable, he dreamt of a ladder set on earth but reaching heaven, with angels ascending and descending. What did this vision mean? Tradition provides many answers, but the simplest has to do with the encounter between the human soul and G-d, the encounter we now call prayer.  read more »

Jacob has his first prophetic vision when he is alone. Not when he is in his father and mother's house, but in the dark of night in a lonely field. There on the road, with wild beasts about, he is forced to use a rock as a pillow upon which he rests his head. He prays the evening service, falls asleep, dreams and, “Behold! A ladder was standing on the ground and its top reached the heavens. And G-d’s angels were going up and down upon it.”  read more »

Seen any angels lately? I don’t mean the ones that appear on your sentimental Hallmark card. I refer to the real, full blown, three-D, larger than life, celestial beings kind of angels. The ones that hung around Jacob, that go up and down ladders, and are sent to warn off fellows like Eisav and his band of cutthroat mercenaries. You know, the ones from this week’s Biblical reading.  read more »

Torah is succinct. Each and every word is precise. Indeed if this was the Torah, rather than someone’s thoughts on Torah, the second sentence in today’s FAX OF LIFE would be deemed unnecessary.  read more »