R. David Kasher on Parashat Vayishlah: Red Alerts
Listen now
Description
The Torah often employs a “bookending” technique, using similar words or phrases in both the first and last verses of the parashah, in order to create a thematic frame for the action in the middle.  Parashat Vayishlah’s bookends are especially pronounced, in that its first and last verses each end with the same word: “אדום - Edom.” What is the significance of this bookend and what can it teach us about the relationship between Ya'akov and Esav?
More Episodes
One of the hallmark Rabbinic interpretive techniques is the identification of parallel wording in two different sections of the Torah. In legal interpretation, this is the foundation for the second of R. Yishmael’s “13 principles by which the Torah is interpreted”: the gezeirah shavah, or “the...
Published 05/22/24
Published 05/22/24
I am lucky to live a life with no food sensitivities. I can eat what I want and I’m happy to be an “easy guest,” quick to assure hosts that I have no special food needs. However, several years ago, in an attempt to identify the cause of my migraines, I found myself a person suddenly with many...
Published 05/20/24