SEEING THE LIGHT There is a remarkable law quoted in the Talmud (Shabbat 23a) and codified in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 767:3) Someone sees a Chanuka light. They know they are not going to be able to light a Menora themselves that night, and no-one else is going to do it on their behalf....
PLAN B Our parasha this week begins with the words, Veyeishev Yaakov Be’eretz Megurei Aviv, “Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as a stranger” (Bereishit 37:1) The word Vayeishev “he settled” has the connotation of wanting to create a permanent home. As Rashi explains, Jacob thought he could now live in...
FAST AND SLOW Earlier this week, Google announced the launch of Willow, its latest and greatest quantum computing chip. It performed a calculation in under five minutes that would have taken the best of other supercomputers 10 septillion (that’s 10 followed by 24 zeroes) years to perform! Obviously, we are still a long way from...
NO GAPS If you get the chance this Shabbat to observe closely the Hagbaha – the lifting up of the Sefer Torah after leining, you will notice something very unusual. This week’s parasha, Vayeitzei, is written in the Sefer Torah as a continuous piece of Torah text of more than five columns. There are no...
ISAAC’S SENSORY EXPERIENCE It is well-known that a blind or partially sighted person can develop heightened ability in other senses to compensate for their loss of sight. We see this clearly in this week’s parasha where the blind Isaac touches, listens, tastes and smells to clarify the identity of the person of front of him....
