by Rabbi Tali Aronsky, Class of 2025 Parashat Vayigash opens with three simple words: “Vayigash elav Yehudah,”   “And Judah approached him” (Bereishit 44:18).   After chapters of tension, silence, guilt, and distance, Judah steps forward. Judah steps forward to confront the powerful Egyptian viceroy, not yet knowing that this ruler is his own brother Joseph. The stakes could not be higher: Benjamin’s freedom, his father’s life, and the future of the family itself. But the Tor

by Ilana Gimpelevich, Class of 2026 The end of last week’s parsha, Vayeshev, does not bode well for Yosef. What began as the bravado of an arrogant youth quickly unravels as he is brought low. His father rebukes him for his wild dreams; his brothers remove him from the picture by casting him into a pit; then, in Egypt, he finds himself thrust even further down, locked away in prison on false charges. By this point, Yosef’s confidence appears to be thoroughly crushed, his earl

by Rabbi Marianne Novak Class of '19 We return this week to the dramatic saga of Yaakov’s family. After surviving a battle with an angel, a fraught reunion with his twin brother Esav, the rape of his daughter, and her brothers’ violent retaliation, Yaakov settles down. He is now Vayeshev Yaakov . The lens of the narrative now turns to his children—specifically his most favorite child, Yosef, his ben z’kunim, the child of his old age, and Yehuda, the unlikely father of kings.

by Chanchkie Slavin Class of '26 The book of Bereishit is, in many ways, a tapestry of sibling stories: complex, painful, and profoundly human. Let us focus on the stories of our forefathers, whose life work and journeys provide guidance for our own lives today. Yishmael and Yitzchak. Esav and Yaakov. And finally, the twelve sons of Yaakov, Bnei Yisrael. Each generation faces its own version of rivalry, misunderstanding, and separation. But only one generation, the children