YINR 929: Tanach Yomi

The book of Exodus begins with the transition from a story about a single family to a story about a nation. After Yosef saved the Egyptians from starvation at the end of Genesis and became a right-hand man of Pharaoh, the fortunes of the Israelites changed dramatically. “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8) Hebrew: וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ־חָדָשׁ עַל־מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַע...

“Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel. It required forty days, for such is the full period of embalming. The Egyptians bewailed him seventy days” Hebrew: וַיְצַו יוֹסֵף אֶת־עֲבָדָיו אֶת־הָרֹפְאִים לַחֲנֹט אֶת־אָבִיו וַיַּחַנְטוּ הָרֹפְאִים אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ וַיִּמְלְאוּ־לוֹ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם כִּי־כֵן יִמְלְאוּ יְמֵי הַחֲנֻטִים וַיּ...

Until this point in the Torah, blessings have followed a relatively uniform pattern—typically invoking themes of fertility, prosperity, and triumph. The forefathers offered blessings that emphasized continuity, divine favor, and national destiny. However, in Genesis 49, Jacob’s blessings to his twelve sons break this mold dramatically. Each son receives a distinct and deeply personal message, ofte...

e  “הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל ”   encapsulates a profound theological and emotional moment in the life of Jacob, as he blesses his grandsons. This blessing, invoking the angel who redeemed him, becomes a foundational text for bedtime rituals and spiritual reflection. The Talmud in  Berakhot 4b  explores the relationship between the recitation of the Shema, both in the morning and at night, emphasizing...

From the moment that Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, he had been carefully preparing for the moment they would meet with Pharaoh. Despite Yosef’s apparent close relationship with the monarch, he still realized that he must be delicate when making requests on behalf of his family. This is yet another connection with the Purim story: Esther also had to be cautious in how she approached her h...

When Yosef finally reunites with his father, the Torah describes a deeply emotional moment: “Joseph ordered his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel; he presented himself to him and, embracing him around the neck, he wept on his neck a good while.” וַיֶּאְסֹר יוֹסֵף מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ וַיַּעַל לִקְרַאת יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִיו גֹּשְׁנָה וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו וַיִּפֹּל עַל־צַוָּארָיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עַל־צ...

After the brothers return to tell Yaakov that Yosef is alive, Yaakov is skeptical. His doubt is only lifted when he sees the agalot—the wagons—that Yosef had sent. The Torah says: “But when they recounted all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the agalot that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.” וַיְדַבְּרוּ אֵלָיו אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יוֹסֵף אֲשֶׁר...

In Bereishit chapter 31, Lavan chases after Yaakov and accuses him of stealing his idols. Yaakov responds with a bold declaration: “With whomever you find your gods, he shall not live.” עִם־אֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּמְצָ֤א אֶת־אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ לֹ֣א יִֽחְיֶ֔ה (בראשית ל״א:ל״ב) Unbeknownst to Yaakov, Rachel had taken the idols. Tragically, this curse seems to have consequences: Rachel dies young, during childbirth. The...

The famine is growing stronger, and food is running out. Yaakov—now referred to as Yisrael—asks his sons to return to Egypt for provisions. They remind him that they cannot go back without bringing Binyamin. Yaakov, recognizing the urgency, finally agrees and sends Binyamin with them. In doing so, he invokes a rare and powerful name of Hashem: Genesis 43:14 **וְאֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֗י יִתֵּ֨ן לָכֶ֤ם רַחֲמִי...

The brothers make their way to Egypt and do not recognize Yosef. Yosef, however, recognizes them and decides to toy with them. When the brothers reveal that Binyamin is back with Yaakov, Yosef uses this as a hook. He tells them that in order to prove they are not spies, they must bring Binyamin back. Yosef then takes Shimon captive as collateral. Why does he take Shimon? Rashbam recalls the story...

Pharaoh dreams of seven fat sheaves of wheat and seven thin ones, and seven fat cows and seven thin ones. After awakening with agitation over the dreams, and finding that none of his servants can interpret them, Yosef is summoned. In verse 25, Yosef tells Pharaoh: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יוֹסֵף֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה חֲל֥וֹם פַּרְעֹ֖ה אֶחָ֣ד ה֑וּא אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁ֧ר הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים עֹשֶׂ֖ה הִגִּ֥יד לְפַרְעֹֽה׃ "And Joseph...

Throughout the Yosef story, dreams play a central role—not just as plot devices, but as spiritual milestones. There are three major dream episodes: first, Yosef’s own dreams shared with his family; second, the dreams of the chamberlain and the baker in prison; and third, Pharaoh’s dreams in the next chapter. At first glance, these episodes seem similar—each features two dreams—but what’s striking...

In Bereishit 30:30, Yaakov reminds Lavan of the transformation his household underwent during Yaakov’s stay: “For the little you had before I came has increased abundantly, and Hashem has blessed you since my foot entered your house.” Yaakov’s words introduce a theological motif: the presence of a tzaddik brings divine blessing to the household that hosts him. This motif reappears in the story of...

Chapter 38 pumps the brakes on the Yosef story and instead gives Yehudah his turn in the spotlight. Yehudah’s only significant reference until this point was his suggestion in the last chapter to sell Yosef instead of kill him. Reuven, Levi, and Shimon have all appeared more often. Why does he get his own chapter now? Rashi quotes the midrash to explain that after the brothers saw how distraught Y...

Yaakov favors Yosef. Yosef has his two dreams that even rankle Yaakov. Yaakov sends Yosef to spy on his brothers and then… what happens? The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat depicts the most common explanation: the brothers plot to throw Yosef into a pit and leave him there to die (the musical even captures the Rashi about snakes in the pit). Instead, a grou...

Following the death of Avraham in Bereishit Chapter 25, the Torah lists the descendants of Yishmael and the tribal leaders that came from him: בראשית כ״ה:יב וְאֵ֛לֶּה תֹּֽלְד֥וֹת יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל בֶּן־אַבְרָהָ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָלְדָ֣ה הָגָ֔ר הַמִּצְרִ֖ית שִׁפְחַ֥ת שָׂרָֽה לְאַבְרָהָֽם׃ These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. Similar...

Avraham blazed the trail, and Yitzchak, for the most part, followed suit. Yaakov, however, began his journey differently—marked by exile, struggle, and deception. But now, in Bereishit 35, Hashem calls him back to the sacred geography of his forefathers. בראשית ל״ה:א׳ וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־יַעֲקֹב קוּם עֲלֵה בֵּית־אֵל וְשֵׁב שָׁם וַעֲשֵׂה שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לָאֵל הַנִּרְאֶה אֵלֶיךָ בְּבָרְחֲךָ מִפְּנ...

“Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.” וַתֵּצֵא דִינָה בַת־לֵאָה אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְיַעֲקֹב לִרְאוֹת בִּבְנוֹת הָאָרֶץ׃ (Bereishit 34:1) Why does the Torah emphasize Dinah as Leah’s daughter before mentioning Yaacov? Why note that she “went out”? And why specify that it was “to see the daughters of the land”? Rashi explains that Dinah is...

“Esav ran togreet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and theywept”: וַיָּרָץ עֵשָׂו לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיְחַבְּקֵהוּ וַיִּפֹּל עַל־צַוָּארָו וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ וַיִּבְכּוּ׃ (Bereishit 33:4) In the text,the word וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ ( vayishakeihu – “he kissed him”) has dots overeach letter . The Midrash explains that the Torah is conveying a hiddenmeaning. When Esav fell on Yaacov’s neck...

After his treaty with Yaacov, Lavan receives a postscript at the beginning of chapter 32: וַיַּשְׁכֵּם לָבָן בַּבֹּקֶר וַיְנַשֵּׁק לְבָנָיו וְלִבְנוֹתָיו וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיָּשָׁב לָבָן לִמְקֹמוֹ׃ “Early in the morning, Laban kissed his sons and daughters and bade them good-by; then Laban left on his journey homeward.”  (Bereishit 32:1) Why does the Torah give Lavan this final passage?...

Now he heard the things that Lavan’s sons were saying: וַיִּשְׁמַע אֶת־דִּבְרֵי בְנֵי־לָבָן לֵאמֹר לָקַח יַעֲקֹב אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לְאָבִינוּ וּמֵאֲשֶׁר לְאָבִינוּ עָשָׂה אֵת כָּל־הַכָּבוֹד הַזֶּה׃ “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from that which was our father’s he has built up all this wealth.” (Genesis 31:1) Yaacov also saw that Lavan’s manner toward him was not as it had been in t...

After 11 children are born, Yaacov approaches Lavan and asks to leave: וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָה רָחֵל אֶת־יוֹסֵף וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל־לָבָן שַׁלְּחֵנִי וְאֵלְכָה אֶל־מְקוֹמִי וּלְאַרְצִי׃ “Jacob said to Laban, ‘Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country.’” (30:25) Lavan responds that he knows that God has blessed his house because Yaacov dwells there: אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּע...

Yaacov returns to the town where his grandfather’s servant made a match for his parents. As discussed in chapter 24, the commentators zero in on how evil they see Lavan, but the text does not match this vitriol. Rivka, who lived with her brother, would have known about his evil ways. Yet, she tells her son to seek safety in her brother’s home. Yitzchak also wants Yaacov to seek out one of Lavan’s...

The highlight of this chapter is Yaacov’s ladder. One interesting take on the story is attached. Jacob's Dream (El sueño de Jacob) is a 1639 oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish painter José de Ribera. What’s fascinating about this painting, as opposed to the many other depictions of the story, is that the ladder is barely visible. The viewer has the perspective of a third-party walking by Ya...

Family Dynamics in Genesis 27 with Hebrew VersesChapter 27 presents more questions than it answers. Why does Yitzchak prefer Esav but Rivka Yaakov? Why does Rivka trick Yitzchak instead of talking to him? Why can’t Yaakov take back the blessing? Etc. One thing that comes across clearly in this chapter is that family dynamic plays an outsized role. Characters are referred to by their familial posit...