Are the blessings and curses really polar opposites? Might they be opposite ends of the same continuum? At times the pain that we encounter in our lives is overwhelming and seems insurmountable. In ...

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According to our Parsha, one’s religious behavior also plays a role in determining their Matzav (practical situation). This is made clear in the opening verses of our Sedra (Torah portion) in which ...

This week’s Torah portion describes the bountiful blessings promised to our people by God, if (ekev) we obey the laws of Torah. Together with these blessings, of ...

If you could give another person the ultimate blessing, what would it be? The word “blessing” is a tricky one because it has so many meanings. Our medieval Portuguese commentator Abravanel spells out ...

If you ask where redemption begins, Shemos answers with a chorus: It begins in a cry that does not know the right words but knows the right direction. It begins at the river, in the hidden courage of ...

The act of giving blessing creates connection. Hopefully, we do not wait until the end of our lives to create or facilitate this connection with our loved ones as Jacob did. This week’s Torah portion, ...

“And he [the Kohen] shall be sanctified” [Leviticus 21:8]. I have long been fascinated by the blessing recited by the kohanim (priests) as they call upon God to bless the Jewish people: “Blessed art ...

This is an adaptation of Looking Forward, a weekly email from our editor-in-chief sent on Friday afternoons. Sign up here to get the Forward’s free newsletters delivered to your inbox. I was thrilled ...