Avrohom Jacks

A soul that remains comfortable never discovers its true strength. But a soul that hits rock bottom and decides to climb back up develops unstoppable momentum. In this week’s Torah portion, we find the ultimate spiritual disaster. The Jews experienced the miraculous exodus from Egypt, they witnessed the splitting of the sea, and they heard the Divine voice at Sinai. These same people then crashed to the absolute bottom. They built and worshiped a Golden Calf. The Talmud in Avodah Zarah tells...

Some people have perfectly calm spiritual lives. They wake up every day with total clarity. They pray with perfect serenity. You might think that your reality is very different. You might be filled with internal chaos. Your relationship with spirituality feels like a loud battleground. You feel torn between different worlds. You experience massive doubt on a daily basis. You might think this turbulence disqualifies you in some way. You might believe your struggle makes you somehow...

Jacob knew that the Egyptian exile would be a brutal and traumatic test for his children. He understood that the Jewish people would need something to ensure their survival during the vicious realities of the Egyptian exile. Simple whispers of a future redemption would not be enough to keep hope alive. Vague utopian promises would not be enough to withstand the crushing weight of the very real chains that would enslave his nation. Jacob, therefore, did something entirely counterintuitive. He...