My Hebrew name is Ya’akov, Hebrew for Jacob. When I celebrated becoming a bar mitzvah years ago at the age of 13, the observance coincidentally coincided with readings in the Torah about the life of ...

Sometimes Torah simply refuses to give us the straight dope. Were man and woman created simultaneously from God’s command (Genesis 1:26-27)? Or did God sculpt Adam out of clay (Genesis 2:7) and then ...

The first ethnic joke in the Bible is in chapter 25 of Genesis. Rebekah gives birth to twins, and the first comes out red and hairy all over, so she and Isaac name him Esau. They name him “Hairy.” ...

Explore the significance of Jacob's dream in the Torah portion Vayetze, featuring the intriguing stairway to heaven.

A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair. – Niccolo ...

The classic wrestling match in Biblical literature is that between the most dissimilar twins, Jacob and Esau. They began their struggle with each other even before they were born, in their mother ...

The Torah relates that Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca (Genesis 25:24), went on separate paths (Genesis 25:27), Esau the hunter and Jacob the man of tents. Later the Torah relates ...

As Jacob leaves his parents’ home at the behest of his mother, Rebecca, the Torah declares that Rebecca was the mother of both Jacob and Esau (Genesis 28:5). At first blush, this seems to be an ...

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Wednesday that the roots of radical Islam are the biblical conflict between Jacob and Esau. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, ...

Years ago, a college classmate provocatively announced that he planned to name his first son “after the most maligned figure in the entire Torah: Esau.” Let’s consider Esau’s defense. After we are ...

Parashat Toldot includes one of my favorite parts of the Torah — specifically, the stealing of the blessing. We can see the warm relationship between Isaac and Esau. We see the comfort in their ...

According to Genesis, Jacob and Esau struggled with each other while they were still in the womb. Apparently, it was quite a struggle! Many women pregnant with twins have experienced the same thing, ...