WELCOMING SHABBAT

Shabbat is more than a day of refraining from worldly activity.

When experienced to its spiritual fullest, its holiness enlightens all other days of the week.

We invite you to enhance your Shabbat with these words of Torah.

 

Yitzchak blessing Yaakov painting

Parshat Toldot: Do the Ends Sanctify the Means?

Parshat Toldot: Do the Ends Sanctify the Means?

Nagen (Genack), Rabbi Dr. Yakov
November 19, 2020

…Why must the Torah so emphasize Yaakov’s punishment for his justified actions? It seems that the Torah wants us to understand that we pay the price for our moral decisions, even when we choose correctly. With this understanding, a person will carefully consider the effects of her actions, even when she is confident her goal justifies them. She will seek out an alternative course of action, and even if she comes to the conclusion that there is no escape from what must be done, she will invest thought and resources in the minimization of all possible collateral damage, and even seek to compensate the people harmed…”