Guest Columnists

Explore multiple insights into this classic mystery.

A pivotal moment in Jacob’s life—discover what this episode represents.

Jacob’s simple ladder foreshadows the trajectory of human development.

When we move beyond living in a transactional world, when there is no social or self-serving benefit to our actions, we are acting from a feeling of empathy that recognizes our larger sense of connection.

When we understand that everything is a gift, then we escape the trap of an entitlement mentality.

I met them in my car. There were maybe 10,000 or so of them hovering about. Some looked like Walt Disney cartoon angels, others were straight out of store window displays or greeting cards. Some looked like the plaster angels I used to buy in a Mexican market.

In five instances, the Torah describes the phenomenon of love at first sight: in the love of Adam for Eve, of Rebecca for Isaac, of Jacob for Rachel, of David for Abigail, and of David for Bathsheba. These five, in their historical order, are descending examples of how the intensity of love at first sight can be focused into mature, rooted love

A woman must cultivate a relationship with her Creator and use her mind to its fullest capacity. Only then, asserts the Akeidat Yitzchak, can a woman fulfill her second role as Chava, 'mother of all life', a role which crowns the role of isha.

Jacob was in a difficult moment in his life. He, himself would have been the first to admit it, but he refused to get depressed or lose hope...

Does Judaism truly have something to say about every aspect of our life, or are the rabbis who claim to have an opinion on everything simply intrusive and controlling? Should rabbis just stick to teaching Torah?

I know what she wants; she wants me to nurse her, she wants me to kiss her and comfort her...It's like her way of "checking in" to make sure that I'm still there and that I love her...

Jacob, the quintessential scholar, finds a "permanent home" with the birth of Zebulun, the archetypal businessman. Such is the reality in a Divinely ordered universe, where some things refuse to rhyme but everything has a reason

Laban was truly family! Yet, his anti-Semitism was legendary. In other words, attempts to break down the walls between Jews and non-Jews by assimilating and intermarrying will not fix anti-Semitism.

Genuine love not only respects the individuality of the other, but actually seeks to cultivate it. Love, like the act of creation, is the courageous act of creating space for the presence of the other.

Every child has his or her own way, their personal journey. The role of an educator is to figure out how to travel alongside children as they discover the world around them.

The loving relationship and the child-rearing partnership highlight two human aspects that relate to the essence of the connection between a man and a woman.

Envy is a grievous sin. It’s on the top ten list engraved on Moses’s stone tablets. And yet even envy can assume a form that is healthy and holy. (“Parsha Perks” with Dr Michael Chighel | Veyetze)

Far from home, Jacob now must struggle to maintain his inner spirituality.

If Jacob saw that Leah was the one with the blessing of children, why did that not command more of his attention?

Isaac had attained such a lofty nature that his body was a loyal agent of his soul.