Vayechi 5781 And the time approached for Yisrael to die, so he called for his son, for Yosef, and said to him, “Please – if I have found favor in your eyes – please place your hand under my thigh and do kindness and...
Yom Kippur 5780
Rabbi Yosef SprungAre You My Mother? Maternity and Surrogacy in Halacha
Vayigash 5781 And the sons of Shimon: Yemuel, Yamin, Ohad, Yachin, Zohar, and Shaul, son of the Canaanite woman. (Bereishis 46:10) Who was “Shaul, son of the Canaanite woman”? Chaza”l reveal that he was the son born to...
Sweet Dreams
Mikeitz 5781 And Pharaoh said to Yosef, “I dreamt a dream, but no one can interpret it. Now I heard said of you that you comprehend a dream to interpret it.” (Bereishis 41:15) Parshas Mikeitz opens with the famous...
Shabbat and Eivah Concerns
Vayishlach 5781 And Eisav ran towards him, embraced him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him, and they wept. (Bereishis 33:4) The word “Vayishakeihu” (“and he kissed him”) in this Pasuk, has dots on top of all the...
Genetic Engineering
Vayetzei 5781 And Yaakov then took fresh shoots of poplar and hazel and chestnut. He peeled white streaks in them, laying bare the white of the shoots. And he set up the rods which he had peeled, in the troughs, in the...
O Say Can You See
Toldot 5781 And it came to pass, when Yitzchak had become old and his eyes dimmed from seeing… (Bereishis 27:1) There is broad and extensive Halachic discussion of blindness. One of the important topics is the...
Davening Doctors
Chayei Sara 5781 And Yitzchak went out to converse in the field towards evening. (Bereishis 24:63) Medical personnel often work long shifts which may extend through an entire interval for Tefila. This gives rise to the...
Got Milk?
Vayera 5781 And she said, “Who is the One Who said to Avraham, ‘Sarah would nurse children’? For I have borne a son in his old age!” (Bereishis 21:7) In the not-too-distant past, breastmilk was the only available source...
Paying a Mohel
Lech Lecha 5781 This is My covenant which you shall keep between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. (Bereishis 17:10) One of the fundamental principles of Mitzva...
Destroying Embryos for Research
Noach 5781 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for man was formed in the image of God. (Bereishis 9:6) According to R’ Yishmael, this Pasuk is the source for the Issur of abortion: It was...
