We are getting very excited for Chanukah here in Yeshiva! In honor of Chanukah, we are planning our big Tzfat Shabbaton for Shabbos, and the excitement is in the air. The past two weeks in Yeshiva have been action-packed, and Boruch Hashem, the Beis Midrash is pumping! We officially started our Lev Zion Morning Kollel for alumnus and avreichim who wish to learn by us in the morning in order to help enhance the atmosphere in the Beis Midrash. The avreichim treat the students w

Layers of Connection Parshas Vayishlach The Parsha begins "Vayishlach Yaakov Maalachim". As we are familiar with the famous children's song, Esav was coming with 400 men, Yaakov was davening to Hashem... Vayishlach yaakov Malachim Lifanav and Yaakov sends Malachim to Esav. If we take a look at the opeing Rashi for the Parsha, Rashi explains that this phrase means "Malachim Mamash" - Real Angels. I personally have connected deeply to the idea of 70 faces of the Torah. The Tora

בס"ד Parshas Vayishlach “And these are the Kings that ruled in the land of Edom (Esav's birthright) before the kings of Israel. And in Edom, Belah... ruled and he died. And Yovav ruled in his place...and he died, etc.” There is an enigmatic account of eight kings descending from Esav at the end of this weeks Parsha. It is difficult to decipher any particular message in the recounting of the rule and death of these eight kings. What are we supposed to learn from this historica

More Than a Couple Jars The Parsha relates that Yaakov was traveling with his family. After crossing a river, he returend to retrieve some small jars that were left behind. This ultimately became a confrontation with Eisav's angel, who fought against Yaakov until sunrise. Finally, the angel submitted to Yaakov, who able to get his jugs back. He spent the whole night fighting just so he can get his jars. This seems like someone who really values his belongings, and cherishes e

It has been a great two weeks here at Lev! We kicked our learning into full gear and the Beis Midrash is packed in the mornings, Boruch Hashem! Being that Chanukah is the time to celebrate the Torah SheBal Peh, we just began our "Chanukah Mishna Challenge" initiative, which takes place every morning for 15 minutes before first seder starts. All who participate will team up to finish meseches brachos and enjoy a nice reward for participating so diligently in this Yeshiva-wide

Parshas Toldos In this week’s Parsha, the Torah tells us how after many years of prayer and tears Rivka Imeinu finally conceived and became pregnant with twins. The pregnancy was difficult, and something in particular alarmed Rivkah. Chazal explain that when Rivkah would pass the Beis Hamedrash of Shem VeEver Yakov was drawn towards it and tried to get out, and when she passed houses of Idol worship, Esav was drawn towards them and tried to get out. Feeling this and fearing w

Mic Drop In this week's Parsha, we find Yaakov is cooking a red lentil soup when Eisav walks into the house. He was so exhausted from the field, that he told Yaakov to pour the soup straight into his mouth. Yaakov made a business deal with him for the sale of the bechor. Eisav agreed. It was for this reason that he was called Edom (meaning, red). The Gemara in Shabbos explains to us that Eisav was born under the red star, which is why he was red-headed, and so blood thirsty

Bracha Overflow Parshas Toldos וַיִּגְדַּ֖ל הָאִ֑ישׁ וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ הָלוֹךְ֙ וְגָדֵ֔ל עַ֥ד כִּֽי־גָדַ֖ל מְאֹֽד׃ - and the man grew richer and richer until he was very wealthy (כג:יג) There is a triple lashon of "gadol" that Yitzchak grew to greatness. The Baal HaTurim asks why do we need three separate leshonos to tell us this? It seems a bit redundant to say the same thing over and over and over again... we get the point. However, Chazal teach us that it was neccessary as a tr