Rabbi's Corner

Message from the Rabbi

The Whole Truth
The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau; he himself is coming to meet you, and his retinue numbers four hundred.” (Genesis 32:7)
We watch the news and read the papers because we want to know what is going on in the world. In reality, we are only getting part of the story.  In most cases we are only getting a slanted opinion of what is going on.  Therefore, we must dig deeper into what we hear.  We need to evaluate for ourselves based on facts that we can gather on our own.  It takes effort but that effort will produce results that are far closer to the truth than the original sound bite we may have heard. 

In this Biblical story the messengers only report about numbers not intention.  Had they let Jacob know that Essau had no ill intentions, Jacob would have never panicked about their meeting.  He could have saved himself many sleepless nights.  Getting the full story can ease the anxiety that only our minds produce.

​​Join me and Reverend Gareth Evans today, Tuesday at 11:30pm at the Shames JCC of on Zoom for an interfaith conversation about Abraham’s visitors who announce the birth of Isaac.