Judaism

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO — Judaism believes in teshuva, the human capacity for change. We are not the same human beings we were yesterday and tomorrow we will be different still. Judaism believes that human beings can grow and progress, and that today’s sinner may become tomorrow’s saint. Yet is absolute change ever

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–After Jacob leaves Laban and begins his journey back to Eretz Yisrael, Laban chases after him and accuses him of deserting him. Jacob explains his actions and Laban eventually decides to leave Jacob alone and returns to his own home. The Torah puts it this way: “Laban returned to his

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–Although the Torah records many details of the lives of Abraham and Jacob, not much is known about Isaac. Isaac seems to be a transitional figure whose exploits largely duplicate those of his father, Abraham. In Genesis 26:17, we learn that Isaac “dug anew the wells which had been dug

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal SAN DIEGO–The great opera diva Maria Callas once famously said: “Love is so much better when you’re not married.” Our patriarch, Isaac, would not have agreed! The Torah tells us that Isaac was taking a walk in a field when Eliezer returned from Aram-naharaim with Rebecca: “…looking up he saw the