Rabbi Y. Gimple

Introduction The Torah records that Isaac went blind before he gave his blessing to Jacob (Genesis 27:1). The Talmud (Megillah 17a) establishes that Isaac was 123 years old at the time of the blessing. By contrast Abraham and Moses lived out their lives with all of their faculties (Genesis 25:8 and Deuteronomy 34:7, respectively). Even …

The Blindness of Isaac (Parshat Toldot) Read More »

Introduction The Tanach (Bible) differentiates between great progenitors in a subtle but discernible manner. The subtlety prevents insulting or denigrating important personalities by avoiding a direct comparison. On the other hand the Torah must distinguish between great people to create a hierarchy within Torah nobility and avoid creating the impression that all are equal in …

Tanach Personalities (Parshat Noach) Read More »