Category Archives: Rakhel’s Writings

This post contains a link to an article that describes my connection to Herend, world famous Hungarian porcelain.

Commentary on Vayishlach Genesis 32:4-36:43 on the occasion of Bambi Rakhel Ward’s Batmitzvah, 9/12/2006

I’m going to give you some background about the portion from which I will be reading in Hebrew, and later on in the service, I will give a sermon about the issues raised in the portion.

Those of you who have been following the weekly portions will recall how Abraham arranges for his son Isaac to marry from his own people. He marries Rebekah, who gives birth to two boys, fraternal but obviously not identical twins. The first born, Esau, has red hair and is very hairy. His twin brother is born clutching his brother’s heel, and so he is given the name Jacob, which means heel. This proves to be an appropriate name because of the way Jacob behaves towards his brother in later life.

One day, Esau, a hunter, returns from a hunt so hungry that he sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew that Jacob is…