Hal Miller

Shabbat Parashas Vayeishev - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   Then Yehudah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's   house until my son Shelah grows up" for he said "Lest he also die like his brothers."   So Tamar went and lived in her father's house. [Bereishit 38:11] Why did Yehudah push Tamar aside? Our verse gives a reason, "Lest he also die like his brothers", but is that his only thinking? Rashi writes, "he would push her away with a straw for he did

Shabbat Parashat Vayishlach - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   Then God said to him, Your name is Yaakov. Your name shall no longer be   called Yaakov rather Yisrael shall be your name. And He called his name   Yisrael. [Bereishit 35:10] A few weeks ago we read [17:5] "your name shall no longer be called Avram but your name shall be Avraham". The wording in Hebrew is virtually identical with our verse. Or HaChayim notes that the Gemara "Berachot 13 states that anyone who calls Avraham

Shabbat Parashat Vayeitzei - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   Let me pass through your whole flock today. Remove from there every speckled   or spotted lamb, every brownish lamb among the sheep and the spotted or speckled   among the goats, that will be my wage. [Bereishit 30:32] After Lavan asked Yaakov what he wanted for pay, Yaakov proposes an interesting deal. But the text leaves much room for interpretation. He begins by saying that he will pass through the flock 'today'. We see

Shabbat Parashat Toldot - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   And dwell with him for a few days until your brother's wrath subsides. [Bereishit 27:44] What did Rivka mean, telling Yaakov to go to Lavan "for a few days"? The trip alone would take far more than that, in each direction. Most likely, Eisav would not have forgotten what Yaakov did to obtain the blessing for quite some time. When was Yaakov supposed to return, and how would he know when that was? In parashat Chaye Sarah [Berei

Shabbat Chaye Sarah - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   Her brother and her mother said, let the maiden remain with us days or a set of   ten, then she will go. [Bereishit 24:55]   And they said, let us call the maiden and ask her decision. [Bereishit 24:57] Rivka's family asked for a delay in Eliezer taking her away to marry Yitzchak. What was behind this, and how long did they actually ask for? Then after asking for a delay, they suggested leaving it to Rivka. Why did they change the

Shabbat Vayeira - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   And he said, I will surely return to you at this time next year, there will be life, and   behold a son to Sarah your wife. Now Sarah heard at the entrance of the tent and   it was behind him. [Bereishit 18:10] This verse, and its companion 18:14, use the phrase ca'eit chayah. There are many explanations as to what that may mean. The second word, chayah, is pretty clear on its own, meaning life. The first word is a little more flexibl

Shabbat Parashat Lech Lecha - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   And Avraham fell upon his face and laughed and he thought, to a man of a   hundred years shall there be born? And shall Sarah, a woman of ninety years,   give birth? [Bereishit 17:17] Here we see Avraham laughing when informed that Sarah would have a son. In verse 18:12, Sarah laughs, apparently over the same thing, using the feminine form of the same word as with Avraham. Why is Sarah chastised but not Avraham for this la

Shabbat Noach - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   And the earth had become corrupt before God, and the earth had become filled with robbery.   [Bereishit 6:11] Our verse gives the reasons God brought about the Flood, shachat and chamas. What are these, and why are they so important that the world had to be destroyed for them? Shachat could mean wastage, destruction or corruption. All three of those are serious flaws in the world. Certainly today there is massive waste of resource, much

Shabbat Parashat Bereishit - 578​6 Rabbi Hal Miller   ​Now any tree of the field ​was not yet on the earth and any herb of the field had...

Simchat Torah - 5786 V'Zot Ha'Beracha Rabbi Hal Miller At the end of his life, Yaakov gave blessings to each of his sons. At the end of...