This week's parsha

Unless otherwise noted, "This week's Parsha" comprises articles taken from contributors to the Chabad.org website. We show the original author's name here, so that proper attribution is given. For the sake of brevity, footnotes cited in the original author's writings are omitted from this website. If you need to see the citations, please refer to the original articles on the Chabad.org website.

Rags to Riches!

Published: 26 October 2009 | Written by Tali Loewenthal

A common theme in Jewish life is the "rags to riches" story. A person is born and brought up in modest surroundings, with simple parents. The story then might continue in a number of ways.

One is that he leaves school at sixteen, becomes a barrow boy in the market and some years later is the chairman of a large business corporation. Another is that from his local school he wins a scholarship to Oxbridge and eventually becomes a famous scientist. This pattern of leaving one's background in order to conquer new frontiers has many variations. It is intriguing the way that although, of course, this is not restricted to Jews, nonetheless it is a typically Jewish story.

Lessons From Noach's Ark

Published: 19 October 2009 | Written by Rabbi Galperin

Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark...

One: Don't miss the boat.

Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.

Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

Six: Build your future on high ground.

Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.

Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

THE FOUR EXILES

Published: 14 October 2009 | Written by Rabbi Galperin

THE FOUR EXILES Breishis 1:2. 2:10-14. When Hashem created the world, He knew that the Jewish people would be in exile 4 times (not including Egypt). The first exile was that of Bavel (Babylon), the second, Modai (Medea), the third, Yavan (Greece), and the fourth, Edom.

It is this fourth exile that we have been suffering in for almost 2000 years. Hashem hinted to these 4 exiles in the story of creation. At the beginning of creation it is written that, "The world was tohu and vohu, and darkness covering the deep." The four phrases -- 1) "tohu", 2) "vohu", 3) "darkness", and 4) "covering the deep" -- hint to the 4 exiles.