One of the saddest transactions in all of the Bible is found in today's sedra.  Here we see poor, stupid, Esau bartering away the blessing of God for a two-bit plate of stew.  Poor Esau. What a fool.

Just about every parent gets the privilege of teaching their child how to drive. I say privilege because even in those moments of utter frustration, when you are convinced your mental state has been shattered both physically and mentally as a result of an almost head on collision with a city bus, you can take joy in the memories you will cherish along with the knowledge that someday your children, G-d willing, will have children of their own whom they will have to teach to drive! There is a great demonstration of faith in drivers training: faith on the part of the parent who is teaching and faith on the part of the child who is learning. Until the child gets into the drivers seat and begins learning to drive the parents faith in the child's ability cannot be developed. The same can be said about the child, as their faith in their own ability to drive cannot develop without active practice. It is only with repeated steps of faith shown by both the child who is learning and the parent who is teaching that driving ability can be proven.

By Rebbetzin Malkah Forbes
Beit HaShofar, Seattle WA

They've done it again.  The meteorologists have diagnosed a La Nina going strong in the Pacific Ocean.  Colder than normal water in the Pacific Ocean spells only one outlook for those of us in the Pacific Northwest:  a wetter than normal winter. Frankly,  I can't imagine that this year could possibly hold more rain than last year.  But can anyone anywhere else in the country really understand the ramifications of such a prophecy?  Let me spell it out for you:  Noach. 

by Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
Shalom Yisrael , White Plains, New York

I had a friend who used to say that the Bible was all about baseball and even more so the Yankees! After all, it starts out by saying, "in the big inning," obviously referring to the house that Ruth built, reminding us of Purim and the Jewish people. I know that it is the end of the baseball season except for those fans whose teams are entering the post-season playoffs, but baseball is called the American pastime, so why not? My son Joel is a big baseball fan and in February something magical happens for him--spring training signals the beginning of the baseball season. Well, Genesis 1:1-6:8, or the portion Bereisheet (in the beginning), signals the beginning of the Torah cycle for another year, and the beginning of so much more.

When we think about taking a holiday, we imagine pristine beaches with white sand, blue water, blue skies.  Or perhaps it is that mountain vista with ice cold streams bubbling down rock dotted beds, deer crossing the forest laden roads and the clean quiet. But how many of us imagine a hut topped with branches so we can see the stars, walls for protection from the wind and sun, and a chance to eat and sleep in the outdoors during one of the more unsettling times of the year?  Most of us probably don't conjure up such images in the autumn, but it is precisely at this time that we enter the outdoors and contemplate our true purpose in life outside the safety and comfort of our home.