Inner Torah

In Parshas Toldos, we find an intriguing story with Yitzchak, Rivka and their sojourn in Gerar. Yitzchak is afraid that the natives will kill him in order to marry his beautiful wife. He claims she is his sister in order to save his life and they let the two of them be. But then one day, as described in Genesis 26:8: וַיְהִ֗י כִּ֣י אָֽרְכוּ־ל֥וֹ שָׁם֙ הַיָּמִ֔ים וַיַּשְׁקֵ֗ף אֲבִימֶ֙לֶךְ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים בְּעַ֖ד הַֽחַלּ֑וֹן וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֤ה יִצְחָק֙ מְצַחֵ֔ק אֵ֖ת רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ When some time had passed, Abimelech king of the Philistines, looking out of the window, saw Isaac sporting with his wife Rebekah. Abimelech understands by the nature of their intimate relationship that they are more than brother and sister. He gets upset at Yitzchak and claims that he almost causes him to sin by allowing him to live with his wife who he thought was single. The Torah tells us that Yitzchak goes on to plant crops, yields a hundred fold bounty, causes jealousy from the natives and h...

One of the most enigmatic and perplexing episodes in the entire Torah is the story of Lot and his daughters. In Genesis 19:33-35, the Pessukim describe the twisted turn of events where Sodom is destroyed and the only people to escape alive are Lot and his daughters. His daughters are convinced that they are the sole survivors of humanity and the only way to continue the human race is to conceive from their father and perpetuate mankind.  They ply their father with wine and subsequently conceive, night after night, naming their sons Ammon and Moav, implicitly and explicitly implying their incestual act. The commentaries are replete with details and analysis of this outlandish event. Generally, our sages view their act as heroic, as they genuinely thought they were doing the right thing.  But Lot? He is a complex character in general, where some sources describe his righteous nature, after all, he was spared from the destruction of Sodom. On the other hand, many sources paint hi...