Praying in the Dark traces how Yaakov’s first night in exile becomes the birthplace of Ma’ariv, Shema al haMitah, and the enduring Jewish discipline of trusting in darkness. Through the combined voices of Rashi, Ramban, Rambam, Ralbag, Rav Kook, and Rabbi Sacks, the essay reveals how unscheduled moments, hiddenness, and the liminal edges of life open into encounter. It highlights how a seemingly ordinary stop on the road becomes the model for prayer that rises from uncertainty yet reaches eternity. A moving guide to discovering G-d precisely where you never expected Him.

This week’s dvar Torah takes a deep look at the struggle between Yaakov and Esav, showing how the birthright becomes far more than a family dispute — it becomes the defining question of who is truly prepared to carry the covenant forward. Drawing on the major classical commentators and modern voices, the article uncovers how Rashi, Ramban, Sforno, Ralbag, Abarbanel, and others each illuminate a different facet of the narrative: moral character, spiritual fitness, divine providence, and the lifelong discipline required to build a life of Torah. Through this integrated lens, the sale of the birthright becomes a timeless message about choosing purpose over impulse, wisdom over appetite, and the kind of future we want to inherit.

A profound exploration of how salt — the most elemental of minerals — becomes, in the hands of the Torah and Chazal, one of the deepest symbols of holiness, covenant, and Divine presence. From the Bris Melach rooted in Creation itself (Bereishis Rabbah 5:4; Ramban Vayikra 2:13), to its essential place in every korban, to the mystical layers revealed by the Zohar and Arizal in our Shabbos table customs, this article traces how salt preserves, purifies, protects, and ultimately elevates the ordinary into an expression of eternal covenant and spiritual aspiration.

This sixth and final essay completes the ascent from holiness to inspiration — Ruach HaKodesh, the culmination of the Ramchal’s ladder. Drawing on Mesilat Yesharim 26, Bereishit Rabbah 48:10, and Genesis 22:11, it examines how perfected holiness yields receptivity to Divine influence: “the Shechinah rests…and a new spirit is placed within him.” Avraham’s final call — “Avraham, Avraham” — marks the convergence of human and Divine will, transforming moral discipline into prophetic presence. The essay integrates ethical precision, purity of intent, and sanctity of action into a unified model of spiritual transparency: revelation as the natural fulfillment of refined holiness.

This fifth essay traces the turn from purity to presence — Kedushah, where a life becomes a dwelling for G-d. Drawing on Mesilat Yesharim 26 and “You shall be holy” (Leviticus 19:2), it shows how holiness begins with human effort and ends as a heavenly gift: the table becomes an altar (Pesachim 59b), the permitted is sanctified (Yevamot 20a), and ordinary acts rise like offerings. Through Avraham’s four-sided tent and public calling of the Name (Genesis 18; 21:33; Bereishit Rabbah 48:10), hospitality turns to revelation—holiness as radiance rather than retreat. If Taharah empties the self of ulterior motive, Kedushah fills that cleared space with Shechinah: a reciprocity in which striving draws down Presence until daily life itself becomes liturgy.

This fourth essay explores Avraham’s passage from ethical precision to spiritual transparency — the movement from Nekiyut (cleanliness of deed) to Taharah (purity of heart). Drawing on Mesilat Yesharim 11 and 16–17, Bereishit Rabbah 43:5, and Psalms 24:3–4, it traces how external integrity matures into inner devotion. In Avraham’s refusal of Sodom’s spoils, his uncalculated obedience at the Akeidah, and his sanctification of the physical through covenant, the Ramchal’s vision unfolds: purity as the bridge between action and intention, where the deed is cleansed of self and the heart readied for holiness. Nekiyut guards the act; Taharah illumines the motive — together they prepare the soul for Kedushah, the indwelling of the Divine.

This third essay traces Avraham’s faith in motion—the leap from vigilance to vitality. Drawing on Mesilat Yesharim 6–7, Sotah 37a, and Bereishit Rabbah 56:1, it explores the Ramchal’s vision of Zerizut as redemptive energy: the holy swiftness that transforms insight into action. Through Avraham’s early rising, Rivkah’s haste, and Nachshon’s leap into the sea, alacrity emerges as love in motion—the courage to act before certainty, the devotion that turns awareness into redemption. Zehirut watches; Zerizut runs. Together they form the heartbeat of the soul’s ascent toward Taharah, where action refines into pure intention.

This second essay follows Avraham from revelation to refinement—showing how prophetic clarity begins with moral vigilance. Drawing on Mesilat Yesharim 2–4, Nedarim 32a, and Yevamot 121a, it explores the Ramchal’s vision of Zehirut as the foundation of holiness: disciplined awareness that guards the soul from habit, distraction, and self-deception. Avraham’s mindful walk before G-d becomes the model for all spiritual ascent—the daily watchfulness through which faith matures into Ruach HaKodesh.

This opening essay explores the paradox of Avraham’s greatness: how the patriarch called “My beloved” could become the source of his descendants’ exile. Drawing on Nedarim 32a, the Ramchal’s Mesilat Yesharim 4, and classical commentators from Ramban to Maharal, it reframes the Egyptian bondage not as punishment but as covenantal refinement. Every nuance of Avraham’s faith becomes a generational lesson—proof that Divine justice for the righteous is measured not in anger, but in artistry.