Rav Moshe Feinstein explains that יעקב was alive because since he was reunited with יוסף he was happy, and when you are happy you are alive.   Alternatively, Rav Eliezer Ginsburg explains that the reason יעקב was able to live in happiness in מצרים was because he was ״ויצא מלפני פרעה״, he left פרעה. Rav Moshe… Read more

The רמב״ן, רד״ק  and שער בת רבים explain that the reason why פרעה was happy when he saw יוסף’s family was because now he saw that יוסף came from a חשוב family and he wasn’t worried that maybe he had a person from a family of slaves running Egypt.  The ספורנו explains that פרעה  and… Read more

Why does it say?מקץ שנתים ימים  The word ימים is extra? Rav Moshe Shternbach explains that יוסף took each day and asked himself what he is supposed to do to serve ה׳ best. What can we learn from Paroah’s dream?  The שפת אמת says that פרעה’s dreams of seven years of famine and seven years… Read more

Rav Gluck explains that וישב stands for ויבטחו בך יודעי שמך because the only way to pass a test is to believe in ה׳.   Similarly, Rav Simcha Bunim of Pshischa says that the פסוק of ״ויהי ה׳ עם יוסף ויהי איש מצליח״ means that ה׳ was with יוסף because he was always thinking of ה׳ even… Read more

The חפץ חיים says that יעקב said he has כל and עשו says he has רוב, meaning יעקב was satisfied with everything he had and עשו  was not.  Rav Moshe says a little different פשט that יעקב was saying that he has everything he needs to be an עבד ה׳, but עשו was saying that… Read more

Rav Moshe explains that יעקב called this place a בית אלקים and then talked about מעשר because the only way to have a בית אלקים is to do חסד. Rav Moshe explains that ה׳ appeared to יעקב on his way to חרן to show that you can have השראת השכינה wherever you are. The 7… Read more

Rav Moshe explains that even though we were introduced to אברהם and יצחק when they were being tested, we are introduced to יעקב when he is just learning, to show that even when one is not being tested he still needs to strive to grow. The ספר דרש ועיון explains that ויגדל האיש וילך הלך… Read more

Rabbi Baruch Newman explained that בא בימים means that אברהם came into each day with two concepts on his mind: the day he was born to remember his mission on earth and the day he will die and have to be judged.   The בית אברהם explains that it means that he came into each day… Read more

Audio of Lavi on Parshat Veyeira: Vayeira (yutorah.org) Rav Moshe says we learn from ה׳ visiting אברהם that ביקור חולים is helpful even if you are not giving the sick person anything. Also, even if you don’t know the reason for a מצוה, you still need to do it. Rav Noach Weinberg: We learn from… Read more

Audio of Lavi on Parshat Lech Lecha: Lech Lcha (yutorah.org) The משך חכמה explains the words of ״אל הארץ אשר אראך״ as meaning that when אברהם gets to the land then ה׳ will show him off to everyone there. The שער בת רבים explains that it specifies that אברהם took all his stuff because אברהם… Read more

Audio of Lavi on Parshat Noach: Noach (yutorah.org) Rabbi Ephraim Twersky explains that צדיק היה בדורותיו means that נח didn’t look at the people around him to see if they were better or worse than him because that is a tactic of the יצר הרע, rather he was exactly in his own generation and looked… Read more

Audio of Lavi on Bereishit: YUTorah Online and Bereishis (yutorah.org) The רל״ג explains that it says יום אחד because ה׳ is telling every Jew that we can bring light to the earth even in one day. The Radziner says that the פסוק says ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר יום אחד and not יום ראשון because it… Read more