Collected Archive of Shoemaker Reports
The Shoemaker Report is Rav Hoshea’s weekly Torah publication. Its focus is on internalizing and living Torah from the heart, not only from the head. The divrei Torah often take the parashah of the week as their point of entry and address central questions of inner avodah — including teshuvah, prayer (tefillah), emunah, bitachon, and related areas of spiritual and personal refinement.
The writing assumes seriousness from the reader and speaks from within Torah life, with meaning emerging organically from honest analysis of our holy Torah and the words of Chazal, rather than from short-lived inspiration or simplified conclusions.
If Ya'akov intended Rachel but was with Leah, did that spiritually damage the soul of Reuven in some mystical way and remove him from his firstborn status? In the language of Chazal, was Reuven a "ben temurah"? This essay explores the mystery of Ya'akov, Leah, Rachel, Yosef, and Reuven, showing how Hashem's truth is exact: the firstborn blessing returned to Yosef, but Reuven was not rejected.
