Do you have to understand the laws of the Torah to be able to observe them? This is not a new question. It was probably born at the same moment the laws of the Torah were introduced to the Israelites for the first time, but it has gained prominence in…
With the story of Korah, the war against Moshe and the ingratitude expressed by the people receive new dimensions. Moshe’s leadership has been challenged before, but this time he was facing a well-organized mutiny, with those at the helm taking aim at him personally. It must have been very difficult…
Esther: No Makeup The Book of Esther was written for the stage. Each scene is elaborately presented with a description of the setting, the decoration, the protagonists and the dialogue. There are main characters which appear in pairs: King and Queen I, King and Queen II, Queen II and Mordechai,…
Shemot 2017 Righteous women! Because of their merit, the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt. This beautiful statement, found in the Babylonian Talmud (Sotah 11:2), suggests that women played a pivotal role in the Exodus. We read it and think “well, no one can claim that the Rabbis tried to marginalize…
Rashi on Shemot Genesis and Exodus have each its personality. The former starts with cosmic events and segues into the details of the first Hebrew families, while the latter focuses on the nation as whole, and on its journey from slavery to freedom and to nationhood. Rashi’s commentary, accordingly, wears…
For Rosh HaShana 5778 עוקד והנעקד והמזבח – These words are the refrain of a poem chanted by all Sephardic communities, from the Iberian Peninsula to North Africa, from Iran to Jerusalem. The meaning of these words is: He who bounds; He who is bound; The Altar. Those three Hebrew…
Of all the questions surrounding the ten plagues of Egypt, none has captured the interest of commentators throughout the ages as much as the question of how can God disrupt Pharaoh’s decision-making process, and then hold him accountable for it. This question fascinates believers because it has direct application to…
Messianic Wars in Midrash – Parashat VaEra In Exodus 8:2 we read of the second plague of Egypt, frogs: ותעל הצפרדע ותכס את ארץ מצרים. The literal translation of these words is: The frog [singular] came up and covered the land of Egypt. The use of the singular form to…
Many believe that the sin of Sodom was Sodomy. That word was coined after the events described in Genesis (19:1-10): The messengers came to Sodom and were greeted by Lot, took them home and offered them food and shelter. As they were getting ready to sleep, the townspeople besieged the…
Unearthed from the pages of the Torah, presented here is a correspondence between Yosef and Yaakov following their reunion at Goshen. [Yosef]: Dearest Aba, I am back at the palace, overjoyed and emotional after our long-awaited reunion. But, with all the joy, some disturbing thought keeps me up at night,…