Reading Torah every week, we get very familiar with the main characters of the story. Throughout Sefer Shemot, the Book of Exodus, we’ve become especially attached to Moshe, whose name has been everywhere from the moment he was named. Lo and behold, this week, in Parshat Tetzaveh, we will not read his name once! Actually, Moshe’s far Continue Reading »
As we begin reading a series of portions about the building of the Mishkan, the project that would become Israel’s traveling sanctuary, let’s consider a fundamental question about building projects. Who’s more crucial to the project: the architect or the interior designer? On the one hand, I would argue for the architect as follows: what good Continue Reading »
When I was in 5th grade, my family moved from the home they had owned for more than 25 years. My sisters were both married and out of the country (not to mention the house), and my parents were ready to “right-size.” But the main attraction of the new place was that it was part Continue Reading »
When Moshe first encountered Yitro back at the beginning ofSefer Shemot, the Book of Exodus, he knew the man was special. Not only was he the father of seven daughters, he was the priest of Midian. Little did he know that one day, Yitro would be Moshe’s judicial consultant. As Moshe reconnects with his wife, Continue Reading »
Strong emotions can lead to strange behaviors. Anger, for example, can lead to bitterness, and then to hatred, and render us so blinded that we are unable to act in an appropriate and ethical manner. Such anger may even create excessive traffic on the George Washington Bridge! Even the Torah and its ancient interpreters noted Continue Reading »
Pharaoh’s almost ready to relent and allow the Israelites to fulfill Moshe’s demand that they go out of Egypt for three days to celebrate and worship God. But he wants Moshe to provide a VIP list of those who will be granted exit visas. “Mi vami haholkhim–Who’s who that is going?” he asks (Exodus 10:8). Continue Reading »
Have you ever been so distraught that you can’t appreciate something that should bring you joy? Who would so turn away the bearer of good news? That’s exactly what happens to the Israelites in our parsha, Va-era, as Moshe tries to bring them a promise of redemption but his words fall on deaf ears. “But when Continue Reading »
What are your plans for this coming Tuesday evening and Wednesday? You can be sure that whatever you have in mind to do, it’ll be different than what you would have done in, say, Poland in the 18th century on that same date, or in Venice in the 16th century. The term “December dilemma” has Continue Reading »
Just as the Torah portion, Vayehi, dwells extensively on a father giving deathbed guidance to his sons, so does the haftarah. But the tone of the fatherly instructions in the haftarah is jarring. Here, in the second chapter of the Book of Kings, David advises his chosen successor Shlomo to do more than just to Continue Reading »
As Pharaoh had dreamed and Yosef had interpreted, the Land of Egypt was wracked by famine. Yosef’s initial economic advice was for Egypt to prepare for seven years of scarcity by stockpiling grain during seven years of surplus. But when it came time to address the population’s needs, things got dicey for the average Egyptian. Continue Reading »
