This Shabbat we read the Torah portion ofבשלח (Beshalach). Denoted שבת שירה (Shabbat Shira),the “Shabbat of the Song,” this portion contains the song that the Jewish people sang to Hashem in appreciation for the salvation that they experienced from the…
The Egyptians have suffered through seven of the ten plagues, and after three more they will send the Jewish people out of Egypt. The time has come to prepare the Jewish people for the holiday of Pesach. They will need…
When Hashem charged Moshe with his mission to take the Jewish people out of Egypt, He told him (Exodus 4:17), (יז) וְאֶת הַמַּטֶּה הַזֶּה תִּקַּח בְּיָדֶךָ אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה בּוֹ אֶת הָאֹתֹת. 17) “And this staff you shall take in your…
This coming Shabbat we begin the Torah’s second book, Shemot. After just a few verses, we learn of Levi’s death at age 137. This noteworthy “statistic” had extraordinary significance, for it marked the beginning of our slavery in Egypt. As…
Yaakov Avinu, the last of the Patriarchs, is at the end of his life. Yet before he leaves this world, he must charge the next generation with their mission to carry forward their illustrious family’s legacy, that of, Avraham, Yitzchak,…
Tonight, December 31st, the 1st day of the month (“Rosh Chodesh”) of Tevet, is the seventh night of Chanukah. Jews the world over have kindled seven candles in their menorahs to celebrate the seventh consecutive day that the one…
Tomorrow night, we will kindle the first Chanukah candle. We celebrate the eight-day Chanukah holiday by lighting an eight-branch menorah, each branch representing one night of the holiday. By daily adding another candle, we acknowledge the miracle of the Temple…
The story of Yosef and his brothers is one of the Torah’s most difficult stories to understand. How could the brothers’ jealousy towards Yosef have been so great that they wanted to kill him because of it? And, after they…
This week’s Parsha details the encounter between the world’s two opposing forces: good and evil, as manifest in Yaakov and his brother Esav. These two players are still center stage in today’s world in the form of the Jewish people…
Esav has vowed to kill Yaakov for stealing his blessing from Yitzchak, so Rivka and Yitzchak decided to send Yaakov to Rivka’s brother, Lavan. This would both protect Yaakov from his brother’s wrath and find him a wife. On Yaakov’s…