Shabbat HaGadol ("Great Shabbat" שבת הגדול ) is the Shabbat immediately before Passover. There is a special Haftarah reading on this Shabbat of the book of Malachi. Traditionally a lengthy and expansive sermon is given to the general community in the afternoon. Various reasons are given for the name of this Shabbat: 1) The Midrash Rabbah states: “When they (the Jewish people) set aside their paschal lamb on that Shabbat, the first-born gentiles gathered near the Israelites and asked them why they were doing this. The following was their response: “This is a Pesach offering to God who will kill the firstborn Egyptians.” They (the firstborn) went to their fathers and to Pharaoh to request that they grant permission to send the Jewish people free – but they refused. The first-born then waged a war against them and many of them (the Egyptians) were killed. This is the [...]
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If the exodus story were written to fit the times… The cycle of violence between the Jews and the Egyptians continues with no end in sight in Egypt. After eight previous plagues that have destroyed the Egyptian infrastructure and disrupted the lives of ordinary Egyptian citizens, the Jews launched a new offensive this week in the form of the ...
Weekly Sidra: Shemot (Names) Torah Portion: Shemot /Exodus 1:1-6:1 Haftorah: Yermiyahu /Jeremiah 1:1-2:3 According to the yearly Torah cycle, this week we are reading the weekly Parasha called Shemot which means Names in Hebrew and begins the book of Exodus 1:1-6:1. This portion of Scripture details the birth of Moshe. At the time of ...
Weekly Sidra: Shemot (Names) Torah Portion: Shemot /Exodus 1:1-6:1 Haftorah: Yermiyahu /Jeremiah 1:1-2:3 This weeks Torah reading, starts the new book of Shemot (Sefer Shemot / Book of Exodus). We learn about the Hebrews gradual enslavement, Moses’s birth and some significant moments in his life. One of the most significant and ...
Weekly Sidra: Mikeitz (at the end) Torah Portion: Bereshit / Genesis 41:1-44:17 Haftorah: Zecharya / Zechariah 2:14-4:7 Miketz or Mikeitz (מקץ — Hebrew for “at the end,” the second word — and first distinctive word — of the parshah) is the tenth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycl ...
Rav Chaim Friedlander asks some incisive questions in regards to the story of Yosef’s rise to power, that I believe are very instructive as to what we can expect from a true king of the Jewish people. He points out that it is remarkable that Yosef was raised to the unbelievable height of power as Egypt’s second in command in such a shor ...
Like Moshe, Mashiach will be revealed, then hidden, then revealed again. (Bamidbar Rabbah 11:2) There is much confusion, for instance, concerning what connotes the "coming of the Redeemer" and the Redemption itself. The author of Sefat Emet (the Gerrer Rebbe) explains this difference using the example of Moses and the Redemption of the Je ...
Many words in the Hebrew language have a complex and twisted history. Sometimes one of the paths along which the word marched is blocked, but then another opens along which it continues its existence. This is probably the case with "Zaphnath pa’aneach", a name which appears only once in the Bible: "And Pharaoh called Joseph by ...
Weekly Sidra: Beshalach (when [he] let go) Torah Portion: Shemot / Exodus 13:17-17:16 Haftorah: Shofetim / Judges 5:1-5:31 The Israelites did so, some gathering much, some little. 18 But when they measured it by the omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no deficiency: they had gathered as much as they need ...
Weekly Sidra: Va’era (and I appeared) Torah Portion: Shemot / Exodus 6:2 – 9:35 Haftorah: Yechetzkel / Ezekiel 28:25 – 29:21 The Lord replied to Moses, "See, I place you in the role of God to Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your prophet. 2 You shall repeat all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Phar ...
Weekly Sidra: Mikeitz (at the end) Torah Portion: Bereshit / Genesis 41:1-44:17 Haftorah: Zecharya / Zechariah 2:14-4:7 The chief cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, “I must make mention today of my offenses. 10 Once Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and placed me in custody in the house of the chief steward, together with the chi ...
“This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, bade the Israelites farewell before he died.” [Devarim 33:1] This is the last parsha that we read as part of Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah). We actually read the last portion of Devarim and then read the first chapter of Bereshit (Genesis). The final Parasha in Devari ...
Rules, Rules and more Rules! Who Needs Them? This week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, Shemot / Exodus 21:1 – 24:18 is filled with rules. Before we jump to conclusions and say they don’t apply today let’s look at some category’s of relationships. There are paid employees with a job, volunteers with a job, ...
Parsha BeShalach / When he sent / Shemot / Exodus 13:17 – 17:16 What a parsha and time of the year!… of firsts. The Hebrew nation experiences their first taste of freedom from Mitzrayim or Egypt. The first prophet is a prophetess and the scriptures speak Miriam’s name for the first time.People hear the first instructions for obser ...
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