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 plague of darkness. Western journalists were particularly enraged by this plague. "It is simply impossible to report when you can't see an inch in front of you," complained a frustrated Andrea Koppel of CNN. "I have heard from my reliable Egyptian contacts that in the midst of the blanket of blackness, the Jews were annihilating thousands of Egyptians. Their word is solid enough evidence for me." While the Jews contend that the plagues are justified given the harsh slavery imposed upon them by the Egyptians, Pharaoh, the Egyptian leader, rebuts this claim. "If only the plagues would let up, there would be no slavery. We just want to live plague-free. It is the right of every society." Saeb Erekat, an ancient Egyptian spokesperson, complains that slavery is justifiable given the Jews' superior weaponry supplied to them by the superpower God. The Europeans are particularly enraged by the latest Jewish offensive. "The Jewish aggression must cease if there is to be peace in the region. The Jews should go back to...
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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 o ...
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 an ...
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 cyc ...
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 short span of t ...
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 J ...
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 the n ...
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 ...
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 nee ...
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 Pharaoh to let the Is ...
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 chief ba ...
“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 Devar ...
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, people that pay ...
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 observing Shab ...
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