And you always thought Aaron’s staff turning into a serpent!!! Here’s a guest post by Rabbi Ari Kahn… In order to implement his plan to enslave the Jews, it was important for Pharaoh to dehumanize his victims. Thus, the Jews’ birthrate is described from the Egyptian perspective, in language that Read more…
This week’s Torah portion begins the book of Exodus (Shemot) The book of Genesis details the beginnings of the Family of Israel. In Exodus, we will be forged into the Nation of Israel, after passing through the iron furnace of Egyptian slavery. At the “burning bush” the Almighty reaches out Read more…
Blessing of Ephraim & Menashe Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26) Guest Post by Shraga Simmons Jacob, realizing he is about to die, gathers his 12 sons to receive a blessing. But first, Jacob calls upon two of his grandchildren – Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Menashe – to receive blessings. Why would Jacob Read more…
Esav (Esau) and Yaakov (Jacob) were twins. The first to be born was Esav, and he came out red (adom), and hairy all over, therefore they called his name Esav (Asui means fully formed). (Gen 26:25) Later, when he grows up he will be given another name, Edom, (which means Read more…
Who started it, and who can stop the plagues and war? This week we begin reading the book of Leviticus, or VaYikra in Hebrew וַיִּקְרָא. In Hebrew, the 5 books of the Torah are named after the first meaningful word in the book. Here is how Leviticus starts: וַיִּקְרָא אֶל־מֹשֶׁה Read more…
Joseph rose to the highest rank in Pharoah’s palace and became Egypt’s number one citizen. Yet in spite of that he remained true to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Here are some paraphrased words from one of my teachers, Rabbi Ze’ev Leff about how Joseph and his brothers Read more…
There is a Jewish tradition for men to sing “A Woman of Valor” (Proverbs 31:10-31) to their wives just before making Kiddush over the wine and breaking bread at the Friday night Shabbat meal. It sings the praises of the Jewish woman. Tradition also says that it was based on Read more…
Each of the Patriarchs represents a different character trait we strive to emulate. Avraham represents “Chesed” – “loving-kindness.” This manifests itself in performing selfless acts with a focus on helping others. This week’s Torah portion, VaYera (Genesis 18:1 – 23:20) continues with the saga of Avraham’s life and introduces us Read more…
A few years ago I was teaching a class on the weekly Torah Portion about Noah. A student interrupted the lecture and said, “I’m an anthropology major and I’ve studied ancient societies and cultures from all over the world. Virtually all of them have folktales of a deluge or flood Read more…
Genesis 18:1-8 finds Avraham recovering from his circumcision in the heat of the desert day. Yet, when he sees three men appear, he runs to greet them and invite them into his tent to refresh themselves. The Midrash tells us that after Avraham would feed his guests, he would ask Read more…
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