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Last week’s parashah ended with Moshe’s face being so radiant that they had to cover it with a veil – they were afraid to come near him. Why would God’s radiance make the people back away? Perhaps the light from his face reminded them of their dark side, their yetzer ha rah, bringing the failure […]
New opportunities… “The LORD, the LORD, God, gracious and compassionate, long-suffering, slow to anger and abundant in mercy and truth; extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving premeditated sins, rebellious sins, and unintentional sins; He absolves sinners.” Exodus 34: 6 – 7 “Adonai Adonai El rachum vechanun erech apayim verav-chesed ve’emet notser chesed la’alafim noseh […]
Parashat Tetzaveh is the second of the four parashot that envelop the sin of the golden calf, the Egel Zahav. It begins with the lighting of the menorah. Hebrew is a language of pictures through which the principles that GOD wants to teach us unfold. Tetzaveh will speak of the menorah lit with “pure” oil, […]
Can a willing heart be developed? In the last verse of Parashat Mishpatim, we read that Moshe ascended the mountain of God, Mt. Sinai, where he would remain for 40 days and 40 nights. The next thing we read, whether it happened chronologically or not, God asked Moshe to tell the Israelites to take gifts […]
“Bless Adonai, O His angels, mighty in strength, you who execute His word and listen to the voice of His commandment.” (Tehillim 103:20) To me, the central theme of Parashat Mishpatim is our responsibility toward our neighbor who is voluntarily or involuntarily affected by our actions. In this sense, Mishpatim is an explanation of how […]
Are You For or Against the Creator? This parashah Yitro has a lot of meat and meaning. Interestingly, this portion in which we received the Ten Commandments or Sayings is named after a Gentile priest These Ten Words are Israel’s Constitution as well as for the entire world. There is so much to learn from […]
Parashat Beshalach once again demonstrates that the stories in the Torah form a prototype of human behaviour that would be repeated throughout the centuries. Let’s look at just a few verses to see if we can find the thread that weaves its pattern from which we can learn. Exodus 13:17, “When Pharaoh let the people […]
The Birthing of Israel Let me share a modern-day mashal (parable) with you about the birth of a new nation. A surrogate mother has an embryo implanted within her which she will carry until the birth of the newborn baby. (As an aside, I dislike the word fetus because this is how people dehumanize the […]
Do You Hear GOD’s voice? But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage. Shemot 6:9 This week’s parashah, Vaera which means “And I appeared”, begins with a dialogue between the Eternal and Moshe, where God confirms who He is, and reveals a new […]
We have now finished reading Bereshit and are beginning the amazing story of the Exodus. Joseph had made his brothers swear that they would take his bones out of Egypt and bury him in Canaan like their father Jacob. Yet unlike Jacob, whose sons buried him in Machpelah just seventy days after his death, it […]
