Shemot: Patterns of Hate
While Western civilization views history as evolutionary and open-ended, Judaism views it is cyclical and predetermined. At several points in our tefillah we recite the
February 5, 2025
While Western civilization views history as evolutionary and open-ended, Judaism views it is cyclical and predetermined. At several points in our tefillah we recite the
Parshat Vayechi launches with the scene of Yaakov’s passing while it concludes with Yosef’s death-bed request. Confident in the ultimate redemption from Egypt, he pleads
Jewish festivals mark watershed moments in our national history. They celebrate both events that advanced our historical mission as well as pivotal moments in
After a gut-wrenching week of tears and grief, Shabbat finally approaches. It is difficult to imagine the sorrow and agony flooding the hearts of the
No human being who ever lived deserved entry into the Land of Israel more than Moshe. He had stoked the redemptive imagination of a band
As early as the late 19th century the question of adapting Tisha B’Av prayer to the dramatic changes in the modern Jewish world emerged. In
During the Second Temple era a terrible and internally divisive struggle raged within the Jewish people. Two students of an early Tana/rabbi named Antignos misunderstood
At the burning bush, Moshe Rabbeinu is tasked with the mission of redeeming the Jewish people from Mitzrayim. As his first encounter with historical mission
The Egyptian exile was foreshadowed during the Brit Bein Habterim—the official launch of Jewish history. During a nighttime rendezvous with Hashem, Avraham was informed that
One of the most transformative korbanot is a chatat, offered in response to negligent shogeg commission of sin. It offers an opportunity for soul-searching, teshuva
Each of the five volumes of Torah She’bichtav carries a nickname that captures its core theme. Fittingly, the nickname for Sefer Shemot is Sefer Hageula
The disproportion between Amalek’s crime and their punishment is stunning. Their desert attack of the pilgriming Jews elicits a seemingly exaggerated response—a specific mitzvah to
