Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel –“And he took the Book of the Covenant, and read it into the ears of the nation, and they said, ‘Everything that the Lord has spoken we shall do and we shall understand” (Exodus 23:7) At Sinai, the Jewish nation entered into its …
Parshat Mishpatim and Aseret HaDibrot Rabbanit Bili Rebenstein is the Rosh Beit Midrash for Midreshet Lindenbaum‘s Israeli programs The giving of the Torah on Sinai, of which we read in last week’s portion of Yitro, is a formative moment in the history of our people. It is the moment when the Divine turns to simple …
Humility: A Prerequisite for Receiving the Torah Rabbi Nadav Nizri is the Administrative Director of the Robert M. Beren Machanaim Hesder Yeshiva In our portion, the Torah relates Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah; hence, I would like to discuss the unique quality of Har Sinai (or, more precisely, the quality our Sages attributed …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Yitro (Exodus 18:1-20:23) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel –“You shall not climb up My altar with steps, so that your nakedness will not be revealed on it.” (Exodus 20:22) In the time when the Torah was given, all religions were intimately connected with sexuality, temple prostitutes, and orgiastic rites. One of the …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel –“And when Israel saw the great hand that God had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared God; they had faith in God and in His servant, Moses” (Exodus 14:31) Why does the heart of the Haggadah almost completely omit mention of Moses, …
The Nachshon ben Aminadav Effect Rabbi Ohad Teharlev is the Rosh Midrasha of the Israeli programs at Midreshet Lindenbaum After the Israelites leave Egypt, Pharaoh realizes that the People of Israel are walking in circles and assumes that “they are entangled in the land [and that] the wilderness has shut them in.” Hence, he gets …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel –I have always been most fascinated—and confounded—by the ninth plague, the plague of darkness. How can darkness be “tangible,” touchable? Yes, darkness can be oppressive, foreboding and forbidding. But darkness is not substantive; much the opposite, it is usually defined as the absence of light, …
Seizing the Moment Tal Noiman, Rosh Beit Midrash, Jennie Sapirstein Junior High and High School for Girls In Parshat Bo we find the enthralling verses recounting the Exodus from Egypt and the ensuing redemption: “And thus shall you eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Va’era (Exodus 6:2-9:35) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel –“And I will bring you into the land that I promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you as a morasha (heritage): I am the Lord.’” (Exodus 6:8) It is only natural for parents to want to leave a …
Was Pharaoh Really Denied his Free Will? Adv. Tamar Oderberg is a legal advocate at Yad La’isha: The Monica Dennis Goldberg Legal Aid Center and Hotline “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt” (Shemot 7, 3). These words evoke immediate astonishment, as they seem …
Shemot or Exodus Rabbi Sarel Rosenblatt is Rosh Kollel of Ohr Torah Stone’s Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary. Is it the Book of Shemot or Exodus? How should we refer to the second book of the Pentateuch which we begin reading this week? Many people think that the Book of Shemot is called so …
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel –“And Pharaoh commanded his entire nation saying, every male baby born must be thrown into the Nile, while every female baby shall be allowed to live.” (Exodus 1:22) In decreeing the destruction of the Israelites in Egypt, why does Pharaoh distinguish between the …
