“So that I might place these signs of Mine in his midst.” ‘Pharoah was a lost cause but God aimed to instill lessons of eternal faith within His people. When they looked around them and saw God’s hand everywhere, it would be a boon. Belief would spring eternal. A better approach to these verses is that Moshe was taken in by Pharoah’s post-hail promise to liberate the Jews. The Almighty’s messeng...



“And I appeared unto Avraham, unto Yitzchak, and unto Yaakov, as God Almighty, but by My name [Hashem] I made Me not known to them.” Classic commentators struggled to make sense of our verse. Some hold that it means that God had not revealed Himself to them via the Ineffable name. Others posit that Hashem made promises to them, but did not fulfil them. Both positions are weak, as we shall...



"“And Moshe (Moses) spoke thusly to the Children of Israel but they did not heed Moshe on account of exasperation and overexertion.” Work rendered the Hebrews emotionally drained and physically overtaxed. They had neither patience nor time for Moshe’s assurances. His words fell on deaf ears. Yes, they believed in the shepherd from Midian’s clarion call for deliverance, but these wearied wo...



Parshot Bo:“And Moshe and Aharon went in unto Pharoah, and said…let My people go, that they may serve Me….Else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring locusts unto your border…” We ask: Why did the Torah’s arranger of the parshiyot begin this parashah with the plague of locusts? After all, it is not the Torah’s launch into what would eventually stretch out to...



Parashat Va’era, First Aliyah “And Moshe spoke thusly to the Children of Israel but they did not heed Moshe on account of exasperation and overexertion.” Work rendered the Hebrews emotionally drained and physically overtaxed. They had neither patience nor time for Moshe’s assurances. His words fell on deaf ears. Yes, they believed in the shepherd from Midian’s clarion call for delivera...



“And I appeared unto Avraham, unto Yitzchak, and unto Yaakov, as God Almighty, but by My name [Hashem] I made Me not known to them.” Parashat Va’era, First Aliyah Classic commentators struggled to make sense of our verse. Some hold that it means that God had not revealed Himself to them via the Ineffable name. Others posit that Hashem made promises to them, but did not fulfil them. Bo...



For Yaakov (Jacob), a bitter famine coupled with his sons’ insistence comprised formidable tailwinds propelling him to Egypt. Still, he might have braved hunger and stayed put in beloved Canaan. Perhaps he could have resisted their incessant appeals had it not been for one irresistible magnet. Its force tugged and jerked mercilessly. Uppermost in the mind and heart of the aged patriarch was an ima...



Exodus (Shemot in Hebrew) segues from Genesis (Bereshit), for good reason. Here are four rationales that explain what takes us from the Torah’s first to second book. 1) Bereshit dealt with individuals of great personal stature. To name some of the moral giants, we list: Adam, Noach, Shem, Eiver, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and his sons. There were other outstanding personalities, as well...



With Zev Bar-Eitan discussing his English series, "Abravanel's World of Torah"  



One gets the distinct impression that Yaakov's final seventeen years - spent in Goshen, Egypt - were his golden years. Reunited with his beloved Yosef, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, it was for all intents and purposes the epitome of Sabbas and Savtas call Yiddishe nachas. Moreover, the third patriarch's ruchniut churned most prolifically. Specifically, divine communications tha...



After Yaakov received the delightfully shocking news that his son Yosef was alive and well in Egypt (and gainfully employed!), the Torah records his gut reaction. 'And Yisrael said: How incomprehensible it is that Yosef is still alive. I will go down [to Egypt] and see him before I pass away." Sometime thereafter, the patriarch took a more thoughtful approach to his predicament, and a monstrous pr...



Arguably, Parashat Miketz is Bereshit's most dramatic chapter. And that is saying quite a lot, especially considering the riveting subject matter contained in each and every one of Genesis’ twelve parshiyot. Do they not comprise episodes and narratives chock-full of esoterica, intrigue, and bafflement that stretch man's imagination, reason, and intellect? Tucked into Miketz' seventh aliyah whe...



This parasha is the first of four parshiyot that deal with one of Tanach’s most protracted scandals: The Selling of Yosef by his brothers into Slavery. That single topic is at the very heart of these chapters. At root, perhaps one question towers above the rest. It is this. If Yosef’s brothers’ deed ranks as egregious as it appears, then why doesn’t the Torah record their just deserts and puni...



In this parasha, Yaakov’s long, anticipated reunion with his brother Esav unfolds. Building suspense makes it one of the most dramatic and tense narratives in Sefer Bereshit. Yaakov’s preparation for the event was two-fold. On one level, a physical one, the patriarch readied his family and property for potential hostilities should Esav’s forces attack. A second additional tack employed by Yaako...



Bible students need not be put off by the fact that the Torah is written in fantastic shorthand. It does, however, mean that serious students are expected to do a fair amount of sleuthing and honest investigation if they are to properly apprehend its enduring wisdom. While this observation is true in a general sense, it is equally as relevant when we try to get a better feel or read on major Bib...



The Torah devotes three parshiyot to Avraham (Lech Lecha, Vayera, and Chayei Sara) and the balance of Bereshit (from Vayetze to Vayachi) deals with Yaakov and the twelve tribes. Toldot is the sole parasha that teaches us about Yitzchak's life. Q: Is Yitzchak the patriarch we never quite got to know? Why such scant and skeletal treatment for him? After all, Yitzchak, uniquely, is referred to as a p...



Q: What was Avraham thinking when he made his public plea to procure in perpetuity Hevron’s multi-tiered cave (Ma’ara Hamachpela). To clarify, the question here is not why Avraham desired the Cave in the first place. That can be answered very simply enough. Namely, he badly wanted it on account of its association with Adam and Eve having been buried there. Jewish tradition attests to that. Rather,...



Vayera opens with “And the Almighty appeared to him [Avraham] in Elonei Mamre as he sat at the tent’s entrance in the heat of the day.” Q: If the Torah wanted to pinpoint the place or locale from where this prophetic vision emanated, then the verse only needed to state “in Elonei Mamrei” or “at the tent’s entrance.” Why was it important to add a prepositional phrase regarding this event’s timing “...



Below are two ideas on this week’s parasha. The first one comes to answer a famous question. Given that Avraham was spared Nimrod/Ur Kasdim's wrath and death by fire, why doesn’t the Torah mention that miracle explicitly? Instead, only an innuendo suffices, as the major commentators have noted. To answer, let us provide a premise. Avram had been a well-known philosopher in his city. Moreover,...



Commentators question the sequence of Noach’s sons’ birth order. Who were the eldest, the middle, and youngest children? Several classics commentators have weighed in on this subject, bringing proofs from Scripture. Another particularly curious and quirky question is this one: How many sons did Noach have? The quick answer is three but might there have been a fourth one as well? Fairly, studen...



There are, of course, many fundamental questions students must grapple with when they open a Chumash (Torah). One is: Are Tanach (Biblical) narratives literal, metaphorical, or figurative? Great commentators have weighed in on this subject when it comes to Gan Eden (Garden of Eden), in general, and the snake episode in particular. Fairly they ask: Is it for real? Did the snake – even generously al...

 

 

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