In this week’s parsha, Parshas Mishpatim, the Torah commands us regarding numerous mitzvos, mostly mitzvos bein adam l’chavairo (those mitzvos which govern interaction between man and fellow man). After the great Revelation at Sinai and the giving of the Torah in last week’s parsha, Parshas Yisro,...
In this week’s parsha, Parshas Yisro, our national destiny, our personal missions, our past, present and future are all dramatically altered, shaped and forged with the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai. For the Revelation at Sinai and the Aseres Ha’Dibros (Ten Declarations) -...
Parshas Beshalach: The Journey to Freedom. In this week’s parsha, we cross the Yam Suf, the Sea of Reeds, with the Children of Israel; we sing shira, songs of praise and thanks to G-d, along with them for their salvation and the drowning of wicked...
In this week’s parsha, Parshas Bo, after two hundred and ten years in Egypt, and one hundred and sixteen years of slavery, the long-awaited redemption is finally at hand. Leaving a decimated, destroyed, and defeated Egypt behind, the newly-freed Israelites march to a hopeful future. The...
In this week’s parsha, Parshas Va’eira, the Torah tells us of Pharaoh’s refusal to set the Israelites slaves free. As a punishment for this refusal, Pharaoh and his country, his advisors and citizens, meet the beginning of the end with the first of ten plagues,...
As we once again open up the book of Shemos, Sefer ha’Geula - the book of Redemption - with this week’s parsha, Parshas Shemos, we are abruptly thrust into the Egyptian enslavement, the cruelty and senseless nature of slave labor forced upon the Israelite slaves,...
As we once again conclude the first book of the Torah this Shabbos, perhaps it is appropriate to reflect on some lessons learned from Sefer Bereishis. In the Beginning. Bereishis. The Beginning. Sefer Bereishis is also known as: Sefer ha’Yetzirah: The Book of Creation. Sefer ha’Yashar:...
In this week’s parsha, Parshas Vayigash, we learn of, what is perhaps, the most dramatic narrative in all of Sefer Bereishis. Faced with the impending imprisonment of the youngest brother, Binyamin, Yehuda steps forth and speaks harshly to the Egyptian viceroy. Shall you keep the...
In this week's parsha, Parshas Mikeitz, Yosef’s fate takes a drastic turn for the better. The Hebrew lad, torn from his land, family and home at the young age of seventeen, and who is thrown into jail shortly after his arrival in the home of...
In this week’s parsha, Parshas Vayeishev, Yaakov and his family have returned to Eretz Canaan, where Yaakov Avinu desires to live out the rest of his life in peace and quiet (see Rashi to Bereishis 37:2). Despite his longings for peace, the very opposite occurs,...