Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com The Pharaoh and the King I still remember my fifth grade Rebbe, Rabbi A. Y. Berman, asking the one...

When G-d appoints Moshe as His emissary to redeem the Jewish People from their Egyptian bondage, He splits the leadership position into...

For the illui neshamahof my mother, Chaya Rachel basMordechai, on her yahrtzeit, the 17th of Teves, תש”ע Parshasשְׁמוֹת Hashem’s Treasure...

The root פלה first appears in this week’s Parsha, and it appears here twice, which is more than any other Parsha in the Torah. The first...

Before bringing the Plague of Blood, G-d tells Aharon to stretch out his staff over the different bodies of water in Egypt. He tells...

Just Because Before the Plague of Hail, Moshe warns the Pharaoh that he truly deserves to be killed, but that G-d had said, “nonetheless,...

Va’era How Do We Give Kavodto Hashem? כָּבֵד: heavy כָּבֵד: liver כָּבוֹד: honor לְכַבֵּד: to clean or sweep the house יוֹכֶבֶד: Moshe’s...

In Parshat Bo there are three signs: The plagues in Egypt are called a “sign” (Ex. 10:1-2), the blood which the Jews were supposed to...

Turning off the Lights The ninth plague in Egypt was the plague of darkness. When describing this plague, the Torah relates that G-d told...

בֹּא The holiday of freedomחַגָא דְפַטִירַיָא פֶּטֶר רֶחֶם: The firstborn issue from the wombפְּטוּר: Exemptionפָּטוּר:Freeנִפְטָר:...

Myself and I The Ten Commandments famously open with the words, “I am Hashem your G-d who took you out of Egypt…” (Ex. 20:2). In this...

The Midrash tells us that Moshe’s father-in-law Yitro (Jethro) had seven different names by which he is called in the Bible: Yitro,...

Yitro An Invitation to the Royal Wedding הַזְמָנָה: invitation, designation, preparation זִמּוּן: blessing Hashem זְמַן: time מְזוּמָן:...

The Torah (Ex. 21:6) teaches that if a Hebrew bondsman opts to continue with his master after his initial seven-year indenture, then “his...

Rabbi of Robbers The Amoraic sage Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, also known as Reish Lakish, serves as the quintessential baal teshuvah, as he...

Mishpatim Terms and Conditions for the Never-ending Story סֵפֶר: book, scroll, Torah סִיפּוּר: story לְסַפֵּר: to recount, to tell a...

There are two words which refer to the accumulation of holiness on a spatial level: Mishkan and Mikdash. Although the Talmud (Eruvin 2a)...

This week ushers in the month of Adar in all its glory. Like all the months of the Jewish calendar, the name Adar is derived from the...

Terumah Connecting Worlds מִן הָעוֹלָם עַד הָעוֹלָם חִיבּוּר: connection חֶבְרוֹן: Hebron מְחַבֵּר: writer/connector חָבֵר: friend חָבֵר:...