Pekudei 5784-2024
“Building an Everlasting Sanctuary”
(updated and revised from Pekudei 5768-2008)
The Tabernacle had been completed by Kislev. However, it was not erected for another three months, on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. The purpose of the delay was to enable the spirit of our Patriarch Isaac to pervade the Tabernacle. Although the workers and the architects attempted to raise the Tabernacle, only Moses could do so. He blesses the people in a way that emphasizes that the security of the Tabernacle really depends on the sanctity of the people.
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Yitro 5784-2024
“Jethro’s Advice to an Overburdened Leader”
(updated and revised from Yitro 5765-2005)
Jethro warns his son-in-law, Moses, that he is in danger of experiencing burn out by biting off more than he can chew. It takes a great man like Moses to heed Jethro's difficult advice and share the leadership responsibilities with others. The well-being of the People of Israel was always Moses's utmost concern. Hence, his decision to delegate authority resulted in great benefit for the People of Israel.
0 Comments7 Minutes
Bo 5784-2024
“The More Things Change...”
(updated and revised from Bo 5764-2004)
In the last moments of their ‘sojourn” in the Egypt where they were held them in bondage for hundreds of years, the Israelites are told to gather gold and silver from their former Egyptian masters. To the casual observer it appears that the Jews are vengefully looting Egypt. Perhaps, though, the fulfillment of this command represents the mental journey that the Jews must travel from slavery to freedom, or compensation for the years of slavery and the property they had to leave in Egypt.
0 Comments14 Minutes
Va’eira 5784-2024
“The Names of G-d and their Meanings”
(updated and revised from Va’eira 5764-2004)
The names of G-d are many, each revealing to the world a different aspect of the Creator. In this parasha, the universe's understanding of G-d is heightened by Moses to a level never before conceived, even by the patriarchs. After Moses, the world's notion of G-d is never to be the same.
0 Comments11 Minutes
Chukat-Balak 5783-2023
"How to Market G-d!"
In parashat Chukat, the Jewish people, once again, challenge G-d by speaking against the Al-mighty and Moses, by asking, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness...?" In response to this arrogant display of faithlessness, G-d sends fiery serpents to attack the rebellious hordes, and a large number of people die. To stop the plague, Moses builds a fiery serpent and places it on a tall pole so that all who are bitten will look at the serpent and live. What is the role of this serpent? After all, this seems to smack of magic and Voodoo, and appears to be truly out of character with Judaism!
0 Comments8 Minutes
B’ha’alot’cha 5783-2023
"Searching for Eldad and Medad"
Eldad and Medad were the two worthy elders who were left behind when Moses gathered the 70 elders to help him bear the burden of the nation. There is much to learn from the extensive Midrashic portraits of Eldad and Medad, especially about how to correctly identify quality Jewish leaders.
0 Comments8 Minutes
Shemini 5783-2023
“The Little Steps that Lead to Big Accomplishments”
(updated and revised from Shemini 5765-2005)
In parashat Shemini we learn that Moses and Aaron come into the Tent of Meeting. From the Torah’s emphasis on the “steps” that they took in coming, we learn the vital importance of the little, often-dismissed, actions. These actions should not be treated lightly. Indeed, they are to be highly regarded and valued as integral and primary parts of the ultimate goal.
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Passover 5783-2023
If the Egyptian magicians were able to replicate some of the plagues that G-d visited upon Egypt, why couldn't they remove any of the plagues that G-d sent? Was Moses the agent of G-d who brought about the plagues, or was he more than that? Through the Biblical text, an interesting lesson is learned about the true nature of his leadership.
0 Comments7 Minutes
Shemot 5783-2023
“The Making of a Concerned Jewish Leader”
(updated and revised from Shemot 5763-2002)
Who is the child Moses, and how does he merit to become the “savior” of Israel? Both the biblical texts and the Midrashic elaborations give us hints to help us understand how a child who is raised in Pharaoh's court, becomes such a devoted and dynamic Jewish leader. The fact that he is raised by his biological mother, Yocheved, until he is weaned, is undoubtedly a critical factor. Although tradition is purposely ambiguous, Moses not only receives his rearing from his mother and his sister as a young child, but also from Bitya, the daughter of Pharaoh, who may very well be the secret hero in Moses' life, and consequently, a key player in the destiny of the Jewish people.
0 Comments9 Minutes
Haazinu 5783-2022
“The Final Song”
(updated and revised from Haazinu 1999-5759)
The final song of Moses is intended to help the Jewish people remember the days of yore. The past is truly vital for Israel, as there is much to be learned from previous generations. Much pain and suffering can be avoided if only the future is approached through the wisdom of the past.
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Pekudei 5782-2022
“The Lesson of the Basin: ‘Don’t Judge a Basin by its Cooper’”
(updated and revised from Pekudei 5763-2003)
According to tradition, the basin that contained the sacred water in the Tabernacle was made of the bronze mirrors that the Israelite women used in Egypt to seduce their husbands who had separated from them, and who were unwilling to produce children who might be murdered by the Egyptians. Considering the mirrors to be objects of vanity, Moses was reluctant to accept the bronze from the mirrors. G-d responds, that the mirrors are far dearer to Him than anything else.
0 Comments6 Minutes
Vayakhel 5782-2022
“Defining True Generosity”
(updated and revised from Vayakhel 5763-2003)
Although it is commonly thought that generosity is simply giving of one's wherewithal to help another, Judaism defines true generosity as giving with a full and willing heart. It is the willing heart that determines true and genuine generosity.
0 Comments6 Minutes
Kee Tisah 5782-2022
“Limitless Leadership”
(Updated and revised from Kee Tisah 5764-2004)
After the People of Israel are unfaithful to G-d and worship the Golden Calf at the foot of Mount Saini, Moses, the paradigmatic selfless leader, stands up for his people and demands that they be forgiven. His love for Israel is total and unswerving, even to the point of making the ultimate sacrifice on their behalf. As a doting “shepherd” concerned for the needs of his flock, Moses cares for this stiff-necked nation that was recently introduced to freedom.
0 Comments10 Minutes
Va’eira 5782-2021
“Can We Question G-d and Get Away with It?”
(Updated and revised from Va’eira 5762-2002)
Parashat Va'eira opens with G-d berating Moses for saying that things have only gotten worse for the people of Israel since Moses’ intervention. Strict interpretation holds Moses accountable for his presumptuousness, eventually resulting in his inability to enter the Promised Land. The more liberal interpretation implies that G-d desires to be challenged, hoping to find justification that would exonerate those guilty of improper acts.
0 Comments7 Minutes
Shemot 5782-2021
“The Circumcision of Eliezer: A Message for Busy Parents”
(updated and revised from Shemot 5762-2001)
Moses has been summoned by G-d at the burning bush to return to Egypt and lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Beginning his journey back to the land of Pharaoh, together with his wife and his sons, he stops at an inn where he is encountered by G-d, who seeks to kill him. Moses’ wife immediately takes a flint stone and circumcises the youngest child. What is the message that is communicated by this strange and eerie encounter?
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Yom Kippur 5782-2021
“Smashing the Golden Calves”
(updated and revised from Yom Kippur 5764-2003)
The sin of the Golden Calf is perhaps the most reprehensible crime that the Jewish nation has committed against G-d. At the foot of Mount Sinai, immediately following the miraculous exodus from Egyptian slavery, when the Al-mighty showed the world that He had chosen the Jews as His people, the people brazenly defied Him, and were unfaithful to their beloved Creator. Yom Kippur is a day to express regret, and vow to change the many ways that the Jewish people may have betrayed their relationship with their Father-in-Heaven during the previous year.
0 Comments8 Minutes
Kee Tisah 5781-2021
“Reverence for Learning in Jewish Tradition”
(updated and revised from Kee Tisah 5763-2003)
Immediately after the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses distances himself from the sinful people. Moving his tent outside the camp, he proceeds to hold court from that location. Scripture tells us that, despite the peoples' rebelliousness, when Moses went out to his tent, the entire nation would stand at the entrance of their tents as a sign of respect. From this gesture of respect, an entireritual of behavior emerged that continues to this day, reflecting the uncompromising reverence for learning that is the very essence of Jewish educational success.
0 Comments9 Minutes