The Israelites are enslaved in Egypt. Moses receives the Ten Commandments. The Israelites build a tabernacle.
The Hostage Deal and Moses’ Patience The announcement of the hostage deal brings with it a whole host of emotions. We are, of course, overjoyed that the hostages will be coming home, yet anxious about the prospect that many terrorists are being released and that the situation in Gaza is fluid. Frustrated that Israel […]
Lessons from Dunkin Donuts And they brought the Mishkan (Tabernacle) to Moses… When all the parts of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) had been made, they were brought to Moses, who actually stood the walls up and erected the Mishkan. Rashi quoting the Midrash explains that due to the massive weight of the materials, none of the people were able to raise it up, so […]
Choosing a Day of FreedomThere is an interesting idea discussed in the laws of how to write a Torah scroll. The one who writes it must have in mind specifically that he is writing it for the purpose of a Torah scroll. If he was just practicing his script writing or felt like writing biblical […]
The Power of Experience After being liberated from Egypt and participating the Sinai experience, the Jews build a Golden Calf. Now it came to pass when he (Moses) drew closer to the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, that Moses became angry, and he threw down the tablets… (Ex. 32:19) Moses had spent 40 days and […]
Diamond in the RoughYou shall place both stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, remembrance stones for the Children of Israel. (Exodus 28:12)Moses was commanded to make garments for the Cohen Gadol— ‘high priest.’ Included in these was a piece of clothing similar to an apron called the ephod. It had two shoulder straps and held precious […]
Putting in Your Personal Touch Have you ever put together something from Ikea? Their instructions are a series of pictures without any accompanying explanatory text. It would have been helpful if we had been given even minimal textual prompts, but the decision was made that this is how they are going to instruct their customers, and […]
What’s Your Bribe Linguists are at a loss to find an origin for the word bribe. It was first used in 14th century old French, but it means “steal.” By the mid-15th century its meaning had shifted to “gift given to influence corruptly.” No one knows where “bribe” came from or how it ultimately came to have […]
Unsung Heroes and Your Unique ContributionSince the breakout of the war, we have heard so many stories of heroism. Some involve a hero with a name and a picture. Some involve an anonymous hero who makes a donation or performs an act of chesed (kindness) and then disappears. And then there are stories that we never even […]
(Exodus 13:17-17:16) Here’s an obvious grammatical mistake: ‘and the Egyptians was chasing them’. Rashi comes to the rescue and explains that the ‘mistake’ was intentional because it brings home the point that they pursued the Jews after they left Egypt ‘with one desire like one man.’ They were unified in their desire to capture the […]
Killing Your Options Syrian Jews have a custom to sing a Hebrew poem at a brit milah (circumcision).People worry about their wealth being, but not about their days fleeing (Odam doeg al ibud domov v’einu doeg al ibud yomov)Money will not help their yearning; the days that pass will not be returning. (Damov einum ozrim, yomav einum chozrim).Life is about making […]
The Solution to Your Problem isn’t Complicated–It’s DifficultThe sinking of the Titanic on her maiden voyage was a great nautical catastrophe but the real tragedy is that it could have been avoided. One of the most foolish mistakes was that the ship’s radio operators received 21 warnings of ice, all of which were ignored. The Titanic serves a metaphor […]
To Thine Self Be True (Derech Eretz kadmah l’Torah) Imagine a U.S. army General telling a soldier on kitchen duty he would like to speak with him after dinner about an important covert mission. Would this soldier need permission from his Sergeant? Whether it is the head football coach changing a play or a CEO overruling a […]
Clever and Practical WomanJewish Women: Logical and Levelheaded Here’s the first Jewish fundraising initiative in history.Moses said to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel saying: This is the word that G-d commanded saying: Take from yourselves a portion for G-d…everyone who is generous of heart shall bring it… (Ex. 35:4-5)When they started bringing contributions, a seemingly […]
The Power of Experience After being liberated from Egypt and participating the Sinai experience, the Jews build a Golden Calf. Volumes have been written on this subject but we will discuss one seemingly small part of the story.Now it came to pass when he (Moses) drew closer to the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, that […]
Diamond in the RoughYou shall place both stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, remembrance stones for the Children of Israel. (Exodus 28:12)Moses was commanded to make garments for the Cohen Gadol—‘high priest.’ Included in these was a piece of clothing similar to an apron called the ephod. It had two shoulder straps and held precious gems […]
Imagine hearing about a woman who works tirelessly to make sure every child in her city has access to milk for breakfast. You learn that she personally brings fresh milk to countless families every day, even in the nastiest weather. What would you think about her? We might count her among the righteous people in […]
Close the Toothpaste! Imagine a couple standing under the chuppah googly-eyed and in love. The rabbi speaks about the beauty of marriage and the significance of the day. Then, all a sudden, the bride starts listing her set of rules for the marriage. “Make sure to close the toothpaste, keep the toilet seat down, take out the […]
Ultimate Unity They journeyed from Rephidim and arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the Wilderness; and Israel encamped there, opposite the mountain. (Exodus 19:2) The old adage, two Jews- three opinions, is more than a clever observation regarding our tendency to disagree with one another, it’s also a subtle description of the difficulty […]
Interested in Reaching Your Potential? Take Responsibility Although the splitting of the Sea is one of the most significant events in Jewish history, few talk about the events immediately preceding it. The tribes were arguing about who should leap first into the Sea, each attempting to avoid taking the first step. Finally, Nachshon from te of […]
On the tenth of this month, they shall take for themselves, each person, a lamb for each household, a lamb for the household. (Exodus 12:3)The tenth of this month refers to the day the Jews would designate of a lamb as the Passover offering, but the actual offering happened four days later. Why couldn’t they simply have […]
We all know the story; plagues came to Egypt because Pharaoh did not listen. Before the destruction brought about by the plague of Hail, the Egyptians were given the opportunity to save their animals.Whoever among the servants of Pharaoh FEARED the word of G-d chased his servants and livestock in the houses. And whoever DID NOT PAY […]
Trust or Narcissism? After being told by G-d to return to Egypt and command Pharaoh to release the Jews, Moses says: ‘Please G-d, I am not a man of words, also not since the day before yesterday, nor since You first spoke to Your servant; for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of speech.’ (4:10) […]
Whatever Happened to the Students of Abraham and Sara? In this week’s Parsha we are introduced to the first patriarch of the Jewish people, Abraham. G-d tells him to leave his father’s house, his relatives and his homeland. So Abram went as G-d had spoken to him and Lot went with him; Abram was 75 […]
Lessons from Dunkin DonutsAnd they brought the Mishkan (Tabernacle) to Moses…When all the parts of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) had been made, they were brought to Moses, who actually stood the walls up and erected the Mishkan. Rashi quoting the Midrash explains that due to the massive weight of the materials, none of the people were able to raise it up, so they brought […]
A Great Winter Experience for Wealthy People After being liberated from Egypt and witnessing the Sinai experience, the Jews build a Golden Calf. Volumes have been written on this subject but we will discuss one seemingly small part of the story. Now it came to pass when he (Moses) drew closer to the camp and saw the […]
Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha : Tetzaveh(Exodus 27:20-30:10) Diamond in the Rough You shall place both stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, remembrance stones for the Children of Israel. (Exodus 28:12) Moses was commanded to make garments for the Cohen Gadol—‘high priest.’ Included in these was a piece of clothing similar to an apron called the ephod. It […]
This week’s Parsha gives instructions for building the Mishkan (Tabernacle), a portable synagogue designated as the place where the Almighty’s Presence would rest. They took it with them throughout their 40 year stay in the desert and rebuilt it in four different locations in the Land of Israel. The Jews fought many wars to take hold of […]
Linguists are at a loss to find an origin for the word bribe. It is first used in 14th century old French but it means “steal.” By mid-15th century its meaning had shifted to “gift given to influence corruptly.” No one knows where “bribe” came from or how it ultimately came to have the meaning we use today. […]
The first sentence in this week’s Parsha begins, “And Jethro, the priest of Midyan, THE FATHER-IN-LAW OF MOSES, heard…” The Torah explains that Yitro heard of the miraculous events surrounding the Exodus and the giving of the Torah at Sinai. Yitro, therefore, traveled to join the Jews and converted to Judaism.Several weeks ago, when we […]
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, being that Joseph had the Children of Israel swear to bring his bones out of Egypt with them saying, “G-d will surely remember you and you will bring up my bones from here with you. (Exodus 13:19) The Jews were about to leave Egypt and were busying themselves […]
