Parshat Shavua

Parashat Yitro:

Does it matter why?

We have two different opinions as to when Yitro joined, and Zipporah rejoined, the Children of Israel: shortly before the Giving of the Torah, or shortly after it.

Parashat Yitro:

From Sea to Sinai: Inspiration to desperation

The crucial difference between Marah and Sinai.

Dvar Haftorah

Be careful what you say about Israel

G-d will tolerate many things from His servants. Becoming a prosecutor of Israel is not one of them.

Parashat Yitro:

What did Yitro hear?

The Torah records Yitro’s actions because they contain important lessons for all of us.

Torah Mitzion: Parashat Yitro

Seudat Yitro, a Tunisian Jewish tradition

One can see in Seudat Yitro, celebrated by Tunisian Jews on the Thursday before Shabbat Parashat Yitro, an invitation to reconsider the boundaries of belonging and the possibility of lending an ear to wisdom that comes from outside.

The Parsha and Current Events:

: Held hostage

Jewish life has evolved into a kaleidoscope of concepts, values, commentaries, hopes, halakhic decisions, conflicts, etc., where everyone is so sure of himself, but no one really has it right.

The Song of the Sea:

The day the women sang

Why does Jewish Law oppose men listening to a female singer? And why, then, did Miriam and the Israelite women sing at the Red Sea?

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

The wisdom of children

Let’s listen to what our children say. Often, they just comment on things. They say sweet nothings. But sometimes there’s something really perceptive. Like Miriam.

Dvar Haftorah:

Army service: for some or for all?

The Prophetess Devora asks the tribes who did not join the fight against Sisera's forces when Israel was under threat, where were you? This is the question that many in Israel must now confront honestly. And it has nothing to do with the fact that the Israelites won without those tribes.

Parashat Beshalach:

A war to end war

My sense is that many contemporary Jews, especially those who would identify as “liberal," might not be entirely comfortable with Moses' Song of the Sea. It is not in sync with a mindset that views war as an evil that “never solves anything." What is Judaism's view?

Parashat Beshalach:

Nothing to fear but fear itself

You fight-but not with fear. You fight with trust, knowing that the outcome is in His hands alone.

Parashat Beshalach:

The miracle of the waters of Marah

Why did Hashem cause the Israelites to worry about lack of water, and - further - bring them to a place of bitter waters?

In this Shabbat's Torah Reading:

Carrying our heroes home

Joseph's bones were taken with the Jews when they left Egypt, the start of a tradition that we do not move on without our heroes. And Ran Gvili, who parallels the martyrs of Beitar, will be buried with dignity.

Google knows where we live, God does too

God is looking for something else entirely. Opinion.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Bo: Training for Greatness

It is not enough to free slaves. They must be trained for independence, courage, and aspiration.

Parashat Bo:

The destruction of the wicked

The Exodus and the drowning of the Egyptians in the Red Sea were one and the same thing. One without the other is incomplete. A lesson for Hamas in our time.

Parashat Bo:

When the dogs did not bark

Why is this fact of the non-barking dogs significant?

Haftarat Parashat Bo:

Collective responsibility - then and now

Why is it that God killed all the firstborns in Egypt and didn't suffice with simply killing Pharaoh’s firstborn son? The answer is as applicable today as it was then.

October 7 and Parashat Bo:

When leaders sleep and nations fall

Torah is never just history. It is a mirror of today - and a warning for tomorrow.

The Exodus:

From darkness to light

We are in a transitional stage, in a period in which lights and shadows function together.

Parashat Bo

Freedom from slavery

why did Moshe convey the message “ַכּחצת " “at approximately midnight"?

Parashat Shavua:

Hashem made a mockery of Egypt

Rabbi Nebenzahl: Hashem made a mockery of Pharoah and the Egyptians, to obviate any possibility of a mistaken impression that there was that there was a battle between two forces.

Parahat Bo:

Soul-Searching begins at home

Let us always be humble and ready to acknowledge our flaws. There is no such thing as a human being who never sins. We all act foolishly and make grave mistakes at some point in our lives.

Parashat Bo:

Why Jews need a spiritual army as well

Why did the Torah call the Jews who left Egypt an army?

Challenging Hashem in the face of suffering

We cry out to the Heavens “Ad Motai", how much longer do we have to suffer in Exile, why does evil continue to befall us and why have you not saved and redeemed Your people?

Torah Mitzion: Vaeira

Hakarat Hatov

Do we show gratitude to someone who helped us if he also benefitted? What does it signify to show gratitude to inanimate objects as Moses did?

The four words of Redemption

Commentators interpret the meaning of the words used to foretell the Exodus and the Israelites' becoming G-d's chosen nation.

HIstorical reality:

The warning embedded in Parshat Vaeira

If antisemitism looks like this during prosperity, what will happen when the inevitable downturn arrives?

Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha:

Milk and honey

Why are the physical traits of the Land emphasized the first time Hashem talks about it to Moshe? Young Religious Zionistt Torah scholars provide answers.

UK Chief Rabbi on Shemot:

The hallmark of great Jewish leaders

How did Pharaoh’s daughter know that the baby in the Nile was a Hebrew child?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Shemot

"I Will Be Who I Will Be"

What do these enigmatic names - ‘I Will Be Who I Will Be’ and ‘I Will Be’ - mean?

The path to greatness:

The psychological Burning Bush

The Rabbis in the Midrash, always sensitive to nuance, focus our attention on the enigmatic words: "G-d saw that Moses turned to see, so He called out to him from amidst the bush." What does that symbolize?

Shemot:

Breaking point

Hopes which are destroyed cause deeper despair than complete hopelessness. The Jews had hoped for a new Pharaoh who would ease their lot, but the opposite occurred. Where to turn?

Shemot:

Don’t waste a crisis

How to gain from a crisis.

Shemot:

The power of a name

Moshe’s name conveyed a lifelong mission: to oppose injustice and to fight on behalf of the helpless.

Parashat Shemot:

The Parsha and Current Events: Halakhic Implications

Were it Halakhically permissible, we would have to recite Hallel every day here in Hashem’s Holy Land!

Blessing our children:

From generation to generation, we declare Your glory

We are not asking for more. We are asking that the chain remain unbroken.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Vayechi: When great souls err

Much good can result from recalling the punishment for wrongdoing, even if this motivation may appear beneath one’s spiritual stature.

A call to Australia's gov't:

Looking for leadership in times of crisis

Why was Yehuda chosen to lead? For many reasons, but first and foremost, a leader has to be able to stand up and jump into action to tackle threats, without consideration of the fallout or personal risk.

Parashat Vayechi:

Yaakov’s Blessings: Hands and knees

What is the difference between a blessing given through the hands and a blessing given through the knees?

Parashat Vayechi:

"Do not bury me in Egypt"

Why did Jacob ask to be buried in Israel? See what the commentators have to say.

Parashat Vayechi:

The Kingship in Israel

There is disagreement among our commentators if these are prophecies of the times of the mashiach, or if they refer to other events.

Dvar Haftorah:

King David's parting message

There is profound humility in King David’s words. For all his achievements, he frames his legacy not around military victories or political triumphs, but around covenant.

Parashat Vayechi:

Revisiting the scene of the crime

It is not good for a victim to replay the horror he experienced and to keep active the pain he has gone through. He must instead remove the traumatic event from active consciousness.

Torah Mitzion: Parashat Vayechi

"And let them multiply abundantly like fish, within the land"

The Midrash identifies Manasseh and Ephraim not only as concrete individuals, but also their descendants Yehoshua and Gideon. What is that based on?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

VaYigash: The reunion of Joseph and Judah

"The Jewish people are crowned with two qualities, Eidut (testimony) and Torah, one seen in Joseph and the other in Judah."

Haftarat Parshat Vayigash:

Restoring broken relationships

We have witnessed the resurrection of the dry bones. We have seen the ashes of Auschwitz giving rise to the miracle that is the State of Israel. In the past two years, through trauma, loss, and uncertainty, the Jewish people have survived. But endurance is not the final goal.

Parashat Vayigash:

The message of the wagons

How Yossef is showing and hinting to Yaakov how he dealt with the Egyptian world successfully.

Parashat Vayigash:

G-d’s plan and man’s responsibility

This is perhaps the most dramatic narrative in the entire Torah. Why did Yosef suddenly conclude the charade?

A hintative tour of the parasha:

Miracles, dreams, and the strength of Israel

As in Miketz, after two years of war, we look back and glance at what is happening. It feels like a dream. And it goes on - like a prophecy.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Mikeitz: Interpreting dreams

The interpreter has a key function in the realization of a dream: his analysis can determine how the dream will come to pass.

Parashat Mikeitz:

Circumcision in Egypt

We already know that everything that was created with man, was worthy of existing - except for the foreskin, as the Torah commanded us to remove it.

Parashatt Miketz:

Stop dreaming

When Mashiach comes, we will realize that we are currently in a dream. Our life is a living paradox, yet it seems to make sense to us as if it were normal.

An Australian rabbi writes on Mikeitz:

How the Australian government can regain the trust of its Jews

Someone asked me if there is any way that we can forgive the Australian government and what it would take for them to regain trust of Australian Jewry. So, let’s talk about Yosef.

Parashat Vayeshev:

'Your brothers are pasturing in Shechem-I will send you to them'

Why did Joseph go to the brothers he knew hated him - and why did Jacob send him, knowing the same?

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

Jewish failure

Sometimes what I perceive to be good for me could actually be bad, and what I think is bad could actually be something absolutely extraordinary for me.

Parashat Vayeishev:

Redemption garbed in 'klipot'

The many impure sources of Redemption are a defense against the Satan - the adversary, whose purpose is to prevent the Redemption from coming into the world.

Parashat Vayeshev:

From October 7th to Redemption: Seeking the next step

Yaakov thought there was no need for a future exile after all he had gone through. The Medrash explains.

The Parsha and Current Events: Vayeshev

Refusing to be comforted

The prophet Jeremiah brings G-d's comforting words to Mother Rachel, but how can she find comfort when the promise of redemption is far into the future?

Torah Mitzion on Vayeshev:

"Judah went down....Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up"

In this parasha, we learn about Judah, the leader of the tribe that will give the Israelites the kingdom of David and ultimately, the Messiah.