…Babel, not after it, if we assume at least as the Talmud Yerushalmi assumes, that chapters 10 and 11 are in chronological order. You can solve the whole problem by saying “Ein mukdam ume’uchar baTorah.” [Rashi on Shemot 31:18:1-5] “The Torah isn’t in chronological sequence”, but usually it is. Not always, but usually it is. And if we say that, then…
…you of, because it’s not about dramatic political events or grand miracles, like Shemot or Bamidbar, it is not a work of prophecy. Where would, what’s the book that’s most like it? Yeah. Bereishit, because it’s the tale of ordinary human beings demonstrating extraordinary gifts and strength of character, and it is like Bereishit. And the interesting thing is that…
Moses’ second question to God at the burning bush was, Who are you? “So I will go to the Israelites and say, ‘Your fathers’ God sent me to you.’ They will immediately ask me what His name is. What shall I say to them?” Ex. 3:13 God’s reply, Ehyeh asher ehyeh, wrongly translated in almost every Christian Bible as something…
…glory of the Holy One blessed be He fills heaven and earth, and yet He commands, Make me a Tabernacle?’… God replied, ‘Not as you think do I think. Twenty boards on the north, twenty on the south and eight in the west are sufficient. Indeed, I will descend and confine My presence even within one square cubit.’ Shemot Rabbah…
…the House of Jacob”. Shemot Rabbah 28:2 There are three ideas presented: The first is that women are generally more punctilious about mitzvot. Alternatively, perhaps it is because women are enablers, and will bring their children to study Torah. Finally, a third opinion explains that the first commandment ever was given to a man, and it was a woman who…
…Calf, God replied, “I cannot, for I have already vowed, “One who sacrifices to any God shall be destroyed” (Ex. 22:19), and I cannot revoke My vow.” Moses replied, “Master of the Universe, have You not taught me the laws of annulling vows? One may not annul his own vow, but a Sage may do so.” Moses thereupon annulled God’s vow (Shemot…
…human spirit can rise above nature, testifying that there is something real that transcends nature. That is a life-changing idea. We are as great as our ideals. If we truly believe in something beyond ourselves, we will achieve beyond ourselves. [1] Bereishit Rabbah 53:11. Shemot Rabbah 1:1. [2] Bereishit Rabbah 53:11. [3] Ibid. [4] Bereishit Rabbah 63:6. [5] Tanhuma, Toldot…
…Korach and his fellows was not that they argued with Moses and Aaron, but that they did so “not for the sake of Heaven.” The schools of Hillel and Shammai, however, argued for the sake of Heaven, and thus their argument had enduring value.[4] Judaism, as I argued in Covenant and Conversation Shemot this year, is unique in the fact…
…despair and a sense of tragedy are always premature. Life is short, but when we lift our eyes to heaven, we walk tall. [1] Megillah 13b; Midrash Sechel Tov, Shemot 3:1. [2] Or as we might put it today: from the same source of life, written in the same genetic code, as everything else that lives. [3] See the essay…
…the Jewish story is different in significant ways: [1] The journey – set out in the books of Shemot and Bamidbar – is undertaken by everyone, the entire people: men, women and children. It is as if, in Judaism, we are all heroes, or at least all summoned to an heroic challenge. [2] It takes longer than a single generation….