…give in. They keep trying. They learn from every mistake. They treat failure as a learning experience. And from every refusal to be defeated, they become stronger, wiser and more determined. That is the story of Moses’ life in both parshat Shemot and parshat Vaera. Jim Collins, one of the great writers on leadership, puts it well: The signature of…
…To be a Jew is to be called on to lead.[4] [1] For the original illustration of this idea, please see Rabbi Sacks’ comments on Shifrah and Puah in “Women as Leaders” (Shemot 5781). [2] This idea reappeared in Protestant Christianity in the phrase “the priesthood of all believers,” during the age of the Puritans, the Christians who took most…
Our parsha takes us through a bewildering transition. Up until now, the book of Shemot has carried us along with the sweep and drama of the narrative: the Israelites’ enslavement, their hope for freedom, the plagues, Pharaoh’s obstinacy, their escape into the desert, the crossing of the Red Sea, the journey to Mount Sinai and the great covenant with God….
…can achieve. The issue is balance. What are the main themes and messages you have found so far in the book of Shemot? Can you think of new ways that your community could unite to build something together? Making the Golden Calf was also a project that united the people in a creative goal. Why was this endeavour so problematic?…
…from God or hides from Him – “And Moshe hid his face for he was afraid to look at God” (Shemot 3:6) – lest he be swallowed. Man’s independence and self-confidence are nullified before God’s splendor and glory. If so, then the question arises: How can prayer exist at all? Prayer is standing before God, before the Divine Presence. How…
Transcript In the 19th chapter of Sefer Shemot in the parsha of Yitro, God summons the people to Mount Sinai and gives them a remarkable offer. In the Rabbi’s phrase, He invites us to become God’s partners in the work of creation. And He says to the people, “You have seen how I have brought you out of Egypt, on…
…(Ex. 19:8); “Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people” (Shemot 24:7). Th hak’hel ceremony, occurring every 7 years, was to include everyone: “Assemble the people – men, women, and children, and the strangers living in your towns – so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully…
…and Betzalel, the master-craftsman, and those who work with him, including the women who spun goats’ hair into cloth, brought gifts and gave their mirrors for the bronze washbasin. Most of the narrative reads as if it belongs to Vayikra, the book of holiness, rather than Shemot, the book of freedom. The Torah is telling us something profound and still…
Koren Publishers have launched a new Magerman edition of the Koren Tanach featuring, for the first time, the complete translation of Chumash by Rabbi Sacks zt”l. You can order your copy here and view the opening pages below. Peek Inside…
…us. But Judaism never went down that road. That was the one bit of Judaism that Christianity and Islam did not borrow. At the same time, Bereishit (Genesis) is followed by Shemot (Exodus). Not just a family relationship with God, it’s a national relationship with God. And the best way I have been able to explain this is that Judaism is a sustained protest…