…heaven” – is a faith that values intellectual honesty and moral truthfulness above all things. The Psalmist says: “Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord and who shall stand in His holy place? One who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not taken My name in vain nor sworn deceitfully” Ps. 24:3-4 Malachi says of one…
…the plagues continued. Wild animals roamed the streets, pets and farm animals died from disease, and the people suffered with boils. Each time Pharaoh became more stubborn and denied the Israelites their freedom. Vaera]}** tells of seven terrible plagues, ending with large hailstones (containing fire inside) and each time, Pharaoh refused to let Moshe lead his people to freedom. But…
…to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all.” (Ex. 5:22-23) In this week’s parsha of Vaera]}**, even when God reassures him that he will eventually succeed, he replies, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak…
…was a precise annual timetable of sacrifices that did not vary from year to year. The Prophet by contrast could not know what their mission would be until God revealed it to them. Prophecy was never a matter of routine. 5. As a result, Prophet and Priest had different senses of time. Time for the Priest was what it was…
…defeated, who never give up or 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. Vaera]}**: Overcoming Setbacks Moses was the greatest leader because he thought further ahead than anyone else. He knew that real change in human…
…his future wife for the first time, vayeitse Yitzchak lsuach basader lifnot arev, “Yitzchak had gone out in the field before evening to meditate.” The Talmud in Brachot commenting on the choice of the word lasuach, usually meaning ‘to talk’ or ‘to converse’, states ein sicha ela tefillah, “There is no conversation without prayer.” Or, as my father explains it, conversation is a form of…