Category: Bo

Praying with a Cross in the Room

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 18, 2018

A person is a patient at Holy Cross Hospital and there is a crucifix on the wall of each room. Can she make brakhot and daven there? A family wishes to have a bar mitzvah in the large, all-purpose hall of Catholic university, where there is a small cross affixed at the top of the east-facing wall, 20 feet off the ground.…

The Double Plague of Blood (Hebrew)

by Dr. Yonatan Grossman
Posted on July 6, 2017

To view the sources for this shiur click here. …

Reexamining Makkat Bekhorot in Light of Makkat Hoshekh

by Rabbi Menachem Leibtag
Posted on October 26, 2016

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Even the Darkest Moments Contain Sparks of Home

by Rabbi Avi Weiss
Posted on May 21, 2016

The Biblical term for midnight, the time Moshe (Moses) says God will slay the first born, is ka-hazot ha-lailah (Exodus 11:4). Different interpretations are given for the prefix ka, which gives us the key as to the true meaning of this term.…

Speaking is Believing

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 13, 2016

The first mitzvah that the Children of Israel are given is that of sanctifying the new moon. “HaChodesh hazeh lachem rosh chadashim,” “this month, the month of Nissan, shall be for you the first of the months.” Why of all mitzvot was this one given first?…

Don’t Leave the People Behind

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 3, 2014

Nine plagues were proclaimed. Nine plagues befell Pharaoh and the Egyptians. With each passing plague, Pharaoh was one step closer to freeing the Children of Israel. Until this point, he had offered to release them all save the cattle. Even this Moshe refuses, and Pharaoh orders him out telling him never to return.…

Knowing and Experiencing God

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 18, 2013

“And in order that you should relate in the ears of your children and your children’s children how I have made a mockery of the Egyptians and my signs that I have placed upon them, and you will know that I am the Lord.”…

The Interdependence of Actions

by Rabbi Avi Weiss
Posted on January 23, 2010

In this week’s portion, the Torah begins to present commandments given to the Jewish people. One wonders why so many commandments are proscribed in such detail. The Sefer Ha-Hinukh (13th century) offers a comment that reveals a basic message about the purpose of commandments.…