Category: Shemot

May a Woman Be a Mohelet?

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 4, 2018

May a woman be a mohelet? Although women are not circumcised, they are members of the covenant that the Jewish people, have with God: “You stand this day all of you before the Lord your God.. all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the stranger that is in your camp… that you enter into covenant with the Lord your God…” (Deut.…

In the Merit of the Jewish Overseers The Jewish People Were Redeemed: Exodus 5 (Hebrew)

by Dr. Yonatan Grossman
Posted on July 5, 2017

To view the sources for this shiur click here. …

Understanding the Enigmatic “Hatan Damim” Episode of Ch. 4

by Rivka Kahan
Posted on December 7, 2016

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The Revelation at the Sneh (Hebrew)

by Dr. Ruth Walfish
Posted on November 29, 2016

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“And God Met Him on the Way To Kill Him” —Moses at the Inn, Ch 4 (Hebrew)

by Dr. Hezi Cohen
Posted on November 1, 2016

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Fire on Fire: What the Burning Bush Reveals to Us About Sinai

by Rabbi David Fohrman
Posted on October 27, 2016

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In a Place Where There is No Humanity, Stand Tall and Assert Yours

by Rabbi Avi Weiss
Posted on May 21, 2016

After being raised in the Egyptian palace, Moshe (Moses) goes into the field and sees an Egyptian smiting a Jew. In the words of the Torah, “He looked this way and that way, and when he saw there was no man (ish) he smote the Egyptian” (Exodus 2:12).…

Birthing a Nation

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 31, 2015

In an extended passage from the book of Yechezkel, the birth of the people of Israel is described through the vivid imagery of actual childbirth: And as for your birth, in the day you were born your navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to make you supple … No eye pitied you … to have compassion upon you … but you were cast into the open field … on the day that you were born.…

Moshe and His Brothers

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 8, 2015

The beginning of the book of Shemot serves as a mirror image to the end of the book of Breishit. Breishit ends with Yosef’s promise to his brothers: “Behold, I will die; and God will surely remember – pakod yifkod – you, and bring you out of this land” (Breishit, 50:24).…

A Bridegroom of Blood

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on December 20, 2013

At the crucial juncture between Moshe accepting the divine mission and his returning to the people and becoming their leader, a curious and perplexing event occurs. Moshe begins to head back to Egypt, and then, abruptly we read: “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him” (4:24).…

A Thought on the Parsha

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 3, 2013

“And you, go, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you will take out my nation, the Children of Israel, from Egypt.” (Shemot 3:10). Moshe encounters God at the burning bush and he is commanded by God to be the person, the leader, who will take the people out of Egypt.…

I’ve Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on January 13, 2012

The beginning of the book of Shemot sees the Children of Israel enslaved, oppressed, and at the risk of decimation. The foundation for their salvation is laid in the birth of Moshe, his being saved by Pharaoh’s daughter, and his venturing out to see the affliction of his brothers. …