by Dr. Yonatan GrossmanPosted on July 5, 2017
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by Dr. Hezi CohenPosted on November 1, 2016
by Rabbi David FohrmanPosted on October 27, 2016
by Rabbi Avi WeissPosted 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). Taken literally, it seems that Moshe looked Continue Reading »
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted 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 Continue Reading »
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted 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). So it is when Continue Reading »
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted 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 Continue Reading »
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted 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. Why Moshe? This Continue Reading »
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted 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. The pivotal moment, however, is when Continue Reading »
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted on December 30, 2010
If the book of Breishit is about family, then the book of Shemot is about nationhood. While it opens with re-enumerating the children of Yaakov, the narrative immediately turns to the birth and the history of the Israelite nation. The very phrase bnei Yisrael undergoes a metamorphosis in the first verses. In the opening verse Continue Reading »
