Home Sweet Home-Parshas Yisro
At the beginning of this week’s parshah, the Torah informs us of the origins of the names of Moshe’s two sons: שֵׁם הָאֶחָד גֵּרְשֹׁם כִּי אָמַר גֵּר הָיִיתִי בְּאֶרֶץ נָכְרִיָּה, וְשֵׁם הָאֶחָד אֱלִיעֶזֶר כִּי־אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי בְּעֶזְרִי וַיַּצִּלֵנִי מֵחֶרֶב פַּרְעֹה – “The name of the one of them was Gershom, for (Moshe) said: ‘I was a stranger (ger) in a foreign land.’ And the name of the other was Eliezer – ‘For the G-d [...]
Contemporary Reclining-Parshas Beshalach
(The following halachic analysis regarding the practice of reclining during the Pesach Seder is based largely on an exposition from the sefer Yerach L’mo’adim, Pesach, vol. I, § 44.) The tenth chapter of maseches Pesachim outlines the procedure followed at the Pesach Seder, and one of the first items it mentions is the practice of reclining. As the Mishnah states (10:1): וַאֲפִלּוּ עָנִי שֶׁבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יֹאכַל עַד שֶׁיָּסֵב. “Every member [...]
Stop the World – it’s Chatzos!-Parshas Bo
There appears to be a discrepancy regarding the timing of the climactic plague, Makkas Bechoros (Plague of the Firstborn). When Moshe announces the upcoming event in this week’s parshah, he avoids pinpointing a specific time, merely stating instead that it would occurכַּחֲצֹת הַלַּיְלָה – “around midnight” (Shemos 11:4). When relating the actual execution, however, the Torah does employ exactitude in the matter, as it states: וַיְהִי בַּחֲצִי הַלַּיְלָה וַד' הִכָּה כָל־בְּכוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם – “And [...]
