Pairing the Plagues-Parshas Va’eira
Perhaps one of the most familiar, cherished aspects of the Seder night and the Exodus narrative in general is the topic of the Esser Makkos, the Ten Plagues that Hashem visited upon the Egyptians. But as the Ramchal famously states in the introduction to his classic work Mesilas Yesharim: “Together with universal familiarity... comes also a lack of scrutiny and deep understanding” [paraphrased]. While so many of us are [...]
The Day it All Worked Out
(Reproduced from I Have an Amazing Story for You! by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer, pgs. 67-76, with permission from ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.) It Ended Up Working Out! I’m going to share a personal story with you. It’s the story of my father and our relationship (or the lack of one, after the divorce), and how after fifty years of little contact and many unresolved feelings on my part, I [...]
It Depends How You Look at It-Parshas Shemos
When we contemplate the “olden times,” we may do so with a sense of ambivalence. On the one hand, we tend to look with astonishment on the backwardness and inconveniences that characterized life back then, without the technological advances of modern times. On the other hand, the world seemed to have possessed a certain wholesomeness and innocence that appears so elusive in our “sophisticated” society. Perhaps reflective [...]
Don’t Forget the Truth-Parshas Vayechi
One of the most well-known passages from the Rambam’s Yad Ha’chazakah features his depiction of the message of the Shofar. As he writes: “Even though blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is simply a function of a Torah directive, it does contain a message by way of allusion; and it says: ‘Awaken you sleepers from your sleep, and you who slumber, emerge from your slumber; examine your deeds, return [...]
Equal Value-Parshas Vayigash
This week’s parshah features the long-awaited reunion between Yosef and his brothers. After he revealed himself to them and the dust began to settle (so to speak), Yosef set about distributing gifts. As the Torah recounts: לְכֻלָּם נָתַן לָאִישׁ חֲלִפוֹת שְֹמָלֹת וּלְבִנְיָמִן נָתַן שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת כֶּסֶף וְחָמֵשׁ חֲלִפֹת שְֹמָלֹת – “To all of (the brothers), to each of them, he gave sets of clothing; and to Binyamin he gave 300 pieces [...]
