Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Before bringing the Great Flood (Mabul), God declared that man is so evil that He regrets having created him. Since God knows everything […]
Weekly Torah Portion
Insight and themes on the weekly Torah portion (parshah) read aloud in synagogue.
Confounding Criticism In this week’s Torah reading, Yitro (Jethro), the father-in-law of Moshe (Moses), joins the Jews in the desert. The following day, after Yitro enters the camp of the […]
Fear before Belief? In this week’s Torah reading, as the Torah describes the splitting of the Yam Suf (Red Sea), the Torah says that the Jews became fearful of God […]
A Miraculous Change of Heart In this week’s Torah reading, Parshat Bo, prior to the Jews being liberated, the Torah relates a surprising fact. The Torah tells us (Shemot 11:3,12:36) […]
Jealousy in the Torah לֹא תַחְמֹד בֵּית רֵעֶךָ לֹא תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ וְעַבְדּוֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ וְשׁוֹרוֹ וַחֲמֹרוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לְרֵעֶךָ Do not covet your fellow’s house. Do not covet your fellow’s wife, or his servant […]
Why Did God Inflict Disaster? In this week’s Torah reading, God commanded Moshe (Moses), time after time, to strike the land of Egypt with plagues, as a consequence for Pharaoh’s […]
A Sign of Laxity? In this week’s Torah reading, Moshe (Moses) approaches Pharaoh and tells him to free the Jews from their slavery. Pharaoh refuses to do this, and in […]
Chesed Shel Emet – Kindness to the Dead In the beginning of this week’s Torah reading, Yaakov (Jacob) summoned his son Yosef (Joseph) and requested of him to do “kindness […]
A Dramatic Confrontation In the end of last week’s Torah reading, Parshat Mikeitz, Binyamin (Benjamin) was framed for having stolen the goblet of the ruler of Egypt, Yosef (Joseph). At […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz I would have thought that the name of a child should be something inspiring, uplifting, or full of hope. Yet in the Torah, […]
