There are differing opinions as to when exactly Yitro appeared in the camp of the Israelites in the desert. There are those who follow the rabbinic dictum that one cannot infer chronological order from the juxtaposition of narratives as they appear in the Torah. Rashi definitely adheres to this view in many instances. However Ramban and others maintain that a general chronology of events can... READ MORE →
One of the major certainties of human life is that we are all obliged to pay taxes to the governments that rule over us. In the history of humankind there has never been a government that did not need more money. Governments are by their very nature, inefficient and wasteful of the money that it brings in. Therefore all cost-cutting measures no matter how loudly publicized and grandly advertised... READ MORE →
I recently read an article written by a Jewish blogger who strongly defended Israel and was very critical of the growing blatant bent of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel writings of the progressive Left and some sections of world academia. He received a sharply worded letter from a fellow Jew who demanded to know why this blogger had not written such a blog about discrimination against... READ MORE →
The miracles performed by God through Moshe and Aharon, are topped off in this week’s parsha by the splitting of Yam Suf and the final deliverance of the Jewish people from the oppression of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. We are then further witness to the miracle of the manna falling six times a week to sustain the Jewish people in the Sinai desert and the ongoing miracle of water supplied to... READ MORE →
My mechanical ineptitude is legendary. I have never been any sort of handyman around the house and from time immemorial, dealing with burned out light bulbs has presented a dreaded challenge to me. If this was true, and it was, regarding those good old-fashioned screw-in light bulbs, the arrival of halogen lighting fixtures and bulbs has vastly compounded the problem. Those spindly little legs... READ MORE →
The extraordinary devotion of the Torah to all of the intricate details of the celebration of Pesach and of its sacrifice strikes one as demanding explanation. After all, the Torah will command many mitzvoth to the Jewish people in the course of the next books of the Torah, without necessarily going into particulars and details about their method of observance. All of that, so to speak, was... READ MORE →
Pharaoh and Egypt sustain a slew of plagues and misfortunes as they are vividly recorded in this week’s parsha. There are those among the Egyptian leadership who waver and realize that Egypt is lost if it does not allow the Jews to be freed from slavery and to leave Egypt. But Pharaoh is still not convinced. His heart is not only hardened but it is unalterably predisposed to refuse the... READ MORE →
My Israeli passport has run its course, all of its pages are full with the entry and exit stamps so lovingly applied at Ben Gurion airport, and therefore I am forced to obtain a new passport. In the process of applying for this new passport I took time to leaf through the pages of my previous passport. In so doing a flood of memories overcame me. I remembered trips that I took, places that I... READ MORE →
“I am hooked on books. If I had unlimited space in my home and unlimited shekels in my bank account, I know that my library would at least triple in size on an annual basis.” – Rabbi Berel Wein As a noted author and voluminous reader himself, Rabbi Berel Wein brings vast knowledge and life experience to each of his reviews. Here is a listing of some of his recommended readings... READ MORE →
In spite of all rumors to the contrary and all machinations at the United Nations, the Palestinian people are really stateless. They have two governing bodies, one in Gaza ruled by Hamas and the other is located in portions of the West Bank ruled by Fatah. In spite of all of the trappings of sovereignty, neither entity seems to be interested in or engaged in state-building. Their stated,... READ MORE →
