One of the many new but somehow always temporary buzzwords that are so beloved in our current society is “transparency.” In our current world's lexicon this word has substituted for what earlier in my life our teachers used to call “accountability.” No matter, the idea is the same; namely, that when it comes to public funds and positions one is held to be responsible to the nth degree... READ MORE →
אחת המילים האופנתיות החדשות, שמשום-מה הן גם תמיד זמניות, שאוהבים להשמיע בחברה שלנו היום היא "שקיפות". בלקסיקון של עולמנו היום המילה הזאת היא תחליף למה שבשלב מוקדם בחיי המורים שלי נהגו לכנות "מתן דין וחשבון". הכוונה בשני... READ MORE →
One of the main questions that all of the commentators to this week's parsha raise is why the Torah again discusses the prohibitions of the Sabbath. The Torah has done so a number of times in the previous parshiyot of Shemot so one might question this seemingly unwarranted repetition. One of the ideas presented in their comments I feel to be especially relevant to our world. We do not find that... READ MORE →
אחת השאלות העיקריות בפרשת השבוע שכל המפרשים שואלים היא מדוע התורה דנה שוב באיסורי השבת. הואיל והתורה כבר עשתה זאת מספר פעמים בפרשיות קודמות בספר שמות, אפשר לשאול מדוע יש צורך בחזרה המיותרת הזאת. אחד הרעיונות שעולים... READ MORE →
Though the main topic of this week's parsha is certainly the fateful and nearly fatal incident of the Golden Calf, the opening subject of the parsha also bears study and insight. We see throughout the Torah that there is an emphasis placed on counting the numbers of Jews that left Egypt, those that existed in the Sinai desert and finally, those that arrived in the Land of Israel. In this... READ MORE →
The Torah busies itself in this week’s parsha to point out the necessity for an eternal light to always burn in God's tabernacle. The Talmud points out that the light was certainly not for God's benefit. The Lord is always beyond our physical needs and environment. The commentators to the Torah always searched for a deeper and more understandable meaning to this commandment. Many ideas have... READ MORE →
The main moral thrust of this week's parsha is the challenge to take the mundane and ordinary and make of it something spiritual, holy and eternal. To our sorrow, we are well aware of how the supposedly holy can be made tawdry, cheap and negative. Thus the challenge of the opposite is truly a daunting one. Dealing with money, gold and silver, workers, artisans and the like usually inhibits... READ MORE →
The Torah reading of this week deals with the difficulties and pettiness of human life. I find this to be extraordinary since only last week the Torah dealt with the exalted principles and values system of holiness as represented by the Ten Commandments. It seems to be a letdown to have to speak about oxen goring and people fighting, enslaving and damaging one another when we were apparently... READ MORE →
It is well known that there is a difference of opinion as to whether Yitro’s arrival in the camp of Israel in the desert occurred before or after the revelation and granting of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Even if we say that Yitro arrived before the momentous event of Mount Sinai and that the Torah is recording events in a chronological manner, it still is difficult for us to understand. Why... READ MORE →
The centerpiece of this week's parsha is naturally the great song of Moses and of the Jewish people after their moment of deliverance from Pharaoh and the flooding sea. This song of Moses and of Israel is repeated daily throughout the centuries of Jewish life in our morning prayer service. The exultation of the moment is still retained and felt many generations later in the unmatched prose... READ MORE →
