Post Jethro: Midianite Priest and Father-in-law of Moses The Torah portion, comprised of Exodus 18:1–20:23, is named after Moses’ Midianite father-in-law, Jethro. It tells of Jethro’s counsel to Moses, and God’s revelation of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites… Read More
Post Locusts: Past, Present, and Future The eighth plague brought an unprecedented swarm of locusts into Egypt, a swarm that devoured every shred of grain and foliage that remained after the hail. The plague was so… Read More
Post Manna: Bread of Heaven In preparation for their Exodus from Egypt, the Hebrews prepared for their trek across the desert which, at the time, they assumed would be relatively short and direct. But one… Read More
Post Matzah: Bread of Freedom or Bread of Affliction? In preparation for the final devastating plague, the Hebrews prepared the Passover lamb. The offering, whose blood, painted on their doorposts, would protect them from the Angel of Death and… Read More
Post Milk and Meat: When Two Rights Make a Wrong Exodus 23:19 contains the first of three times the Torah warns Israel, “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (also found in Exodus 34:26, Deuteronomy 14:21). This prohibition… Read More
Post Why must we Remember and Observe the Sabbath? After leaving Egypt and seeing the wonders of God’s greatness at the splitting of the Reed Sea, the Children of Israel prepared themselves for three days to receive the Torah… Read More
Post Seeing the Sounds At Sinai The revelation at Sinai was undoubtedly intense and all-encompassing. But one verse in the Torah describing the experience suggests that the Children of Israel had a sensory experience of an… Read More
Post Song of the Sea After the Children of Israel passed through the Reed Sea, God closed the waters, wiping out the Egyptian army that was chasing them. The Hebrews celebrated by singing two songs;… Read More
Post Standing Under Sinai The experience at Mount Sinai was an unprecedented revelation of God’s glory that pushed the limits of human perception. This is reflected in the descriptions offered by the sages. When… Read More
Post The Clouds of Glory and the Feast of Tabernacles God watched over the Children of Israel as they traveled through the desert toward the Promised Land, guiding them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of… Read More