by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2023 | Va'eira
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz People are complicated but God has us figured out, as the prophet Jeremiah said: Most devious is the heart; It is perverse—who can fathom it? I Hashem probe the heart, Search the mind— To repay every man according to his ways, With the proper...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 15, 2023 | Va'eira, Proverbs
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz “Fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and understanding.” There are several sources for this piece of wisdom. King Solomon, the wisest of the wise, said it in Proverb (1:7). Solomon clearly learned this important maxim from...
by Admin | f 25, 2017 | Va'eira
Under law, official Israeli documents must include the Hebrew date, and holidays in Israel are determined according to the Jewish calendar, not the Gregorian one. This is just one example of Israel’s “discriminatory” laws that Palestinian rights groups have complained...
by Ahuva Balofsky (Moderator) | f 11, 2015 | Va'eira
Last week’s portion left Moses greatly discouraged. Not only did Pharaoh not release the Israelites from bondage, he made things even worse! God must reassure Moses that this, too, is part of His Divine Plan for the development of the Israelite Nation. He outlines the...
by Ahuva Balofsky (Moderator) | f 11, 2015 | Va'eira
Moses and Aaron do go back to Pharaoh to repeat their request on behalf of the people. At God’s command, Aaron throws down his staff, which promptly turns into a serpent. When Pharaoh’s magicians duplicate the feat, God ups the ante by causing Aaron’s staff to swallow...
by Ahuva Balofsky (Moderator) | f 11, 2015 | Va'eira
At this point, the suffering of Egypt begins. God sends plague after plague against the Egyptians, demanding that the Israelites be permitted to serve God in the desert. A number of patterns emerge throughout the plagues, revealing their grouping by threes. The...
