by Admin | f 25, 2017 | The Portion of Va'era
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 | The Portion of Va'era
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 | The Portion of Va'era
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 | The Portion of Va'era
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...
by Ahuva Balofsky (Moderator) | f 11, 2015 | The Portion of Va'era
God sends Moses to deliver three more plagues: swarms, pestilence (murrain) and boils. The swarms (identified in the Israel Bible as flies, but elsewhere as wild animals) mark the first time God singles out the land of Goshen, where His people dwell, to be free of any...
by Ahuva Balofsky (Moderator) | f 11, 2015 | The Portion of Va'era
The final plague in our portion this week (the remaining three appear next week) is hail. God again sends Moses to warn Pharaoh of the impending plague early in the morning. What makes this plague different, however, is that God gives the Egyptians an escape: bring...
