By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Israel just held its fifth election in three years. For a while now, Israel has been struggling to find a leader who can form and maintain a coalition made up of different parties, each with their own interests...
Why Was Moses’ Arm Stricken With “Leprosy”?
Leviticus goes into great detail concerning the disease of tzaraat, a spiritual malady that is similar to leprosy in presentation. But the first time this disease is described in the Bible is when Moses first encounters God at the Burning...
Tzaraat: The Messiah’s Affliction?
The Torah portion of Tazria (Leviticus 12-13) deals with tzaraat, a disease usually mistranslated as leprosy. Tzaraat is a malady that afflicts the body, clothing, and the walls of houses. The afflicted is diagnosed by the priest and...
How the Burning Bush Foreshadowed the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai
The Burning Bush described in this week’s Torah portion has become the archetypal symbol of the divine call to action. Referred to in theology as a theophany, the bush was the appearance of the infinite God in a form that is visible to...
Who were the Midianites?
After the ten brothers put Joseph in a pit, a group of Midianite traders happened along and took Joseph to Egypt where he was sold to Potiphar. That ill-intentioned act was the first link in a series of events that saved all of Egypt from...
What Is God’s Hebrew Name?
And Hashem said to Moshe, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh”. He continued, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh sent me to you’”. Unsure about whether the enslaved Israelites will follow him to rebel against Pharaoh and trust in the God of...