Post Worst of All: The Plague of the Firstborn The final plague that struck Egypt was exceptional in several respects. It hit both man and animal and, for the first time, a plague killed people outright. Unlike the other… Read More
Post How Many Plagues Were There? Every schoolchild knows that Egypt was struck by ten plagues before the Hebrews were set free. But a different count is given in Psalms and several different options for enumerating… Read More
Post Martin Luther King Jr.’ Stance on Antisemitism The beginning of the Book of Exodus is the first time that we encounter antisemitism. Pharaoh was the first to use the antisemitic tropes that have, unfortunately, become all too… 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 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 The Biblical Symbolism Of Passover Foods The home-based Passover service, known as the Passover Seder, is brimming with Biblical symbolism. Seder is the Hebrew word for order, alluding to the idea that God runs the world in… Read More
Post The Covenant at Sinai The Exodus from Egypt would not have been complete without entering into a covenant with God. In this covenant, the nation of Israel swears to keep the Torah. Just like… Read More
Post The Four Cups of Wine At the Passover Seder, Jews are obligated to drink four cups of wine while leaning to the left. The Mishnah (Pesachim 10:1) states that even the poor are obliged to… Read More
Post The “Great Sabbath” The Shabbat that precedes Pesach (Passover) is called ‘Shabbat HaGadol’ (the big/great Sabbath). There are several reasons for this. According to Jewish tradition, the first Shabbat HaGadol was the last… Read More
Post The Greatness of Gideon As a synagogue rabbi in New Jersey, I often thought of the classic insight that “no good deed goes unpunished.” While celebrating happy events like weddings and bar mitzvahs, I… Read More