The annual month of reserve duty in the Israeli army brings together men from all segments of society who would typically not meet. But, since we are all dressed in green and depend on each other, we get along, accepting each other’s...
On June 15, 1967, Rabbi Norman Lamm delivered a lecture at The Jewish Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was the second day of the festival of Shavuot and five days after the Six-Day war had ended. In his passionate speech,...
In the story of Creation, God ends every day by noting the day and saying it was good. The formula established on the first day reads, “And there was evening and there was morning, a first day” (Genesis 1:5). One notable divergence is...
After coming down from Mount Sinai, Moses’ face was so radiant that he had to wear a mask when speaking with people: And when Moshe had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moshe went in before Hashem to...
In a divine tour de force, God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt with miracles and wonders including the ten plagues and the splitting of the sea. Never before had men witnessed such direct proof of God’s actions. Nonetheless,...
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 the covenant made with Abraham, the covenant at Sinai was sealed with...
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 unrivaled level. All the people witnessed the...
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 it came time for the people to approach the...
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 at Mount Sinai. The Torah describes how God descended upon...
When Moses presented the Jews with the prospect of receiving the Torah at Sinai, they respond: "All that Hashem has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8). This expression of acceptance was repeated and expanded in a phrase that has...
