There are many days that are auspicious, commemorated for a powerful event that happened on that date, earning them personal or even national significance. Birthdays and national holidays are like this. The same is true for sad days...
After the sin of the Golden Calf, the tribe of Levi is chosen to serve in the Temple instead of the firstborn as they did not participate in the sin. Aaron is chosen to be the High Priest, and Moses anoints his brother and his brother's...
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,...
As part of building the Tabernacle, God instructed Moses to place the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments into the Ark of the Covenant. But, as we know, there were two sets of tablets; the first, inscribed by the finger of God, was cast...
In 2003, about 3,300 years after the Hebrews left Egypt, Nabil Hilmy, dean of the faculty of law at Egypt’s Zagazig University, announced that he was suing the Jews for the gold and silver they took when they left Egypt. Calling the...
This week’s portion begins with the commandment to conduct a census among the Children of Israel through the donation of a half shekel.  Other commandments follow, but the focus of the portion is the story of the Golden Calf.  It has...
