Mount Sinai
Do Jews Have Horns?
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...
A God of Gold
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 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 the covenant made with Abraham, the covenant at Sinai was sealed with...
Seeing the Sounds At Sinai
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...
Standing Under Sinai
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...
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...
The Portion of Va’etchanan
In this week’s portion, Moses continues his farewell speech to the people. Here, he repeatedly warns the people against falling into the trap of idolatry. He reminds them of the incident at Ba’al Pe’or, in which the people sinned and a...
The Portion of Devarim
This portion marks the beginning of the final book of the Torah. After leading the Children of Israel valiantly through the desert for forty years, Moses prepares to part from the people. What follows in the book of Deuteronomy is his...
The Portion of Behar
Our portion this week deals with the laws of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years as they pertain both to the land and the people. The Sabbatical occurs every seven years, with the Jubilee taking place after every seventh seven, or once in...
The Portion of Beshalach
This week’s portion, pronounced b’-sha-LAKH, meaning 'when he let go', tells of The Children of Israel’s early adventures in the desert, before receiving God’s law at Mount Sinai. Pharaoh once more changes his mind about the Hebrews...
