Moses’s wrath flared, and he flung the tablets from his hand and smashed them at the bottom of the mountain. A midrash teaches that Moshe destroyed the tablets because the more we know, the more is expected of us. Moshe reasoned that if the people possessed the Ten Commandments, God would be more severe in

Well known is the custom to clamor each time Haman's name is read in the Megillah, but some also clamor in another place. The third last verse of the Megillah tells us King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the mainland and the islands. Many demonstrate their displeasure by clamoring when the word tax is pronounced! Malbim

Parashat Terumah is the first of many times when the Torah describes the mishkan, the Tabernacle, and in this initial description the ark is mentioned first. This is because the central purpose of the mishkan was to be a place where God’s Law was taught and internalized. In later accounts of the mishkan, the ark

This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shekalim because we take out a second Torah and read about the requirement for each Jew to contribute half a shekel – not more or less – to the building of the mishkan, our original Synagogue. The requirement for each person to bring half a shekel is a reminder

The Second Commandment reads: You shall have no other gods beside Me. Bothered by the possibility of “other gods,” Rashi illuminates this phrase. He interprets “other gods” to mean gods who are indifferent to the plight of humankind, gods who remain "other" to the cares and cries of those who turn to them. Taken this