What was the initial reaction to the Ten Commandments? At first, people thought that God was only interested in Himself. But then, says the Midrash, when they continued listening, they realized their mistake. While the first five commandments were about our relationship with God, the second five were about how we relate to other human
Why do we celebrate Shabbat with special meals? Regarding the Manna that fell from Heaven, we read: And Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD, today you will not find it in the field." R. Yohanan lived in the 2nd Century in Eretz Yisrael and he received a tradition that on
What's less likely than winning this week's American Powerball lottery ticket? The chance that our world is some random accident of nature - yet people cling to this idea. God should not always need to perform open miracles, says Nahmanides at the end of our parasha, just to get people to believe in Him. In Egypt
And I will bring you to the land that I raised My hand in pledge to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as an inheritance. The land of Israel is one of two inheritances that God promises us. The other is the Torah: Torah did Moses
