Pharaoh hastened to call to Moses and to Aaron, and he said, “I have offended before the LORD your God and before you. And now, forgive, pray, my offense, just this time, and entreat the LORD your God...When Pharaoh confesses his sin, first he mentions God and then Moses and Aaron. When asking for forgiveness,
The Talmud relates a story about a Roman Caesar asking one of the Rabbis to “see your God.” He was so persistent that one summer’s day, the Rabbi advised Caesar to gaze at the blinding sun - and then Caesar got the point. To see God is impossible. This story appears at what is almost the
To offer on the altar that which is wholly unkosher is, points out the Abrabarnel, a strange thing to do. And yet one finds that the blood and suet fats - both forbidden for human consumption - are key parts of the sacrificial service. Quoting Isaiah 1:18 “If your offenses be like scarlet, like snow
This week is Shabbat HaHodesh. We remove two Torah scrolls from the ark and from the second we read about declaring new months and the Passover sacrifice. This sacrifice had to be roasted:...And they shall eat the meat on this night fire-roasted...do not eat from it... cooked in water, but fire-roasted...Maharal explains that whereas boiled
"Speak to the Israelites, that they take Me a donation from every man, as his heart may urge him you shall take My donation. To explain this verse, Hatam Sofer quotes the prophet Haggai Mine is the silver and mine the gold, said the LORD (2:8). God has endless ways to distribute His endless resources,
Happy are those who keep justice, the one who does charity at all times (Psalm 106:3). This verse switches from the plural - those who keep justice, to the singular - the one who does charity at all times. Ketav Sofer explains that while justice and good deeds should be pursued publicly, this is not
This week is a double parasha, Vayakhel and Pekudei. The word Vayakhel means "to gather" and a meaning of the word Pekudei is "missing" or "deficient." Mei HaShiloah points that various odds and ends appear in Parashat Pekiudei. When we gather together, it is possible to see who is missing or what it is that
...the two tablets of the Covenant in his hand written on both their sides, on the one side and on the other they were written...God's writing it was, engraved (harut) on the tablets. In the ancient world, stone tablets were thick enough to have writing on both sides. Even so, the rabbinic interpretation is that
The Shulhan Arukh records that the mention of the ten sons of Haman must be read in a single breath. This commemorates the fact that they were hung at the same time. Today in many Synagogues, the hazan first pauses to allow the congregation to read the ten sons of Haman in a single breath
And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. The Midrash connects this with a verse from Kohelet Give a share to seven and even to eight. Circumcision is part of a boy's Jewish journey but this is not the beginning and it is not enough. In order for a child
