Moses

Moses & The Rabbis

Parashat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22)

Our parashah begins the final book of the Torah, the book of Deuteronomy. Sometimes the book of Deuteronomy is also known as Mishneh Torah, or the Repetition of Torah, since it contains a recap of many of the major themes included the previous books of the Torah. It also begins by recounting the various events that have taken place among the Children of Israel since the Exodus. A curious statement is made, however, that we must explore:

Eating Elephants (Kosher Ones, That Is)

Parashat Va'etchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11)

Have you ever been overwhelmed at what seemed like an impossible task? We can respond to this in one of two ways. The first is to give up without even trying, because we instantly know that we will not be able to complete the task. The alternative, however, is to get our minds off of the impossibility of the task and onto the responsibility at hand. If we focus on the immediate requirements of the task and work our hardest on what we can do, then we might accomplish more than we realize.

The Invisible Leader

Parashat Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10)

Parashat Tetzaveh is unique from all of the other Torah portions from the beginning of Exodus to the end of Numbers in an unusual way. How so? The name of Moses is curiously missing from the text. In every other portion we hear his name mentioned at least once, if not multiple times. This week, however, the Torah is silent when it comes to actually naming Moses. Why is this the case?

Who Am I?

There's something about leaving one year and entering another. The secular year is changing from 2018 to 2019 and people around the world are making New Year's resolutions to try and be a better person. Who are you and what is your purpose? Are you able to fulfill your purpose? When God called Moses he didn't believe he was the one for the task. He asked the LORD, "Who am I?" But then he became one of the greatest leaders in history. What changed to allow Moses to live up to the potential that God saw in him?

The Sacred Name Revealed

Parashat Va'era (Exodus 6:2-9:35)

If we are paying close attention, we will realize that this week’s portion begins with a rather odd statement that begs for clarification. At first, the opening words of our portion seem contradictory to the basic storyline of what we have learned about God’s relationship with both the patriarchs and with Moses up to this point. Let’s take a careful look at the opening words of our parashah:

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