Yisro – The Barrel’s Secret

Last year, I noted what Rav Avdimi bar Chama bar Chasa says about the Sinaitic revelation, that “Hashem overturned the mountain above the Jews like a barrel [gigis] and said to them: ‘If you...

Parshas Bo – Choosing a Channel

  Since free will is the fundamental element of the human being that places him in a realm apart from the rest of Creation, the question of how Hashem could “harden the heart” of...

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Hillel Halkin’s Sour Grapes

Wine grapes come in distinct varieties. There is no reason that sour grapes should not do the same. Hillel Halkin has uncorked his style of their juice with a splash in The Jewish Review...

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Chutzpah or Incompetence?

Or maybe just cluelessness. In any event, UTJ’s proposed legislation to create a recognized “therapist” designation to seminary girls after taking a few courses in art or play therapy is a terrible idea. A...

Vo’eira – Nobody Will Get Stoned

  Slight divergences between the Torah’s words or phrases and Targum Onkelos’ rendering of them are often laden with meaning. One such seemingly minor change is in the Targum’s translation of Moshe’s words: “Were...

Shemos – Best-Laid Plans

  The account of Moshe’s being placed in the river, discovered by bas Par’oh and raised in royal surroundings would seem to be of no import regarding the main narrative of Shemos – Moshe’s...

Vayechi – In Praise of Diaspora

Eretz Yisrael is the desideratum to which the Torah’s entire narrative leads. From Hashem’s promising the Land to Avraham’s descendants, to our ancestors’ exodus from Mitzrayim and years of wandering in the desert, the...

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