Yisro — Iron and Irony
I’ve long fixated on a phrase Yisro uses. When he rejoins Moshe and joins Klal Yisrael, he declares why, although he had been a guru in countless cults, he came to the conclusion that...
Bishalach – The Nation Newborn
I’ve always found it delightful that the term we use for when the amniotic sac ruptures, releasing the fluid within and beginning the birth process, is “breaking of the waters.” Because the birth of...
Parshas Bo – The Sound of Silence
The dogs in Egypt were still as they watched the Jewish people leave the land (Shemos, 11:7). The Midrash contends that, in keeping with the concept that “Hashem does not withhold reward from any...
Vo’eira – The Seed’s Decay is All We See
It’s all too easy to disassociate the beginning of a parsha from the end of the preceding one. But Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin, in LaTorah UlaMoadim, sees Hashem’s declaration at the opening of Vo’eira...
Conversion Conundrums – Response to Rabbi Michael Broyde
I thank Rabbi Michael Broyde for his illuminating response to my recent article about geirus standards. It seems that my article sparked serious interest and provoked much thought, which is of course a good...
Shemos – Nameless
While parshas Shemos (“Names”) does begin with names, those of the shevatim, and introduces the naming of Moshe, it is ironic that, when the parsha’s narrative begins, anonymity seems the rule. “A man went...
Conversion Subversion
Geirus – conversion to Judaism – is one of the weightiest institutions there can be. Geirus impacts not only the personal halachic status of those who undergo it, but the status (and marriageability) of...
Vayechi – People Can Be Mere Stones
It’s easy to resent being mistreated. It’s also misguided to be resentful. Yosef reassures his brothers that he harbors no ill will for their having plotted against him. “Although you intended me harm, Elokim...
Guest Podcast
Living in Israel as an Anglo-charedi has been a dilemma for many. On the one hand, we can understand the need to preserve halachic standards, and the history of broken commitments by the government....