A Banner for the Nations

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 15, 2024 | Isaiah, Light Unto the Nations, Redemption

He will raise a banner for the nations, and He will gather the outcasts of Israel; He will assemble the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:12) The verse just before this one described the ingathering of the dispersed exiles of Israel to...

Light in a Darkened World

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2024 | Antisemitism, Bo, Light Unto the Nations

The Torah portion of Bo (Exodus 10:1–13:16) tells of the final three plagues visited upon the Egyptians before the Exodus from Egypt. The Torah notes that during the ninth plague of darkness, while the Egyptians could not see one another or move around, “all the...

Beyond Bondage: A Tale of Divine Awakening

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 7, 2024 | Light Unto the Nations, Va'eira

In an insightful interpretation by Rabbi Pinchas Polonsky, the story of the Exodus is presented not just as a pivotal chapter in Jewish history, but as a defining moment in the spiritual journey of all humanity.  The grand revelation of God during the Exodus, as...

The Valley of Jehoshaphat and Biden’s Two-State Solution

by Rabbi Elie Mischel | f 31, 2023 | Joel, Light Unto the Nations

Imagine that a genocidal Mexican regime attacked the United States, overwhelming US border patrol with thousands of terrorist fighters, who then raped, tortured and murdered over 1,200 innocent American men, women and children throughout southern Texas, while also...

A Menorah Psalm

by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 24, 2023 | Light Unto the Nations, Psalms

Rabbi Haim Yosef David Azulai ben Yitzhak Zerachia (Jerusalem 18th Century), commonly known as the Hida, taught that the eight verses of Psalm 67 were inscribed on the golden Menorah (candelabra) that stood outside the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The first verse was...

The Jews and the Moon

by Rabbi Pesach Wolicki | f 26, 2023 | Bo, Light Unto the Nations

The opening verses of Exodus 12 introduce God’s instructions to the children of Israel regarding the preparations for the Passover lamb. God begins his words to Moses by telling him that the month in which the Exodus falls shall forever be known as the first month....