by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 4, 2024 | Chosen Nation, Redemption, Shemot, Tests and Trials
The Torah portion of Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1), which opens the Book of Exodus, recounts the transition of the Children of Israel from their esteemed position within Egyptian society to a state of harsh subjugation and relentless oppression. This period of suffering and...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 13, 2023 | Fear of God, Marriage and Relationships, Redemption, Responsibility, Shemot, Tests and Trials
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Everyone is familiar with the phrase, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman.” In the case of Moses, it took far more than one woman to help him achieve greatness. Moses did, in fact, require six amazing women to help him become the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 10, 2023 | Fear of God, God, Humility, Justice, Kindness and Compassion, Leadership, Shemot
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz “You’re a lot shorter in person than I expected.” That is the phrase that actors hear most often. It is the flip side of the “larger than life” perception of famous people. Science fiction stories about time machines always portray the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 14, 2022 | Bo, Mourning, Passover, Redemption
The Passover Seder is a generational affirmation, a transmission of the story of God’s miraculous redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt. In this context, the Seder plate, as the centerpiece of the Seder table, is a visual aid, containing symbolic foods that are...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2022 | Messiah, Passover, Redemption, Va'eira
At the Passover Seder, Jews are obligated to drink four cups of wine while leaning to the left. The Mishnah (Pesachim 10:1) states that even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The first is for Kiddush...
