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 Heart of the Matter: Free Will and the Story of Pharaoh

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2023 | Free Will, God, Va'eira

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz People are complicated but God has us figured out, as the prophet Jeremiah said: Most devious is the heart; It is perverse—who can fathom it? I Hashem probe the heart, Search the mind— To repay every man according to his ways, With the proper...

Are Science and Fear of God Compatible?

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 15, 2023 | Faith, Fear of God, Proverbs, Va'eira

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz “Fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and understanding.” There are several sources for this piece of wisdom. King Solomon, the wisest of the wise, said it in Proverb (1:7). Solomon clearly learned this important maxim from...

The Fast of the Firstborn

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 10, 2022 | Bo, Nisan, Passover, Responsibility, Temple

On the eve of Passover, firstborn sons fast from sunrise to sunset in commemoration of the salvation of the Israelite firstborns during the Plague of the Firstborn in Egypt. Unlike all other Jewish fast days, only firstborn children are required to fast on the Fast of...

Locusts: Past, Present, and Future

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 6, 2022 | Bible Study

The eighth plague brought an unprecedented swarm of locusts into Egypt, a swarm that devoured every shred of grain and foliage that remained after the hail. The plague was so devastating that Pharaoh relented, openly repenting and begging that Moses and Aaron petition...