As Moshe (Moses) entered the tent of the Tabernacle, he heard someone saying, "Look how fat the son of Amram's neck is!" The implication was that Moshe had become wealthy off the donations made by the Children of Israel. In fact, he heard another respond, "What, the...

The Purim story, which we read in the Book of Esther, is one of surprising reversals. King Achashveirosh threw a party to show off his power and wealth, but it ended with him roaring drunk and killing his own queen. Haman came to the king to hang Mordechai, and ended...

Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin zt"l was in Polish Lithuania at a time when rabbinic schools were suffering from extreme poverty. In his book Oznaim L'Torah (and reprinted in Yalkut Lekach Tov), he relates that he accompanied a delegation of senior rabbis to Warsaw to request...

This week's Torah portion features many laws governing our interactions with others: personal and property damages, borrowing and lending, and judicial proceedings, among others. Yet the opening words of the parsha are "And these are the laws.." The word "and," of...

After the great miracles of the Exodus — the splitting of the sea, the falling of the Manna, and the Jewish victory when attacked by the Amalek nation — Yisro (Jethro), Moshe's father-in-law, was so impressed by this evidence of G-d's love for His nation that he...

After crossing the Sea of Reeds, the Jewish People found themselves in an inhospitable desert. For 40 years, they ate a miraculous food called Mann, or Manna. Yet we read that G-d also provided both quail and water. Why was it necessary for them to eat food whose...

The current global upheaval due to the raging pandemic, combined with political upheaval, has made us all unsettled; many are even broken and in despair. We all ask, "When will life return to normal?" The Exodus story, which we read about in the Torah portion this...

Rabbi Meilech Biederman, a well-known teacher in Jerusalem, shared an incredible message this week, one that is worth sharing almost verbatim. Hashem told Moshe to arise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, because that is when he goes out to the water [see...

When Moses discovered the burning bush, G-d called out to him, "Remove your shoes, for the land that you are standing on is holy (Ex. 3:5)." This is probably one of the most famous stories in the Torah, and Judaism teaches that all the words and stories of the Torah...

For Joseph's brothers, this is the week of their "big reveal." They suddenly learn that the viceroy of Egypt, the one who had taken their brother Shimon (Simeon) captive, forced them to bring their brother Binyamin (Benjamin), and then seized Binyamin instead — is...

The existence of the Haftarah, at least according to many sources, dates to the time of Chanukah. The Greeks prohibited observing the Sabbath and reading the Torah, and thus rabbis read related portions of the Prophets or Writings instead. These became the Haftarah...

As we read last week, Yaakov left his parent's home to live with his uncle Lavan, both to escape the anger of his brother Esav and to find a wife. Now, upon his return with his family, he hoped to make peace with Esav — and so Yaakov sent him an elaborate gift of...