G-d's gave His first commandment to the Jewish people in this week's Torah portion -- the Mitzvah to sanctify the first day of the lunar cycle, the new moon, as the first day of the month (see Ex. 12:2). Sanctifying the new month seems an odd choice for the first...

As a result of Pharaoh's recalcitrance to permit the Jewish people to leave Egypt, he and his nation were struck with a total of ten plagues. With regards to each of them, the Torah emphasizes that it only inflicted the Egyptians, and did not affect the Jewish people...

In this week's reading we are introduced to a new Pharoah, "who did not know Joseph" [Ex. 1:8]. Pharoah had an imagined, entirely unfounded worry: "And it will be, if a war will occur, that he [all the Jews] will join our enemies" [1:10]. Ever wonder where the "dual...

In this week's reading, we study the reunion of Jacob and his son Joseph after 22 years of separation. Joseph, who rose from slavery and imprisonment to become Viceroy to the Pharaoh in Egypt, urged his father to join him, so he could provide for him and the family...

At the beginning of this week's reading, Joseph seems to be in a hopeless situation. Not only has he been separated from his family, sold into servitude in Egypt, but he has been thrown into prison as well. But when it was time for his redemption, it was immediate and...

A merchant once entered the marketplace, his camels loaded high with flax to sell. A blacksmith noticed the spectacle of tall, cumbersome loads of flax, and wondered aloud, "Where will all that flax go?!" A clever fellow answered him, "What's the problem? One blow of...