This week, the Torah reading talks about the gathering at Mount Sinai, and receiving the Torah. And the Torah says that the people "saw" the voices, when Mount Sinai was covered with a cloud of smoke. Many commentaries speak about what this means, whether literally or...

This quotation, from this week's Torah reading, is surely one of the most well-known phrases in the Bible. And I have often pointed out that it's really a half-quote, distorted, read as a cry for freedom. In actuality, G-d is telling Pharaoh to give the Jews a new,...

In this week's reading, Moshe sees an Egyptian beating another Jew, and comes to his rescue -- killing the Egyptian taskmaster, and putting his own life in danger. Why did Moshe take such a terrible risk? The Jewish man is never identified by name. We never hear from...

In our reading this week, Yaakov blesses Yehudah by saying, "His eyes will be read from wine, and his teeth white from milk." Rabbi Yochanon (Kesuvos 111b) changes one vowel and reads, "and to whiten his teeth from [more than] milk." To give a warm smile is better...

I had planned to begin this week thanking the many people who volunteered to help us get the word out, by posting Torah.org flyers (or arranging to have them posted) on their campus or in their neighborhood. Instead, I must thank the few people who did so, all the...