Breaking Habits (parsha Va-ayra)

As I read the parsha (Torah portion of the week), I am struck by all the repetition. It seems like every time we turn around, God (haShem) is telling Moshe (Moses) or Moshe and Aaron to raise the staff up to create a plague, or to tell pharaoh to let haShem’s people go to serve him even though, Hashem tells them, that pharaoh will not do it. And pharaoh’s heart keeps being set against the idea of sending the people. … Continue reading

Exodus or Names

Hi everybody, Welcome to the second book that Moshe/Moses wrote: Exodus, or the Hebrew name Shmot which means names. Why is it called names? Well, that is a story for another day. Today I wish to look at the overall story that we read last week. It starts out by naming all the tribes/children that follow Yaakov/Jacob down to Mitzrayim, which is the Hebrew word for Egypt. We then have a new king who does not know about Yoseph/Joseph and … Continue reading