This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is an interesting parsha because what we read depends on where we are. If you are in Israel, then you will be reading parsha Shmini. If you are outside of Israel, then you will be reading a special Pesach (Passover) parsha. Is this because we Jews like to make things difficult? Not really. It goes back to our roots. Without going into all the details, it has to do with how a Jewish month begins … Continue reading
The parsha (weekly Torah portion) that we read this week is called, “Bo,” which means, “Come” in Hebrew. The parsha begins with god telling Moshe (Moses) to come to Pharaoh, along with an explanation of why Pharaoh’s heart has been made heavy. Moshe and his brother, Aharon, then come to Pharaoh and tell him to send out the children of Yisrael. If he doesn’t, locusts will come onto the land and eat up all the remaining vegetation (what remained from … Continue reading
This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is called b’shalach, and it finishes off the pharaoh and Egypt portion of our story. And likewise, we will conclude the discussion on the breaking of habits that control us. After all, if pharaoh represents the part of us that wants to keep us enslaved to a habit, it would make sense that his destruction signifies the destruction of whatever is keeping us from being free. But that is not all that happens in the … Continue reading