Beit Warszawa 18th. January 2019 Geography has always fascinated me and I have often found Geography as portrayed in the Torah quite fascinating – some place names remain the same, some have altered over the millennia. Unless some major cataclysmic catastrophe happens – where exactly WAS Atlantis? – most major land masses stay roughly the […]

Thoughts on Parashat Bo The story we find in this week’s Torah portion to a certain extent serves as a matrix for many processes which took place over the course of the world’s history. It describes the slow collapse of tyrannical power. Slow and dramatic, since despotism never ends suddenly and painlessly. When I speak […]

In this week’s Torah portion Vayera the Eternal commands Moses to inform the Israelites that their bondage is about to end. Moses is supposed to convey the following message to them: [perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]I am the [Eternal]. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you […]

Thoughts on Parashat Shemot [perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.” (Exodus 4:19)[/perfectpullquote] Such good news is conveyed by God to Moses in this week’s Torah portion. Of course this is not the […]

This week’s Parashah describes changes in the Israelites’ circumstances after the death of The Pharaoh who allowed them to settle in Egypt. Their situation continually worsens. Finally, Egyptian policies towards the Israelites are nothing short of genocidal. The decree that threatens the very existence of the Israelite people is described as follows: The king of […]

Thoughts on Parashat Vayigash In this week’s Parashat we find the continuation of the famous story of Joseph and his life in Egypt. Joseph puts his brothers who came to Egypt to one final test. He orders his brothers to bring him the youngest one, Benjamin, who stayed with their father, Jacob. Juda begs Joseph […]