This week’s parasha, Vaera, deals with one of the most spectacular displays of divine power in the entire Hebrew Bible – with the ten plagues of Egypt. We can only marvel at the scope of divine intervention, which involves a wide variety of animals and (super)natural phenomena unleashed on the people of Egypt. Our focus […]

Thoughts on parashat Shemot A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are much too numerous for us. Let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they may not increase; otherwise in the event of war they may join our enemies in […]

So he blessed them on that day, saying, “With you, Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh,’ ” and he placed Ephraim before Manasseh. (Gen 48:20) Ye’simcha Elohim ke-Ephraim ve’chi-Menashe May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh With these words we bless our sons on Shabbat and […]

In my reflection on the previous parashah, I presented Joseph as a sensitive person, traumatized and torn by emotions. In this week’s reflection, I will focus a different aspect of his character. Joseph is of course torn by strong emotions, but at the same time, as we learn from these parashot, he is also often […]

Imagine yourself at 25. Just out of college, perhaps: learning how to cook something that isn’t spaghetti, maybe with an unfortunate tattoo or some bell bottoms… now imagine yourself again, at 25, but instead of bell bottoms you are wearing a lusciously soft and brightly colored robe. You are walking through warm sand with your […]

Every immigrant would agree that first years abroad are extremely difficult, as one needs to get settled into a new reality. The challenge of these initial years prevents many people from moving to more affluent countries. However, the challenge is even bigger when one never wanted to leave his homeland; when one was forced to […]