Bo

(Originally published in January 2021) The Israelites stand in the portal to freedom on the night of the fourteenth of Nissan, as the first-born plague rages around them.  Their portal is marked by blood, the blood of the sheep they just sacrificed, but also, symbolically, the blood of their years of suffering.  They are poised […]

We feel that everything needs to be done before we can be free, before we can rest and have peace and “get there,” wherever we are trying to get. We have to first complete our to-do list. Then we will have earned peace and maybe even redemption. But we are not there yet. And then

What is the difference between being “heavy (or hard) of heart,” kevad lev, as Pharaoh is, and being “heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue,” kevad peh vekevad lashon, as Moshe is? Both heavy, one in a harmful way, one in a successful way – what’s the difference? My son Medad says that the heart has to

Something changes about the Torah’s narrative in the middle of this week’s parsha. For 9 plagues we have followed the story as it unfolds in the normal narrative time of Egypt – with its warning speeches to Pharaoh, description of the plagues and their repercussions, and the continual hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Now suddenly, on