Rabbi Yehuda Maryles, director of Las Vegas NCSY, discusses the concept of Pharaoh’s free will and HaShem ‘hardening his heart’ in this week’s parsha – and what it would be like to have a Superbowl party in Ancient Egypt.
In this week’s Torah portion, we see the start of HaShem’s Ten Plagues over Egypt. In describing the second plague, that of frogs, the Torah uses the singular, that only one frog jumped out. Our understanding is that frogs don’t become a problem until there are millions of them, so why is there just the
In this week’s parsha, a new pharaoh has entirely forgotten about Joseph’s legacy and his good governance. This lack of memory and gratitude sets in motion the enslavement of the Hebrews in Egypt. But that’s old news. When she was on a semester in Israel, Dana Sicherman, director of Institutional Advancement for Atlantic Seaboard NCSY,
By: Jonathan Levine, as taught by Yosef Ginsberg This week, as we finish off Genesis, I decided to take a different approach in my writing about the Parsha. Usually, my approach to the Parsha is very textual, and I base my ideas off of several different commentaries, taking into account each of their opinions. I
Hard work pays off. In this week’s parsha, a coda to that Jacob’s life, he makes his final request to his family in Egypt that he be buried with his fathers, the other two patriarchs. As Devora Weinstock, former New Haven Chapter president and current director of programs for New England NCSY, explains, although the
Although Joseph is known for his self-control, he has to somehow confront the newfound humility of his brother Yehudah, the same brother who sold him into slavery. Yoni Colman, managing director of NCSY Canada & Torah High, explains how Joseph represents the epitome of self-control, as well an interpretation from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks that foreshadows the two component parts of the Jewish concept of the messiah.
Here you can find all of the divrei torah video series arranged by parsha, as well as sections for holidays and topics in Judaism.
In the last few chapters of Genesis there is a very striking recurrence of the dream as a tool to predict the future. In few other places in Biblical literature is there equal recognition of the importance of dreams, and in those few stories in which dreams are recounted, there is never tantamount emphasis on
While he's locked up in Pharaoh's prison in Parshat Mikeitz, Joseph begins interpreting dreams, and eventually the rumors of his talents reach Pharaoh himself. Rabbi Moshe Zucker, the veteran director of the Brooklyn NCSY chapter, questions how Pharaoh knew he could trust a lowly prisoner like Joseph with the secrets of his dreams and eventually come to ask Joseph to become his closest advisor.
This week’s Torah portion marks a huge turning point in Jewish history: the start of the Hebraic dynasty’s descent to Egypt. Joseph is the cause of much animosity among his brothers and theyplot to kill him. They eventually conspire to sell him to a group of merchants who, in turn, sell him to an Egyptian