Articles in Beshalach
This Is My G-d
In this Torah portion, the Jews made one of history’s most dramatic and romantic statements. When G-d split the Red Sea, they were overcome with emotion. “This is my G-d,” they exclaimed, “and I will beautify Him.” They didn’t say this is G-d or even this is our G-d; they …
Do We Have Free Choice
Beshalach: Do We Have Free Choice
If G-d knows what we will choose before we choose it, do we have free choice? In our Torah portion we learn that G-d told our ancestors not to save Mana from one day to the next and to trust Him to provide. Some Jews …
Beshalach: The Trust Test
Trust is a fickle thing. It is hard to build and it can shatter in a moment. Once shattered, it is painstaking to rebuild. If this is true of trust between people, how much more so trust in G-d?
The Torah tells us about a trust event that occurred in the …
Beshalach: Stay in Your Lane
Your lane leads you from your current position to your chosen destination. If you stay in your lane, you streamline your efforts and make a bee line for your goal. If you veer from your lane, you waste energy, lengthen your journey needlessly, and most importantly, interfere with the person …
Beshalach: Shabbat
When our ancestors traveled through the desert, they were nourished by Manna that fell miraculously from heaven every morning of the week with the exception of Shabbat. There was no Manna on Shabbat; instead two portions fell on Friday, one for Friday, the other for Shabbat.
Nevertheless, the Zohar, the seminal …
Beshalach: Why, From A Distance?
Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Or at least that is what people say. Distance is also a nuisance in a relationship. While couples who live together, stay together, couples who live apart come apart. So, there is a benefit to each. When you see one another every day, you …
Beshalach: Rich and Humble
Oxymoron?
Is it possible to be rich and humble or is that an oxymoron? So many people grow haughty when they meet with success, but if you think about it logically, it makes little sense. If we take our measure by the depth of our bank account, we have little to …
Beshalach: Miracle of Love
he Debate
They stood at the seashore overwhelmed by the miracle of love they had witnessed. All night long, they had crossed the sea and as the sun rose, they could not believe their eyes – the seashore was strewn with dead Egyptian bodies. Only then did the full magnitude of …
