Articles in Vaeirah
Vaera: The Bane of Arrogance
Arrogance
Judaism has unique ideas, ones you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else. For example, Judaism teaches that the king (for that matter the president, prime minister or any other kind of leader) be the humblest in all of society. While arrogance is a sin for all people, it is …
Vaera: Determination
Hard Heart
When Moses and Aaron first came to Pharaoh they made a reasonable request, let my people go for three days so they could worship G-d in the desert. Pharaoh denied this request and dismissed the miracles that Aaron performed to prove the authenticity of their message. At this point …
Vaera: Where is G-d?
G-d is You
As a child I recall walking with my father one morning while he was telling my older brothers that nothing exists outside of G-d. In fact, he said, G-d is in everything. He is the flower, the street, the car, He is even you. This captured my childish …
Vaera: Just Stop Asking
My Shoes Hurt My Head
Herbert Weiner, author of Nine and a Half Mystics, enjoyed warm relations with many Chassidic Jews. Herbert reportedly asked a Chassid, why it is that despite their mutual Jewish base he feels that the Chassid walks through doors that he simply cannot. As I understood it, …
Vaera: The Daily Escape
Question
Over the course of history, Jews have experienced many miraculous redemptions, but the only miracle we deliberately recall every day is the exodus from Egypt. Why is this one different?
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Vaeira: Seeking The Truth
Snakes and Sticks
Sticks are straight and unbending. They neither deceive nor mislead; they are what they appear to be. Snakes are serpentine; twisted and curved they slither silently and slyly conceal their approach. Dishonest people are colloquially described as snakelike whereas honest people are described as straight; as the expression …
Vaeira: When Faith Breeds Confidence
Our Grandparents
I stand in awe of my grandparent’s generation, who fought two world wars and overcame a depression in the span of three short decades. They stood up to the twin evils of Nazism and Communism and created peace, stability and even prosperity. They did not have the luxuries we …
Vaeira: Food for Thought at Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Believe
So burdened were the Jews in Egypt by their workload and fatigue that when Moses announced they would soon be liberated, they barely took notice. Moses complained to G-d, “if my own brothers won’t listen, how can Pharaoh be expected to listen?” The argument seems curious. His brethren didn’t …
