Parsha

There was a subtlety in which Shlomo was lacking.

The instruction to place the Testimony in the ark seems repetitive,

It must be difficult. You have that precious gem, that beautiful gold. I feel badly even asking.

In fact, loudness and brightness are not intrinsically Godly at all. On the contrary, the truer place to find God is in the still-small voices all around us.

The importance of working hard in advance to prevent problems can be seen in this week's parsha.

Dvar Torah for Parshas Shekalim by well known author, teacher and lecturer, Rabbi Aba Wagensberg.

Those born in Adar are charitable, great listeners and good companions.

At a certain point, he returned home, and his uncle noticed that his appearance had changed.

Towards the end of this week’s parsha, God speaks about a malach that he will send in front of the Jewish people but it is not clear what He is referring to. We will consider one understanding

In this video, Rabbi Fohrman shows us that the Torah argues that to create a better society, we must be proactive about addressing social and economic inequality.

Shabbat is in time what the Beit HaMikdash is in space.

Hashem custom-designed this world and our current existence specifically so that we can grow.

Parshat Yitro contains the most important piece in the narrative of the Jewish people, the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, when the nation and God are 'married.

I open my bible as a potential convert; open to the possibility of learning what will allow me to continue to become more. I begin my prayers in a state of repentance, ready to climb mountains.

No one is surprised that the Torah wasn’t given immediately after the Jews left Egypt, even though it was the first logical time for such an event to happen. But why not earlier or later on the trek?

We cannot rest on the educational and religious laurels of our fathers. Every generation must forge ahead, not only to maintain or continue, but to expand our knowledge of and the faithfulness to God.

The answer to this question is predicated upon understanding the concept of free will.

The role that God played towards the Jews in the desert was not far removed from that of a parent. While they were on the desert, He provided them with the challenges that would allow them to mature

Clearly, G-d has spritual goals and plans for the non-Jewish nations of the world.

Why did the firstborn Egyptians die from the same experience that elevated the Israelite firstborns?

When G-d promised Avraham that his children would emerge from Egypt laden with great wealth, he was not referring to material wealth.

The sad reality is that we have become slaves to the whims and fancies of people who do not share our understanding of the holiness of the individual, nor the greatness of the human.

In this week's video, Rabbi Fohrman explores the 7th, the transitional, plague and argues that God played off of Pharaoh's ego to show Pharaoh, Egypt and the people of Israel only God is all-powerful

Why is the faculty of Shevat referred to as Le’ita instead of Achila?

When Moshe is told about the plague of the first born (4:22-23), God gives an explanation, something we do not see with any of the other plagues. Yet is it actually middah keneged middah?

Before each person is born, he is predestined to certain abilities and talents, a particular level of intelligence, and an exact disposition and temperament.

According to the simple meaning of the text, it seems God took Pharaoh's free will. Rabbi Fohrman argues that the precise language-- kaved/chazek--shows that God DID allow Pharaoh to pursue his vision

Why did Pharaoh consistently ask Moses to pray for a plague to stop, rather than himself pray? Wouldn't that have been simpler?

Moshe complained to God that even though he would have the best human understanding of the Divine will, he had difficulty bringing it down to regular people. That role-"turgaman/navi"-Aharon filled

The month of Shevat shares its element of air with the months of Sivan and Tishrei. During Sivan, the light of the Torah was revealed to us on Har Sinai.