Redeeming Relevance: Egypt’s Great Snake
According to the Baal haTurim the snakes created by the magicians represented Phaorah himself
Redeeming Relevance: When a Brother is Not
Understanding relationships leading to understanding the parsha
Redeeming Relevance on the Weekly Parsha: Tazria
For humans, reducing flesh is generally a good thing whereas its expansion is generally a bad thing
Redeeming Relevance in the Weekly Parsha: Beha’alotcha
Despite unequal status, teamwork is the surest route to harmony and maximum self-expression.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Vayikra: Torat Kohanim and the Torah on One Foot
Vayikra, the Torah’s middle book, gives the critical light to the Torah's other books around it.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Metzora: Flesh
That man is more than flesh is obvious to the Torah, but the Torah’s task is to make it obvious to man.
Why God “Protects” the Tree of Life
Why is the status or identity of this seemingly central tree not mentioned before Adam sinned. Was it permitted at that time or forbidden?
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Vayikra: Ownership, Chametz and the Sacrificial Conundrum
There is likely some connection between the prohibition of chametz on the altar and the chametz which is more likely on our minds as we rid our homes of this most challenging foodstuff.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Vayigash: Too Much for Me, Too Much for You
Yakov realized there was a Divine plan all along; God did not inflict suffering on him for no reason
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Yitro: Is That What I Said?
The art--and history--of Jewish communication.
Redeeming Relevance: The Mishkan’s Opportunity Cost
For most of us, sacred spaces help us to focus, whereas we would otherwise not focus at all. Hence they are worth the opportunity cost they create. But we are well advised to keep that cost in mind. The fact that we are able to focus on God in the synagogue does not mean we should forget God outside!
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Ki Tetzeh
Mighty Amalek deliberately attacked enemy's weakest members, despicable even by ancient standards
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Achrei Mot: Nameless Heroes and the Holy Path
Parshat Achrei Mot represents a transition in the book of Vayikra from an emphasis on Aharon and his sons to the Jewish people as a whole
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Ki Tavo: Moshe’s Speech to Jews Living Today
Moshe saw all the Jews as one whole, it was the ones in front of him who served as the representatives for all those who had lived and would live in the future.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Shemini: The Price of Holiness
The Meshech Chochmah states that had Israel not sinned with the golden calf, God would not have punished Aharon’s sons so severely.
Redeeming Relevance: Parsha Bemidbar: Follow Which Leader?
The Torah recognizes the phenomenon of leadership and brings it to our attention subtly in the Book of Bemidbar, through the way it lists the names of the different tribes.
Redeeming Relevance: Vayikra
Though God can’t benefit from gifts to him the best way to create a relationship is by giving to Him
Redeeming Relevance in the Weekly Parsha: Vayigash
What did Yehudah say that was so effective that it convinced Yosef to make himself known?
Redeeming Relevance: Ki Tissa
Paradoxically, it is when we confront evil we have the opportunity to make the world a better place.
Finding Just the Right Gift… for God
Rather than keeping it only to herself, Chava showed her love for her husband by sacrificing her own consumption of the fruit, allowing him to eat part of it instead.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Vayetzeh: Catch the Bull by the Horns… or get Gored
Like Rivkah before them, neither Rachel nor Leah created the situation that was about to have extraordinary influence on the rest of their lives and, ultimately, on the lives of countless others
Redeeming Relevance: Pekudei: Blessed Work
So what is melakhah, and how is it different than avodah? And why is that only Moshe sees it that way. Finally, why is blessing something that seems to flow directly out of it?
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Ki Tissa: Prayer and the Jewish Mission
Paradoxically, the sin of the calf ended up strengthening Moshe and the Jewish people with a new consciousness.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Bo: How Do You Translate First Born?
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?
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Korach: When There is no Communication
The communication gap here is really two-sided. It certainly starts with Korach and his group, but it subsequently infects Moshe as well.