Loving the Stranger There are commands that leap off the page by their sheer moral power. So it is in the case of the social legislation in Mishpatim. Amid the complex laws relating to the treatment of slaves, personal injury and property, one command in particular stands out, by virtue of [a] its repetition (it […]
A Holy Nation Immediately prior to the great revelation at Mount Sinai, G-d instructs Moses as to the nature of the covenant he is proposing to make with the children of Israel. On their willing acceptance of these terms, all else will depend. In the course of this preamble, the Torah articulates what, in hindsight, could […]
The Turning Point The sedra of Beshallach is beautifully constructed. It begins with a battle, it ends with a battle, and in the middle is the great miracle, the turning point – the crossing of the Red Sea. As so often in the Mosaic books, we are presented with a chiasmus, a literary structure of the […]
The Covenant of Fate The sedra of Bo, I have argued, is among the most revolutionary in the entire history of ideas. The reason has less to do with the miracles of the exodus than its message. Three times in the course of two chapters, Moses tells the Israelites about their duties to their children. […]
The G-d Who Acts in History The Israelites are at their lowest ebb. They have been enslaved. A decree has been issued that every male child is to be killed. Moses is sent to liberate them, but the first effect of his intervention is to make matters worse, not better. Their quota of brick-making remains […]
Of What Was Moses Afraid? This week’s Covenant and Conversation owes its genesis to my teacher, Rabbi Nachum Rabinovitch. One of the great Maimonidean scholars of our time, he taught us, his students, that Torah leadership demands the highest intellectual and moral courage. He did this in the best way possible, by personal example. The […]
The Future of the Past It is the scene that brings the Book of Bereishit to a close. Years before, Joseph had forgiven his brothers for selling him into slavery (“Now, do not worry or feel guilty because you sold me. Look: G-d has sent me ahead of you to save lives”). Evidently, though, they […]
The Great Experiment It is one of the most dramatic moments in Bereishith, a book full of dramatic moments. Judah has made a passionate plea for Benjamin’s release. Yes, the missing silver cup has been found in his possession. Judah does not challenge the facts. Instead he throws himself on the mercy of the Egyptian […]
Faith, Universal and Particular Pharaoh has two dreams, one about seven lean cows eating seven fat ones, another about seven scorched ears of corn devouring seven healthy ones. He senses their significance and asks his sages to interpret them. None can. His cup bearer then remembers the young man he met in prison who was […]
Reuben: the Might-Have-Been Reuben is the greatest “might-have-been” in the Torah. His father Jacob says as much in his dying words: Reuben, you are my firstborn, My power and the beginning of my might, Preeminent in bearing and preeminent in strength. Unstable as water, you will not be preeminent… His story is of potential unfulfilled, […]
