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Sharona Margolin Halickman

Jan 18, 2018, 11:35 PM

Moshe Rabbeinu, Harriet Tubman & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When Israel was in Egypt’s land, Let my people go! Oppressed so hard they could not stand, Let my people go! Go down Moses, Way down in Egypt’s land Tell old Pharaoh To Let my people go! Many of us are familiar with “Go Down Moses”, the...

Rechie J. Eisner

Jan 14, 2018, 8:35 AM

Beating the Makkot

"Frogs here, frogs there, frogs were jumping everywhere.” But where did they all come from? "ח':'ב') "וַיֵּ֤ט אַהֲרֹן֙ אֶת־יָד֔וֹ עַ֖ל מֵימֵ֣י מִצְרָ֑יִם וַתַּ֙עַל֙ הַצְּפַרְדֵּ֔עַ וַתְּכַ֖ס אֶת־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם") “And Aaron stretched forth his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frog(s)...

William Hamilton

Jan 12, 2018, 10:40 PM

Courage can be contagious

“You are not going to be forcibly taken from this place” a Bulgarian Priest insisted when he spoke to several hundred young children who had been rounded up for deportation. “And if they do try and take you from here,...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Jan 11, 2018, 8:28 PM

The hidden prophecies in the butler’s dream

A few weeks ago, in Parshat Vayeshev (Breisheet 40:11) we read Pharaoh’s butler’s description of his dream which mentioned Pharaoh’s cup three times: “Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup....

Shammai Engelmayer

Jan 11, 2018, 6:19 PM

Create a better world – make acts of kindness contagious

On the penultimate Sunday of 2017, CBS Sunday Morning carried a report by the network’s national correspondent, Lee Cowan, about the beneficial aspects of kindness. That piece of reporting should be played, discussed, and acted upon in every classroom, in...

Jan 11, 2018, 3:24 PM

Cynics’ Sabbath

Political hypocrisy wasn't invented in Israel, at least not this week. But 48 hours may be a new record for turning on a ten-agora piece. Just two days ago, the so-called Mini-Markets Law was passed by a 58-57 vote in...

Jan 11, 2018, 12:53 PM

Freewill: Use it or lose it

Illustration of Moses leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt in the Kaufmann Haggadah, 14th century. (Wikimedia Commons)

Don't take freedom for granted: even Pharaoh could lose it; even a nation of slaves acquired it (Va’era)

David Seidenberg

Jan 11, 2018, 12:47 PM

Pharaoh’s heart: A tragedy of our time

We encounter two very different Pharaohs over eight weeks of Torah readings. Why won't the second Pharaoh of Exodus "learn his lesson", change, or be changed? Is it just because God forces him to refuse, "in order to multiply...

Jan 11, 2018, 12:47 PM

Emunah – A Personal Journey (Parshat Vaera)

Emunah- the challenge Emunah, a natural and deep awareness of Hashem, has not always come easily to me. Yes, I have always believed in Hashem, but Emunah is so much more than a “belief.” I have always known Hashem, but...

Jan 11, 2018, 12:45 PM

“Big Data” Parashat Vaera 5778

One of the biggest buzz-words of modern computing is “Big Data”. Today’s computers have processing power that was unimaginable even a decade ago. “Big Data” is the science of using these powerful computers to crunch huge chunks of data...

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