THE MEANING OF THE LEANING Fast forward 12 weeks from now to Seder night and the youngest child has made it to the last verse of Ma Nishtana: “On all other nights, we eat sitting or leaning, on this night, kulanu mesubin – we all lean” Eating sitting up or leaning – none of us do that – grab a sandwich on the run, maybe sit down to eat once a day – but leaning? Most sources link it to the practice of Roman noblemen and women in Talmudic times, who would recline on couches to eat their meals. On...

NAVIGATING CHALLENGE   In this week’s parasha the Israelites finally left Egypt. But how did they feel? Were they excited? Were they scared? Were they eager? Were they reluctant? Maybe they were all of these. There is a subtle difference in the wording of two verses that sheds light on the mood of the masses. In Exodus 12:41 we read: “On that very day, all the battalions of the L-d left the land of Egypt.” Ten verses later we read: “On that very day, the L-d brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, by their battalions.” It would seem...

FAMILY TREE Our parasha open with the drama of the Exodus story. Moses’ first meeting with Pharaoh turns out to be his first setback. G-d promises to redeem his people with four expressions of liberation that we reflect in our four cups of wine at the Seder. Unexpectedly, the narrative is interrupted. The entire sheni or second portion, is just a list of names. We are treated to the family background of Moses and Aaron in the tribe of Levi. The lineage of the preceding tribes of Reuven and Shimon is also included. We are given details not only of...

EVERY ONE A STAR The James Webb Space Telescope, launched two years ago, continues to transmit beautiful and exciting images of the early universe, exceeding all earlier expectations. In order to be useful, the wealth of new information needs to be classified. There is a specific organization, the International Astronomic Union (IAU) which has conventions for labelling all new astronomical bodies. In the bible, we find it is G-d who takes this role. As the prophet Isaiah says: “He declares the stars according to their number, He calls all of them by name.” (40:26) Rashi cites this verse at the...