CALL UP THE FROG(S) The second of the ten plagues, frogs, commences in this week’s parasha with the words: Vata’al HaTzefarde’a Vetchas Et Eretz Mitzrayim (Shemot 8:2) Literally, this means: “The ‘frog’ came up and it covered the land of Egypt.” Hebrew, like English, will sometimes use a word that can have both a singular or plural connotation. ‘Fish’ can mean one fish or many fish. The simple meaning of ‘frog’ in our verse is that it means that the frog plague came up and swarmed over the land. Yet the rabbis of the Talmud (Sanhedrin 67b), sensitive to the...
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EGYPTIANS 13th century BCE: Moses leaves the comfort of the royal palace and goes out for himself to see the condition of his fellow Israelites under Egyptian slavery. He is shocked to discover that an Egyptian Taskmaster is beating a Hebrew slave for apparently no reason. To his horror, the slave is being beaten to death. The Torah then says that Moses “looked this way and that; he saw that there was no man, so he struck down the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.” [Exodus 2:12] Rabbi N. Z. Y. Berlin (19th century, Volzhin), author...
FOOD FOR THOUGHT One of our most important responsibilities as intelligent human beings is to identify the cause and effect of the decisions we take. Sometimes it takes a David Attenborough to draw to our attention how our disposal of plastic is having a deleterious effect on our environment. Yet matters are not always as they seem and there can be other factors at play. Take a look at the biblical world. A classic case in point is the promotion of Joseph to the position of Viceroy of Egypt. Joseph has been languishing in prison. Pharaoh has a dream. No...
LIFE’S CHALLENGE – A LESSON FROM RABBI LORD SACKS At the end of the sidra we read how Joseph found himself in prison together with the Pharaoh’s baker and butler. One morning the men awoke, disturbed by dreams they had the night before. Joseph offered to listen and attempt to interpret the dreams. The butler related his dream to Joseph, who explained that in three days, the butler would be back in his former capacity dutifully serving Pharaoh. The baker was encouraged by this interpretation. He told Joseph his dream, expecting also to be given good news. To his...
This coming Sunday marks the Shloshim of Rabbi Lord Sacks, Moreh Morenu HaRav, R. Ya’akov Zvi ben R. David Arieh, zecher tzaddik livracha. A major tribute is being broadcast on Sunday at 7.00 pm, (www.RabbiSacks.org/shloshim) which include contributions from leading figures in the Jewish and non-Jewish world (including HRH the Prince of Wales). The event will end with a Hadran – a Conclusion to the study of the Six Orders of the Mishna, learned across the Jewish world in Rabbi Sacks’ name. The message I have recorded for the Hadran is an edited version of what appears below. RETURN AND...
