A man adopts a new dog. Not just any dog. A very Jewish dog.
He names him Einstein and proudly tells everyone how smart he is. After a few weeks of training, he finally invites a neighbor over to witness Einstein’s brilliance.
“Einstein!” he calls. The dog trots in, alert, tail wagging, eyes shining
Moshe had two sons Gershom and Eliezer. Gershom was named for Moshe’s seclusion when he was a stranger in a foreign land, Midian. The name Eliezer alluded to Moshe’s miraculous escape from Pharoah’s executioner. Even though he was slated to die Hashem protected him and he was able to get away to Midian
Irving, an older man, is sitting outside a small roadside bed and breakfast when he sees a pickup truck rumbling down the dirt road.
“Good afternoon,” Irving says.
“Afternoon,” replies the driver.
“Passing through?” Irving asks.
Ibn Ezra questions why was there a fear that if the people leave Egypt and travel though the land of the Philistines then they may encounter a combat situation and return to Egypt. The amount of able-bodied men was 600,000 and many more and they were also armed.
A woman calls the hospital switchboard and asks, “Hello, I was wondering if you could tell me how Mrs. Kaplan in room 317 is doing.”
Moshe was the emissary of Hashem to approach Pharoah and demand that he release the nation from its bondage. However, when he speaks with him he adds how long will it be until you humble yourself in front of Hashem. That additional message seemingly has no connection to the mandate the he release the people.
Learning launched. Tables filled. Community in motion.
From the start of new classes to the first moments of TJU, and from a gala prize turning into a Shabbat at home, this week captured what it looks like when Jewish life is lived in real time. Scroll through for a few moments worth lingering on.
Two men are waiting on a train platform late in the afternoon. One is younger, clearly in a hurry. The other is older, calm, and completely unbothered. The younger man glances at his phone, frowns, then turns to the older man and asks politely, “Excuse me, do you have the time?”
The older man says nothing, staring straight ahead.
Although Moshe complained to Hashem that the people were suffering terribly under Pharoah’s enslavement, his concern was that the nation was undergoing pain and agony that was too much. He was reprimanded for his protest and Hashem explained to him the process which they were going through. The original covenant, the pact Hashem had made with Avrohom hundreds of years earlier was now to be fulfilled.
The Torah enumerates the total count of the nation when they arrived in Egypt. Then we are reminded that Yosef was in Egypt. Rashi explains that the Torah is emphasizing that Yosef withstood all the difficulties which the culture presented him with. They were a nation deeply entrenched in immorality. Additionally, we know that the wife of Potiphar went to great lengths to seduce Yosef.