The 10 Plagues, Then and Now.

The Hidden Message in the 10 Plagues It’s mandatory to celebrate Passover (Pesach) every year and recount the story of the exodus, including the explicit listing of the 10 plagues.  Why? Is it just so we don’t forget? Wouldn’t it be better to instead concentrate on...

Reflections of the Reflecting Pool.

It came to my attention this week that the giant Reflecting Pool that lies in the central axis between the Washington Monument and the Capital Building is 2300 x 150 feet. At first I dismissed it, even as they pointed out that 2300 x 150 = 345,000 sq ft and that 345...

Naming Names; The Gifts we've been Given.

What’s in a Name? Why does the Torah pause to list them? What happened 3330 years ago (66.6 jubilee years) that we NEED to understand to help us today? “These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob…” The second of the...

Goshen: Seeds Planted in the Darkness

The seeds are always planted before the crops, and often it’s not where they are planted it’s by whom. In parsha Vayigash, 46:28 it says [Jacob] sent Judah ahead of him to make preparations in Goshen (Goshnah).” Goshen (Goshnah) has the same 4...