Monthly Archives: February 2020

“Remembering our sufferings should lead us to be sensitive, compassionate, and kind with the ‘ger’, stranger, who lives in our societies”

B”H

Rabbi Daniela Szuster

This week’s parashah deals with different kinds of laws: civil, moral, and religious. Among these laws, there is one related to strangers. This law appears twice in this week’s portion of the Torah:

“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Sh’mot 22:20)

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Sh’mot 23:9)

This law does not appear only in this portion of the Torah but it appears, according to the Talmud, thirtysix times in the Torah! (Talmud Babli Baba Metzia 59b).

Why do we have this law so many times in the Torah? Maybe to highlight the importance of this law. It is important and essential to not oppress the stranger who lives in our societies.

What is the reason for that? You may say that because the stranger is a human being, it is created in God’s image.  Therefore, he deserves respect and be treated with dignity as every person does. These are rational reasons.  However, it is interesting to note that the Torah does not appeal to a rational argument but to an empathetic one.

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Torah Thoughts: Parashat Yitro 5780

B”H

Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky

The parasha for this week, Yitro, includes the reading of the Ten Commandments. The first word of the Ten Commandments is Anochi, “I” in Hebrew. The Hebrew word anochi starts with the Hebrew letter aleph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It seems natural to have such an important text as the Ten Commandments start with the first letter of the alphabet.

However, there is another very important text in the Torah that starts with the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, bet. I am referring to the creation of the world (and you could say, to the Torah in general), which starts with the word Bereshit, “In the beginning.”

There is a charming Midrash that describes how the letter aleph was so upset with God, and angrily complained to Him that He should have created the world with her (starting the story of the Creation of the world with the letter aleph). After all, she was the first letter! Why had God started his creation with the second letter of the alphabet?

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The Dropping of the Manna as a Way to Rebuild the Israelite’s Trust in God

B”H

Rabbi Daniela Szuster

After the Israelites were liberated from the tyranny of Pharaoh, after six weeks of the Exodus, the people started to complain. First, because they were thirsty and then, because they were starving. God, immediately, provided them with water and food. Regarding the food, God said to Moses:

“I will rain down bread for you from the sky, and the people shall go out and gather each day that day’s portion—that I may thus test them, to see whether they will follow My instructions or not.” (Sh’mot 16:4)

The Israelites were starving, and God assured them food giving them bread from the sky. At the end of this verse it is written, “that I may thus test them, to see whether they will follow My instructions or not.” What does it mean? Did God give them manna to feed them or to test them? How did God test the people providing them manna?

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