It was her eyes that really captured me; there was an intense sadness there mixed with pain, and yet every now and then a flash of fire that seemed to suggest … defiance?  As the … more

A heteronym in the Torah appears in three contexts which have too many parallels to be ignored. The prophetess Miriam (M-R-Y-M) appears on the scene to sing about the splitting of the sea, … more

There are many accounts in the midrash about the purpose of the plagues. While the overwhelming approach is that the plagues were meant to be “measure for measure punishment against the … more

The sport of rapelling (or sneppling, as it is known in Israel), is the art of  descending from a cliff by sliding down a rope which is sunken into the mountain above with stakes.  … more

For these things I weep; my eye, yea my eye, sheds tears, for the comforter to restore my soul is removed from me; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.” (Eichah … more

One of the strangest dialogues in the entire Torah occurs in Va’Era, this week’s portion. At the behest of G-d, Moshe shares with the Jewish people that their redemption is at hand. … more

This Shomot-week column by Rabbi Freedman was previously published. His fresh columns will resume next week. There is a puzzling story in this week’s portion, Shemot, which occurs just … more

Is forgiveness a virtue? Should we automatically forgive those who have wronged us? What if they do not necessarily deserve it? And how do we avoid the inevitable feelings of anger and … more

Yosef is sworn to bury Yaakov in the land of Canaan at the very beginning of the Torah portion (47:29-30). After he blesses his sons and gives them his final messages, Yaakov instructs all of his … more

The word terem or b’terem (just before) appears in the Torah close to 20 times, sometimes serving as a dramatic preposition enhancing a narrative tale, setting the stage for the … more