by RabbiOlivier | Jan 19, 2018 | Torah Reflections
Bo Exodus 10:1 – 13:16 From Pharaoh’s Slaves to God’s Slaves There is one peculiar word in Hebrew that is used interchangeably in this week’s Torah portion. While the Torah portion itself tells of the last plagues wrought upon Egypt by God and, in...
by RabbiOlivier | Feb 3, 2017 | Torah Reflections
Bo Exodus 10:1 – 13:16 God Acts in Wondrous Ways Our Torah portion opens, this week, with the last four plagues to befall Egypt. “Then the Eternal One said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh. For I have hardened his heart… so that I may display My signs among them, and...
by RabbiOlivier | Jan 20, 2017 | General, Torah Reflections
Sh’mot Exodus 1:1 – 6:1 Beyond Fear and Morality This week we open the Book of Exodus. Jacob and his sons settled in Egypt as Joseph, then Viceroy, invited them to. After that generation dies out we are told, “the Israelites were fertile and prolific; they...
by RabbiOlivier | Feb 3, 2012 | Adult Learning, Torah Reflections
Parashah (portion) B’shalach – At The Edge of The Wilderness Exodus 13:17 – 19:16 Our Torah portion opens with liberation: “Now when Pharaoh let the people go…” [Exod. 13:17] As we approach biblical stories as myth, we no longer read the...
by RabbiOlivier | Jan 19, 2012 | Adult Learning, Torah Reflections
Parashah (portion) VaEira – Know Thyself To Be Enslaved Exodus 6:2 – 9:35 Every year, as I meet the text narrating the plagues of Egypt, I am confronted with the same paradox. God commends Moses to ask Pharaoh to free the Hebrews. Pharaoh refuses. God brings...