Only five Sidrot are named after a Biblical personality. Three of those personalities, No’ach, Yitro and Pinchas, were greatly admired. The other two, Korach and Balak, became famous for their evil conduct. It is possible that Yitro was given the honour of having a Sidra named after him because he was one of the greatest […]
The first section of today’s Sidra describes the Israelites’ journey out of the land of Egypt. They travelled from Sukkot to Etam, which was situated on the edge of the desert. The Torah tells us the route by which the Almighty decided to take them. There were three possible routes: the North Eastern route, […]
The Sidra of BO contains the last three plagues; Locusts, Darkness and the Killing of the First Born Sons. These three plagues stand out because they are associated with darkness, directly or indirectly. The Torah says that the locusts came in such vast numbers that they covered the entire sky, so that the land became […]
My question is: Why doesn’t the new Sidra begin with a new chapter, instead of beginning at chapter 6 verse 2? The answer is that the chapter divisions were introduced into the Bible by Stephen Langton, an archbishop of Canterbury in 1227, whereas our Rabbis divided the Torah into Sedarim much earlier. The divisions […]
The book of Sh’mot is described as the book of Exile and Redemption. It opens with the account of the Israelites’ integration into Egyptian society. By the time of Joseph’s death, at the age of 110 years, for legal and economic reasons it became impossible for them to leave. As a result of Joseph’s measures […]
The Sidra of Vayechi begins in the Torah scroll in a unique way. All the others Sidrot begin on a new line, or on the same line, with the space of nine letters separating them from the previous Sidra. But this Sidra begins in the middle of the paragraph, without any break. It seems […]
The Sidra of Mikketz describes Joseph’s miraculous rise to power. Unfortunately, ancient Egyptian documents, which shed clear light on the whole story of the Israelites’ migration and stay in Egypt, have not yet been discovered. Therefore, there are different opinions regarding the identity of the King of Egypt who appointed Joseph to his high […]
This Sidra of Vayeshev is devoted, mainly, to the story of Joseph. It begins by telling us that when Joseph was young, he was cared for by Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, because his own mother, Rachel, had died. Leah had six children of her own, so she had no time to look after […]
The Sidra of Vayishlach begins with the story of Jacob’s return to the land of Canaan after 20 years of absence. He was extremely concerned about meeting Esau, and was determined to do all in his power to secure peaceful coexistence with him. Therefore, he sent messengers to speak to him as humbly as they […]
The Sidra of Vayetze begins with Jacob’s famous dream, which he dreamt on the night when he left his home, in Be’er Sheva, on his way to Haran. There is a story about a Jew who once boasted to his friends by telling them: ‘I was at a very large museum in an important city […]