Congregation Zera Avraham

For weeks now we have been reading about Israel’s escape from slavery in Egypt. God sees the plight of His people, calls forth Moshe to lead the people out. He promised that the people would be redeemed with His mighty hand and they would become His people. Israel indeed escapes Egypt and the clutches of Paro’s army at the Red Sea. Last week we read of that momentous occasion where Hashem establishes His covenant with them at Sinai. And now, this week, our parsha begins with

The Rabbis are greatly concerned about our behavior during the Amidah because during this prayer we are before God’s throne. It is a kal v’chomer (lesser to greater) argument. Just as we would be on our best behavior were we before a human king, how much more so when we are before the King of Kings. In our Haftorah reading from Isaiah we have his vision of the heavenly throne. He is literally before the King of Kings! In his dismay he cries out “Woe is me! I am a man of uncle

Our parsha this week includes the splitting of the Red Sea. After Israel walks to the other side and Egypt’s army is swallowed by the sea, the people sing a song of rejoicing. After this Miryam leads the women in song. The question that our Sages ask is why does Miryam need to sing a song? The people just finished praising Hashem for His deliverance. According to Shemot Rabbah there are two clues in the verse itself. Exodus 15:20 says, “Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sis

Our parsha this week is Bo, Exodus 10.1-13.16, where God visits the last three plagues upon Egypt. In the midst of this, God also gives His first mitzvah, His first commandment, to Israel. Surprisingly it's not about Passover but about establishing a calendar based on the moon! In Exodus 12:1 God says “This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year.” This statement indicates that the first month in the Jewish calendar