Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

  • Our Leaders Are Not Gods

    When Moses goes to announce the plague of blood he encounters Pharaoh in the early hours of the morning. This was to teach that even though Pharaoh was thought to be a god in Egypt he was not.

  • What’s In A Name?

    The name Hebrew is a derogatory name for the Jews. The reason is that the goal of enslaving the Jews was to destroy them. Thus it is the same throughout our history. First they will denigrate the Jews and then murder the Jews.

  • Know Before Whom You Are Standing

    Moses was admonished at the burning bush to know before whom he was standing. This was also an admonishment to remember that he would be speaking to slaves would not really be interested in long speeches. They wanted their freedom.

  • Being Nice is Not Enough

    When Moses saw the Egyptian taskmaster beating the Jew, he looked around and did not see another man. This is to teach us to do the right thing even if it isn’t the nice thing.

  • Fear God More Than Man

    When the midwives in Egypt get the order to murder all male Jewish babies they resist. The Torah states that they fear God more than Pharaoh. Fearing God will get you to do the right thing.

  • The Reason They Enslaved Us

    The Torah states that a new Pharaoh came into power that did not know Joseph. This teaches that it did not matter what the Jews did for Egypt they simply were against the Jews.

  • Listen To Your Elders

    The reason that the tribe of Levi was not enslaved was that Levi was still alive when Pharaoh succeeded in fooling the Jews. Levi, though saw through Pharaoh’s plot and told his descendants not to be fooled.

  • Economics and the Military

    Gad and Asher were given their blessings one after the other. Gad helped with the liberation of the land. Asher would be the economic powerhouse of the nation. You need a good economy to have a good military.

  • We Need a Strong Economy

    The blessing that Jacob gave Zevulun was that he should be successful in business so that he could support Issachar who would learn. If the economy is weak so too the Torah learning will be weak.

  • There is Only One Home

    Jacob insists on being buries in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The reason for this is that he wanted that the Jews not get too comfortable in Egypt. That they should remember that Egypt is not their country.