Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

  • You Need a Good Spokesman

    Aaron had remained in Egypt while Moses was in Midian. For that reason, Aaron was better suited to speak the Jews. He felt the pain that they felt.

  • Pharaoh is Human, Not a God

    The purpose of the plagues was to teach that all are human, that all are equal before God.

  • Judging Pharaoh

    Pharaoh presented himself as a god. His authority was based on this. When it was proven that he was not a god he lost his authority.

  • The Reason for Freedom

    Getting the Jews out of Egypt was easy job. The hard job was to make the Jews into a nation.

  • God’s Hand in the World

    All the plagues in Egypt could be explained as happening through natural means. The fact that Pharaoh could not understand that it was the hand of God tells us the real problem in Egypt.

  • Pharaoh’s True Punishment

    The true punishment of Pharaoh was the taking away his free will. Free will is one of the things that separates humans from animals. By removing this Pharaoh was being made into an animal.

  • True Brotherly Love

    When Moses arrived back to Egypt his brother, Aaron, greeted him with love and happiness. Aaron was the older brother and had been in Egypt for all the years that Moses was away. Instead of being jealous he was overjoyed for his brother.

  • Don’t Be A Frog

    The Jews were not enslaved all at once. It was a step-by-step process. First special taxes were levied on them. Slowly more and more of their freedom was taken away until they suddenly realized that they were enslaved.

  • Learning to be a Leader

    Moses spent 40 years in Midian before he began his mission to save the Jewish people. Those 40 years were spent learning to be a leader from his father-in-law.

  • Know Before Whom You Are Standing

    When Moses was at the burning bush he was told to remove his shoes. One of the reasons was that he should stand on rocky ground so that he would feel the pain that the enslaved Jews were feeling. A leader has to understand the pain and suffering of their followers.