Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

  • What Really Happened That Night

    ה’ בשבט תשפ”ב

    The Plague of the Death of the 1st born revealed that Egyptian society was rotting from within.

  • Building a Nation from Within

    ג’ בשבט תשפ”ב

    The commandment to place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts was more for the Jews than for the Egyptians. It was to teach the Jews to be proud of who they are.

  • Our Fates are in Our Hands

    ב’ בשבט תשפ”ב

    The first commandment that the Jewish people received was to declare the new month. One reason for this was to prepare the Jews to be free. The second was to show that we are now masters of our own fate.

  • Why Live in a Jewish Culture

    כ”ט בטבת תשפ”ב

    The 3 reasons that the Jews were redeemed in Egypt was that they kept their Jewish names, their dress and their language. Why was this so important?

  • Moses & Aaron: Tag Team

    כ”ז בטבת תשפ”ב

    Moses was not diplomatic when it came to injustice. Aaron was the soul of diplomacy. Together they were able to accomplish great things, when not together it spelled disaster.

  • It’s All in the Name

    כ”ו בטבת תשפ”ב / December 30, 2021

    Pharoah refused to recognize the God of Israel. He did recognize the God of the Hebrews. What was at play? Why was it so important to the Jews?

  • Pharoah’s March of Folly

    כ”ה בטבת תשפ”ב / December 29, 2021

    Pharoah should have realized that he was leading his nation into disaster. He fits the perfect model of Barbara Tuchman’s book “The March of Folly”. And God has the final say in the matter

  • The Meaning of the Plagues

    כ”ד בטבת תשפ”ב / December 28, 2021

    What was the real reason for the plagues? God could have freed the Jews without them. Why did He choose to afflict the Egyptians in the manner that He did?

  • Moses & Aaron: United as One

    כ”ג בטבת תשפ”ב / December 27, 2021

    When Moses & Aaron receive the command to go before Pharoah, the verb is in the singular. Hebrew does not permit such grammatical mistakes. If the subject is plural the verb must be plural. Is this a mistake or is there a lesson in this?

  • Why Moses Was Chosen to Lead

    כ’ בטבת תשפ”ב / December 24, 2021

    It took God three days to convince Moses that he was the leader that the Jewish people needed. Moses thought he was not qualified for the job. Why was God so insistent?