Getting Back Up At the end of the parsha, the Torah tells us: “And Amalek came and fought with Israel in Refidim.” (Shemos 17:8) Why does the Torah emphasize that the Jewish people were in Refidim when Amalek attacked? We already know that the Jews arrived in Refidim earlier (17:1), and we are later told that they departed from Refidim on their way to Har Sinai (19:2). What additional lesson does this repetition teach? Rashi  explains that the Torah deliberately links these

After the tenth and final plague, Pharaoh sent the Jews out of Egypt. The Torah describes how they prepared for their journey into the wilderness: “And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had taken out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, since they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay; nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves. ” (Shemos 12:39). The Torah explains that we eat matzah on Pesach because the Jews were driven out of Egypt so qui

After listing the descendants of the tribe of Levi, the Torah returns to Moshe and Aharon and states: “This was the  Aharon and Moshe  to whom Hashem said: ‘Take the Children of Israel out of Egypt according to their legions.’ They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to take the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; this was the Moshe and Aharon .” (Shemos 6:26). Both verses clearly refer to Moshe and Aharon. Yet the Torah does something unusual: in vers

When Moshe first appears before Pharaoh, not only does Pharaoh refuse to allow the Jewish slaves to leave Egypt, but he intensifies their suffering. He orders them to gather their own straw for bricks while maintaining the same production quota (Shemos 5:18). When the Jewish foremen blame Moshe for worsening their plight (5:21), Moshe turns to Hashem in anguish:   “My Lord, why have You done evil to this people, why have You sent me? From the time I came to Pharaoh to speak i

At the beginning of this week’s parsha, Yaakov is nearing the end of his life. He calls Yosef to his bedside and asks him to promise that he will not be buried in Egypt, but rather in the Land of Israel: “Please if I have found favor in your eyes, please place your hand under my thigh and do kindness and truth with me – please do not bury me in Egypt. For I will lie down with my fathers and you shall transport me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb. He [Yosef] said, ‘I per