“….And there was thick darkness over the entire land of Egypt…” – Shemot 10:22 וַיְהִי חשֶׁךְ אֲפֵלָה בְּכָל אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם – שמות י, כב Rashi notes that one of the purposes of the Plague of Darkness was to allow for the Egyptians’ homes to be searched by the Jews. This would enable the fulfillment of G-d’s directive (Shemos 3:22 and […]

“….This month shall be for you the head of the months…” – Shemot 12:2 הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים – שמות יב, ב The first mitzvah given to the Jews (as a nation) was to determine and sanctify the day that will be Rosh Chodesh, the first of every month, in effect creating the Jewish calendar (see Rashi on Beraishis […]

“….And you shall keep it for inspection until the fourteenth day of this month…” – Shemot 12:6 וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת עַד אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה – שמות יב, ו Bnei Yisrael were commanded to designate a lamb on the 10th of Nissan to be slaughtered as the Pesach offering four days later. Rashi comments (on Shemos 12:6) that these […]

“….And the blood will be for you for a sign upon the houses where you will be, and I will see the blood and spare you, and there will be no destructive plague in you when I smite the land of Egypt….” – Shemot 12:13 וְהָיָה הַדָּם לָכֶם לְאֹת עַל הַבָּתִּים אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם שָׁם וְרָאִיתִי אֶת הַדָּם וּפָסַחְתִּי עֲלֵכֶם וְלֹא […]

  If G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart, effectively removing any chance he had to regret and abandon his past decisions, then why was Pharaoh punished? He was not given a chance to mend his ways! Rav Shimon ben Lakish answers this question in the Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 13:3). He explains that Pharaoh was “struck” by G-d with remorselessness only because he […]

Everyday we fight our thoughts and desires. Will I ever win? Can I even win? how can I fight and control these thoughts? – find out in this class about the Parasha Duration of class: 1:03:46              

You shall tell your son on that day, saying, “It is for this sake that G-d acted on my behalf when I went out of Egypt.” – Shemot 13:8 וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה יְהֹוָה לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם – שמות יג, ח The Torah tells us that in all generations one must relate to his children “that […]