Have you ever wondered why we praise or blame people for their actions? Why do we reward good deeds and punish bad ones? The answer lies in the concept of free will. Free will means that we have the power to choose between right and wrong and that our choices matter. Without free will, there would be no point in rewarding or punishing anyone. For example, we don’t punish a robot for doing something evil, because it was programmed to…
This Torah portion tells us how Pharaoh revealed that Moses had killed an Egyptian to save a Jewish man (Exodus 2:15). Moses was scared when he found out that Pharoah knew it. Pharaoh then tried to kill him. So Moses escaped from Egypt to the Sinai desert. He should have relied on G‑d’s protection, but he lost it by doubting divine providence. Nothing would have happened if Moses had not been fearful and had not expressed his fear. But since…
This time, two articles by Rabbi Bernstein Moshe related to the Torah portion of this week, Parashat Vayechi, together. Vayechi- Living True Life This Torah reading, is titled “Vayechi” or “And he lived,” even though it discusses Jacob’s death. Jacob’s life was characterized by a connection to G-d that went beyond physical realms. This trait, shared with his descendants, continued even after his earthly life ended. As our Sages put it: “Jacob, our forefather, did not die. As long as…
In our Torah portion, Vayigash Genesis 45:1-3, Joseph discloses his true identity to his brothers: he is their younger sibling, the one they had sold into Egyptian slavery years prior, and who has since risen to the position of Egypt’s governor. His brothers were jealous of him, had sold him into slavery years ago, and assumed he was dead. They did not recognize him in his position of power. They failed to recognize their long-lost brother, whom they took by…
As we near the close of autumn in 2023, it’s troubling to observe that academics and students from America and Europe have been downplaying, justifying, and even lauding a brutal mass killing of Jews by a terrorist faction that endorses an anti-Jewish genocide plan. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce asked a simple question to the presidents of three of America’s premier universities: “Does advocating for the genocide of Jews infringe upon your institution’s code of conduct related…