by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Dec 17, 2013
At the heart of our Parasha is one of the most emotionally charged human dramas in history, before which the greatest plays of Shakespeare pale.
The story of the child with the Hebrew name Tuvia (or Avigdor), who later became the Egyptian called Moshe.
The following are only a few of the mysteries hidden in the Parasha.
The Torah relates that Moshe went out one day “to his brothers and he saw their suffering, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew of his brothers.” Moshe is so reviled by the scene that he kills the Egyptian.
1) Why was Moshe so shocked at the beating of a Jewish slave? Did he not know that millions of Jews were being beaten daily?
2) If indeed the conduct of the Egyptian taskmaster justified his being punished, why did Moshe not bring the matter before his adopted father, the Pharaoh? Why did he prefer to run away?
3) Of all people in the land of Midian, how is it that Moshe finds himself “by chance” in the house of Yitro?
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Dec 10, 2013
Rashi in our parsha alludes to the Gemara (Pesachim 56a) which describes the last hours of Ya’akov’s physical existence in this world, when he gathered his 12 sons to reveal to them what awaits the Jewish nation in the “end of days”.
However, at the precise moment when their hearts and minds were at their peak attentiveness, HaShem withdrew His Shechina (Divine spirit) from Yaakov and the revelations became obscured. Ya’akov feared that HaShem’s withdrawal might be due to one or more of his sons being a heretic. For just as his grandfather Avraham had begot the sinful Yishmael and his own father Yitzchak begot the evil Esav, he too might be cursed with a wayward son.
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Dec 3, 2013
It has all the ingredients of a best-selling novel or a blockbuster movie: sibling rivalry, a life-threatening scene in a pit of serpents, an unexpected rescue, degradation in the slave market, a beautiful seductress and her jealous husband, incarceration for life, a surprise release, ascent to international fame and power, and then, sweet revenge.
These are the elements in the story of Yosef and his brothers. What is it doing in the Holy Torah?
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Nov 28, 2013
The selection of the Jewish people as a distinct entity apart from the “family of nations” is apparent in the two essential miracles of Chanuka – the military victory and the miracle of the menorah.
The military victory was visible for all to see. The miracle of the menorah transpired in the privacy of the Temple’s sanctuary (kodesh). The visible miracle was for the world to realize our special connection with the Creator. The miracle of the private and enclosed menorah expressed the intimate relationship between HaShem and His people.
Picture a wedding scene with 1000 guests in a palatial hall.
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Nov 21, 2013
This message is directed to the young men and women still residing in the various Jewish communities in the lands of our exile.
You are a vital element in the ongoing saga of our nation. Regardless of where you were born or whose citizenship you hold, you will forever be a Jew in the eyes of the Halacha and in the eyes of your gentile neighbors.
How can you stand aside when history is beckoning to you? Where is the passion and adventure of youth?
by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | Nov 14, 2013
Though Ya’akov Aveinu returns home triumphantly, as Chazal say – spiritually, physically and materially “whole” – a dark cloud hovers over him as he learns that waiting to greet him in Eretz Yisrael is his brother, Eisav, accompanied by 400 “armed to the teeth” cohorts.
Ya’akov prepares for the fateful meeting of not only two alienated brothers, but of the collision of two ways of life; both which will influence humanity until the end of time.
We find Ya’akov gripped with fear. He devises a three-pronged strategy: to bribe Eisav with gifts, to pray to God, and just to make sure, if these two tactics should fail, Ya’akov divides his loved ones and material wealth into two camps, in the event Eisav destroys one camp, the other will have an opportunity to escape.
Ya’akov is desperate. On this day, his destiny, and that of the Jewish nation, hang in the balance, and tomorrow it will be resolved in the life and death struggle between him and his brother.
