Bo

In our Torah portion this week, G‑d gives the Jewish people, this new nation that is set to embark on a journey to the Promised Land, their first mitzvah. What do you think that mitzvah would be?

The catalyst for any awakening is action. Transformation begins as soon as we are ready to take the first step in the right direction.

In this week’s Torah portion, the Jews leave Egypt and receive the commandment to keep the Passover. What practical preparations are needed to be ready for Pesach?

In chapter twelve of Exodus, G‑d gives the Jewish people their first mitzvah: “sanctifying the month”—to establish the calendar based on the lunar cycle (the rebirth of the moon). Why is this the first mitzvah?

Topics include: Pharaoh as the embodiment of the “irrational attraction to physical pleasure,” the Ten Plagues as a manifestation of the power of the ten sefirot, why the Torah does not begin with the first mitzvah, and why “narrow­mindedness” is the ...

The plague of darkness did not affect the Jewish people, as the Torah says (Exodus 10:23), "For Israel, there was light in all the places they were." Why does Rashi differ from the Midrash as to whether this light was one of the miracles of the plague? ...

Three times in the Torah the word "ha-shvi-i" (the seventh) is missing a letter yud. (The first time is in this week's portion in Exodus 12:15.) When spelled this way, the word may also be read as "shavua" (oath) or "soveia" (satiated.) What is the ...

The first mitzvah given to the Jewish people before they even left Egypt was to sanctify the new moon and keep a calendar. A careful study of the verse (Exodus 12:2) "This month shall be for you the beginning of months."

There’s nothing funny about somebody stepping on a rake. So try not to laugh during this week’s exciting webisode.