Parshah Columnists

Dear G‑d, why is life so challenging? Why are You being so hard on me?

Don’t feel any less worthy because you’re not the next big thing, because in reality you are—by dint of the practical things you do every day.

Who were these heroines who were willing to risk their lives only to never be mentioned in the Torah again?

Often, the best response to adversity is to break out of our comfort zones and extend a helping hand to another person with love and gratitude for all the good that we have.

In exile something's got to break, so break your head. It's the body's job to wait in line, not the soul's

Seeing the Jews living away from the limelight of the Nile and missing out on all the fun, Pharaoh decides to include them in the bounty of Egypt. When his plan doesn't work, he is enraged...

Interestingly, according to Jewish law and tradition, it is preferable that a person walk around with some separation between the foot and the ground. It was not so, however, when one was present in the Holy Temple in ancient Jerusalem . . .

Why name an entire book after the seemingly coincidental use of a word in its opening line? But here lies an important lesson about the Jewish approach to the individual member of the community . . .

Of all the portions in the Torah, Shemot most clearly illustrates the strength of the Jewish woman.

When the Jewish people are counted, the greatest and most distinguished is counted exactly the same as the most lowly and simple.

While we’re usually in touch with our suffering, seeing it in others is not so common.

His flames fully engulfed you. He consumed you. Yet here you are. Still around. Still alive. You’re functioning.

The exile and the redemption in Exodus were not a one-time event, but merely the paradigm for an event that recurs again and again throughout our history—exile followed by redemption followed by exile again—and thus the metamorphosis of the Jewish people continues.

Seeing beyond the status quo and taking action are characteristics that distinguish great people.

G‑d is with us in our suffering. That He has not abandoned us. That He is present even when His presence is hidden.

"All new born boys in the river," Pharaoh commanded. What is the deeper meaning behind this cruel decree?

Who isn’t suffering nowadays? We’re surrounded by tragedy, difficulty and challenges.

To truly understand the Infinite G-d takes infinite patience

Losing my planner taught me that we are not lost and listless, but on a path from a Higher Source.

G-d reveals Himself to the humble. But what is humility?

Moses performed miracles and promised redemption. But things got much worse before they got better. Is history repeating itself?

Jewish culture: How important is it to maintain?

In the Book of Exodus, we are introduced to Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, wife of Moses and mother of their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.

What they needed, Moses thought, was was not a miracle, but a wake-up call... G‑d disagreed

G‑d was looking for someone to lead His people. We know he chose Moses. The question is, why?

Where was G‑d during the Holocaust?

Why was Moses told to "remove your shoes from your feet" before approaching tha hallowed ground of the Burning Bush?

Our ancestors worshipped idols and on occasion beat each other physically. Yet, none of this justified their suffering to Moses. But gossip, a seemingly relatively innocent sin, was sufficient to explain it.

“When you depend on the weather,” the old farmer would say, “everyone prays.”

There are two different types of failed politicians.

Education is never going to be the best-paid profession, but I’ve always been excited at the thought of helping people to reach their potential.

Having children is an act of faith: Faith that the world is going somewhere good. Faith that in our children's lifetimes it will be a better place than it is today. How do we know this, when there's so much evidence to the contrary? We just do

Somewhere there is a boundary, a line that separates the near from the far, the within from the without. If you can straddle that line, if you can stand with one foot inside and the other foot outside, you can be both

It's probably the oldest question in the history of human thought. It's surely the most disturbing, the most frequently asked and the least satisfactorily answered. Why, oh why, do bad things happen to good people?

Where did it come from, this Jewish ability to turn weakness into strength, adversity into advantage, darkness into light?

The transformation from a small seed to a large tree is exponentially great; the same is true about our service in exile.

The true life of a Jew is not his or her physical life, but his or her spiritual life.

No one listens to rebuke unless they believe that you love them.

The darkness of night sets the stage for a new dawn.

From Above pours down only love, an infinite love that neither subsides nor changes.