“In the third month of the children of Israel's departure from Egypt, on this day they arrived in the desert of Sinai.”
בַּחֹ֨דֶשׁ֙ הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י לְצֵ֥את בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה בָּ֖אוּ מִדְבַּ֥ר סִינָֽי
With these words, we open chapter 19 of the book of Shemot, and...
"Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart.”
These opening words of Parashat Bo exemplify one of the deepest existential questions posed in the Torah: free will.
The idea of God trapping Pharaoh by closing his heart has been widely commented upon. Yet, when looking closely at this motif, one...
Hananiah Harari, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, 1936, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia and Phillip Frost, 1986.92.52
Our forefather Ya’akov, alone and afraid, wrestles all night. Come daybreak, he demands a blessing. The one he wrestled with responds, “Your name will ...
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