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Showing posts from March, 2025

Thirst for Power

 From the Book of Exodus opens When God tells Moses to come (Bo, in Hebrew) to Pharaoh to deliver the eighth plague and two more plagues follow, after which the Israelites are freed from slavery and expelled from Egypt. God told the Israelites to commemorate the day of their exodus from Egypt as the holiday of Pesach and after the plague of darkness occurred, Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites go but on his own terms. When Moses refused these terms, Pharaoh went back on his word and angrily ordered Moses to leave. Pharaoh said (to Moses), “Get away from me! On the day you see my face you will die!” Moses replied, “You have spoken rightly.” (Exodus 10:28-29). Every evil thing is actually a “Fall” version, a distortion of a form of divinity, and what Pharaoh displayed was a distortion of God’s power that transcended the boundaries of nature. This distortion of God’s power was Pharaoh’s arrogant attitude of ignoring any authority other than his own. In this context, when Pharaoh tol...

Brief information about Moses and Aaron

 In the book of Exodus, God begins the process leading to the redemption of the Jewish people from eternal Egypt and God first tells Moses that it is very important for him and the Jewish people to show the same faith in God as the patriarchs did when He appeared (Va'eira in Hebrew) to them. After some additional preparations, God then began to attack the Egyptians with a plague and God then reviewed the genealogy of Moses and Aaron. Because their lineage was an important factor for the Jews to accept them as leaders. Moses was the transmitter of the Torah that he received from God and the aspect of Moses in our lives in studying God's Torah and carrying out God's commands. Aaron was the first high priest and the Aaronic aspect of our lives is prayer, because prayer reaches God like the sacrifices offered by the priests. The Torah sometimes mentions Moses before Aaron and sometimes mentions Aaron before Moses. This teaches us that sometimes we need to study the Torah first ...

Shemot

 The first section of the Book of Exodus opens with a list of the names (shemot) of Jacob's sons and then records the growth of their descendants into a nation and their slavery in Egypt.  As the conditions of slavery worsen, the Israelites cry out to God and God then commissions Moses with the mission of freeing the Israelites from slavery to receive the Torah. God told them that the purpose of their redemption was so that they could take up their role as moral leaders of humanity, directing the world toward its divine mission as God's true dwelling place. Thirty years of forced labor failed to break the spirit or curb the fertility of Israel, and Pharaoh made their slavery even worse with meaningless, hard tasks. Five years after subjecting the Israelites to this demoralizing work, Moses was born to Amram (father's name) and Yocheved (mother's name) from the tribe of Levi. Pharaoh's astrologers knew that the future liberator of the nation of Israel had been born, ...

Vayechi

 From the book of Genesis tells one of the stories about the life of Jacob with the success of his son named Joseph and Joseph lived (Vaichi, meaning "and he lived") the last 17 years of his life in Egypt. Vayechi means living or living, although in this parsha begins with the story of the days of Jacob's death. Jacob organized his family into tribes to prepare them for their divine mission and then passed on to each tribe unique divine characteristics.  Jacob's years, reunited with his family, spent in Egypt, were the best years of his life. Although Jacob rejoiced to see his family reunited and remained faithful to the teachings of his ancestors, it is still difficult to imagine how the years he spent in the pagan environment of Egypt could have been the best years of his life. The answer to this riddle is that, as mentioned earlier, Jacob had sent Judah to establish a Torah learning institution (yeshiva) in Egypt. In doing so, Jacob ensured that Ida and her descend...

Considering the Steps Ahead

 From the book of Genesis continuing the story of Joseph, this event begins two years after (Mikeitz, “at the end” in Hebrew) Joseph asked the cupbearer of Pharaoh to be an intercessor for him.  This time Pharaoh had a dream twice and sought a qualified interpreter and Joseph succeeded in interpreting his dream. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream by convincing him that it pointed to seven years of prosperity to come followed by seven years of famine, and this led Pharaoh to appoint Joseph as Pharaoh's right-hand man.  Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph's skill in interpreting his dreams that he appointed him as Pharaoh's right-hand man so that he could carry out his plans. The famine also brought Joseph's brothers to Egypt to buy food that Joseph had stored during the years of plenty and after Joseph became a trusted man of Pharaoh, his former employer, Potiphar, married his daughter to Joseph. During the seven years it is said, Joseph had two sons named Manasseh ...

Avoiding Negative Things

 In the story of Jacob's son Joseph, Joseph recounts a dream in which he envisions himself as the future leader of Jacob's family, with his brothers.  This convinces his brothers that he is a threat to the family's divine mission, so they decide to eliminate him. He was sold to Egypt as a slave to one of the Egyptian dignitaries, where he was first appointed to a position of responsibility in his master's household, after which he was thrown into prison on charges of slander. Joseph's brothers, Simeon and Levi, suggested killing Joseph immediately, but Reuben, the oldest brother, suggested throwing him into a pit, leaving him to his fate and to God's providence. The hole they chose was dry and filled with snakes and scorpions. The hole was empty of water (Genesis 37:24). Allegorically, the pit symbolizes the human mind and the water symbolizes the law, this event tells us that the best way is to keep our minds free from “snakes and scorpions”. The suggestion and...

Jacob Returns to Esau

 In the Book of Bereshit or Genesis tells about the challenges faced by Jacob, When Jacob returned to the Land of Israel after completing his stay in the Aram region. This was revealed When he heard that his brother named Esau who had a grudge against him was on his way to meet him and Jacob sent (Vayishlach, “he sent” in Hebrew) a diplomatic entourage to meet Esau. Jacob sent messengers to Esau to inform him that he was returning to the land of Canaan and wanted to make peace with his twin brother named Esau and the messengers returned to Jacob with the news that Esau was meeting him with a battalion of soldiers. Jacob responded to this news in three ways:  1. He sent Esau generous gifts to try to appease him.  2. He prayed to God.  3. He prepared for war if it proved necessary. (Jacob begins his prayer), “I am no longer worthy, because of all the goodness and trust that you have shown me, your servant.” (Genesis 32:11) and although he recognized his many advantages...

The Belief of Torah

  The Torah is very different from other belief systems and when the Israelites received the Torah, they saw and witnessed that they heard the voice of Hashem (God) on Mount Sinai. We as humans cannot understand the essence of Hashem (God) because Hashem is the creator and Hashem is not human or has never been transformed into a human being in any form. The Torah is not a book that was sent down from heaven but a part of Hashem's statement to Moshe (Moses) and the Israelites. If we as non-Jews carry out the 7 laws of Noah, that means you have carried out the commandments of the Torah. In the 7 laws of Noah there is a commandment about the prohibition of sexual immorality, for example, you must maintain the honor of men or women and do not get pregnant outside of marriage. Gay, lesbian or homosexual have violated the commandments or guidance of the Torah itself. Non-Jews who carry out the 7 laws of Noah and that has carried out the rules of the Torah even we who obey the 7 laws of N...

True Wealth

 After serving Laban faithfully for 14 years and Jacob worked for him for another six years to build his personal wealth, Jacob became very prosperous. (Genesis 30:43) In addition to his material wealth, Jacob also obtained true Godly wealth: he managed to clean up all his children to follow the straight path of Abraham and Isaac and did not produce a single evil son. Jacob was able to do this because he combined the inspiring approach of Abraham's goodness and Isaac's self-discipline approach, even Jacob built a relationship with God with simple sincerity. He overcame the differences between the opposing approaches of his ancestors and Jacob was able to build good relationships with each of his children who had different personalities. It was because of his simple sincerity that Jacob was able to outwit the cunning and cunning Laban, Jacob's example teaches that although logic and reason have their place, the foundation of our relationship with God is simplicity and sincer...

Feeding and dressing the soul

 On his journey to the region of Aram, Jacob spent the night on Mount Moriah (now known as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem), and in his dream he saw a vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder leading to heaven. When he awoke, realizing the intrinsic holiness of this site or place, Jacob vowed that if God would protect him, provide for him during his stay in Aram, and allow him to return both physically and spiritually unharmed, he would sanctify this place. Jacob vowed, “If God will be with me and keep me on this journey that I am about to make, and will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and bring me back to my father's house without blemish” (Genesis 28:20-21). The bread and clothing each refer allegorically to the study of the Torah and the carrying out of the commandments from God (for the descendants of Noah the 7 Laws of Noah). As we study the Torah, God's wisdom becomes a part of us, just as the food we eat becomes a part of us. When we carry out a command...

So what is noahide?

 Here we want to explain about Noahide The term "Noahide" relates to the "Seven Laws of Noah," which are a set of ethical and moral principles that, according to Jewish tradition, were given by God to Noah and, therefore, apply to all of humanity. The Noahide laws represent a foundation for ethical behavior and a way for non-Jews to have a relationship with God according to Jewish tradition and It creates a concept of righteous gentiles. These are a set of commandments that are considered binding on all non-Jews and They include prohibitions against: Idolatry Blasphemy Murder Sexual immorality Theft Eating flesh torn from a living animal And the positive commandment to establish courts of justice The concept emphasizes that there is a universal moral code that applies to all people, regardless of their religious affiliation and The Noahide movement is a monotheistic jewish religious movement aimed at non jews. In essence, Noahidism offers a path for non-Jews to live...