Shmot

In honor of both this week's Torah portion recounting the falling of the Manna from Heaven, and Tu B'Shvat

Rav Kook's ideas on what true individual and national freedom is and how to attain it.

There are many people who live for today; some live for yesterday, while other people live for tomorrow. And then there are those who live for the day AFTER tomorrow.

The history of storytelling as an essential part of moral education begins in this week’s parsha. The Israelites are still slaves, Yet already Moses is directing their minds to the far horizon of the future.

Despite everything Pharaoh is undoubtedly also aware of, he continues his suicidal course. What drives Pharaoh to this extreme?

E-books are very convenient but they will never replace real books. Why?

After the plague of hail Paroh exclaimed: “I have sinned this time. Hashem is righteous, and I and my nation are the wicked ones” That is quite a change from Paroh’s normal approach, but is it what it seems to be?

A basic precondition for understanding both the situation in which the Israelites found themselves on the eve of the Exodus, and our situation today, is to remember the following words of the Sages: "Like the first redeemer (Moshe), so will be the last redeemer (Mashiach)" (Midrash Kohelet Rabba 1,28). That is, there are basic similarities between our situation in Egypt and ours today, during the final Geula.

It is difficult to understand the attitude in Moshe's statement to Heaven that it had not yet freed the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage. Moshe certainly realized that Heaven was aware of the promises.