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Yitro: Three Acts of Leadership

Exodus 18:1–20:26

By Michael Carasik

Yitro: Three Acts of Leadership

This week's portion describes the giving of the Ten Commandments, and the Torah spares no expense to bring us special effects worthy of the event: smoke and fire, thunder and lightning, and an earthquake, all accompanied by the blare of a shofar growing louder and louder. The Israelites are about to experience God's self-revelation, in a most dramatic fashion. But this week also has something for those who like their dramatic moments more subtle.

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B'shallah: Hands Up!

Exodus 13:17–17:16

By David Hazony

B'shallah: Hands Up!
The stories in this week's reading may seem disjointed, but in fact they form a single unit. A modern editor, looking for a groovy chapter title, might have called the collection, "Ancient Israel's Bipolar Moment." Or, even more flippantly, "Hands Up!"

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Bo: Pharaoh and Macbeth

Exodus 10:1–13:16

By Moshe Sokolow

Bo: Pharaoh and Macbeth
Our parashah begins: "God said to Moses: 'Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants in order to place these signs of mine in his midst.'" Indeed, this motif of the hardened heart already appeared in last week's portion and recurs nearly a dozen times in the context of the ten plagues. The problem, however, is this: If Pharaoh and the Egyptians were denied free will in their dealings with Moses, how can their subsequent punishment be justified?

Continue Reading "Pharaoh and Macbeth" Moshe Sokolow, Jewish Ideas Daily.