Parsha

When locusts are swarming in the sky, or hail is pelting the ground, human beings are helpless. You cannot trap every frog that infests the land. But we all know how to counter darkness – candles.

The Jewish people are one nation with one heart. They should act together with concern. To stand by fellow Jews in distress, to aid those in need, to give their full support to Israel.

How was Joseph able to rise?

We must look closely: What was the background of this incitement? Why did the king of Egypt incite his nation against the Israelites and why was he so successful?

Judaism is not binary – it does not teach that there are forces of light and darkness that are wholly separate and distinct. Rather, there is an interdependence and an intertwining.

God presents us time and time again with the choice of acting correctly, with honesty and integrity, or acting immorally.

Jacob in Parashat Vayishlah and King David in the course of Psalms showcase the important balance between religious confidence and doubt.

Faith can be the foundation of a profound relationship with God, and by extension with all of God’s creation. But it can have another side, a dark shadow

The midrash is likely highlighting the Jewish capacity to not just inhabit two worlds, but unify them.

The Torah has 70 faces, as the Rabbis tell us. All of these interpretations and many others have their worthiness and weight, and yet there is room for more.