Unlike human behavior, all of God’s actions are instructive. This idea is clearly stated throughout the next two Torah portions.

This week’s Torah portion, Shemot, begins the record of the Jews’ enslavement in Egypt and liberation by God. Pharaoh remains adamant in his refusal to heed the many requests of Moshe. What was Moshe asking of Pharaoh and how can we relate Moshe’s actions to those of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?

The title of this dvar Torah is not a political statement. It comes straight from a dispute in our Talmud about how best to “advertise” the miracle of Chanukah.

Fundamental to Judaism is the idea of the existence of one, non-physical God of the universe. How, then, does God relate to a place and what does it mean?

Is Judaism sexist? Let’s look at the facts. Right out of the box, every other major faith traces their beginnings to one single individual, invariably a male. Then, it proclaims that all people, male and female, were “created in the image of God” with the same inherent value.