Book of Exodus

Biblical Homophobia And Christian Pastors

Christopher Lane | Posted 05.23.2012

Christopher Lane

To see a Republican lawmaker and a prominent Christian pastor try to outdo each other in their bigotry and murderous hate puts in unpleasant but clear relief the moral health of the organizations they represent.

Back To The Beginning: From Egypt To Sinai

Mimi Minsky | Posted 04.26.2012

Mimi Minsky

For proper introspection, there is only reflection. We must reflect on where we have been to know where we ought to journey toward.

Following The Path To Redemption -- One Small Step At A Time

Rabbi Edward Bernstein | Posted 04.16.2012

Rabbi Edward Bernstein

Passover is important, but Passover is incomplete. In celebrating our freedom, we celebrate our ability to enjoy life, one precious day at a time. Each day we encounter other human beings and have the task to create and foster meaningful relationships.

Occupying Passover

Carol Smaldino | Posted 04.03.2012

Carol Smaldino

The idea of Passover is that the issues of slavery and freedom are for all of us. If that is so, we need to confront slavery not only in the most obviously brutalized parts of the world, but in ourselves as well.

From Slavery Unto Freedom: A 3,300-Year-Old Lesson For The 21st Century

Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Ph.D. | Posted 04.03.2012

Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Ph.D.

The Jews' difficulty in adjusting to being a free people resonates today. There are many groups of people who live under autocratic, dominating rulers, who are unable to release themselves from these bonds.

The Why And How Of Freedom: The Enduring Message Of Passover

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman | Posted 04.03.2012

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman

On this Passover, we have an opportunity -- and responsibility -- to hold in our hearts and minds a grand vision of justice and peace, and to move from the general to the specific, from the abstract to the concrete.

Shabbat HaGadol: Setting The Table For Passover

Nancy Fuchs Kreimer | Posted 05.27.2012

Nancy Fuchs Kreimer

While Jewish law sacralizes food throughout the year, Passover brings eating to a new level of complexity. Sometimes the details threaten to overwhelm and obscure the meaning. Returning to the story of the Exodus helps the message assert itself.

Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei: Come Together For God's Sake

Josh Fleet | Posted 05.13.2012

Josh Fleet

Israel atones. Next day, Moses gathers everyone together. "These are the things God commands: Work for six days. The seventh is holy for you. Rest completely then. Do work and die. Do not kindle a fire in our home on this Sabbath day."

Seeing God's Face

Rabbi David Wolpe | Posted 05.09.2012

Rabbi David Wolpe

In the Bible, we are warned that none can see the face of God. There is danger in God's exaltedness; to presume to look upon the Divine is to court destruction.

Parshat Ki Tisa: Sin So Soon?

Josh Fleet | Posted 05.08.2012

Josh Fleet

Later, after the dust settles, God speaks to Moses: "Uplift the people. Let each give one half Shekel as soul atonement. Twenty years and older. Rich and poor. All give the same."

WATCH: Colbert's Passover Questions For Jonathan Safran Foer

Posted 03.07.2012

Translated by Nathan Englander, with commentaries by Lemony Snicket and Jeffrey Goldberg, the New American Haggadah sets itself apart from the 7,000 e...

Parshat Tetzaveh: A Nation Of Priests

Josh Fleet | Posted 05.01.2012

Josh Fleet

And command the Children of Israel: Bring pure, clear, ready-to-light olive oil to ignite the lamp so that it may burn continually. Aaron and his sons should arrange it so that it will burn from night to morning.

Parshat Yitro: The Children Of Israel Stared Up At The Mountain

Josh Fleet | Posted 04.10.2012

Josh Fleet

Enter Jethro, the high priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses. He's heard all about God's kindness to the Israelites: the redemption from Egypt, the split sea, the war with Amalek, the manna and the water in the desert.

Parshat Shemot: In A Flame Of Fire Within

Josh Fleet | Posted 03.13.2012

Josh Fleet

A new king arises in Egypt. This king does not know Joseph. All he sees is this nation before him, this foreign nation, more numerous than his own. And he is fearful.

PHOTOS: One Of America's Greatest Calligraphers Has Died

Posted 01.03.2012

A former art director at top advertising agency Young & Rubicam, Sam Fink was one of America's great calligraphers and illustrators. Born on May 2...

Passover Tells Us: Teach Your Children Well

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks | Posted 06.17.2011

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

The message of Passover remains as powerful as ever. Freedom is won not on the battlefield but in the classroom and the home.

What We Can Learn From Wandering In The Wilderness

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman | Posted 05.25.2011

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman

How does the Book of Deuteronomy end? In the wilderness, with the Israelites never reaching the Promised Land.

Test Your Knowledge of Literature's Greatest Bed Bug Infestations

Laurence Hughes | Posted 05.25.2011

Laurence Hughes

In this short tale of mystery and imagination, a man is bitten by a strange gold bug, which leads to the discovery of a cryptograph revealing the location of Captain Kidd's treasure.