Now Moses' father in law, Yisro, the chieftain of Midian, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, His people - that the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt. (Shemos 18:1)

What news did Yisro hear that made such an impression on him, that he came to join the Jewish people? Th

"A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know of Joseph" (Shemot 1:8).

Gemara Sotah 11a states: "Rab and Samuel differ in their interpretation; one said that the king was actually new, while the other said that his decrees were new. And what does it mean that he 'did not

Why is it that most people would never offer an opinion on a complicated medical issue, legal issue, physics issue, etc. because they understand that they just have no clue, while on complicated halachic and hashkafic issues every Joe Yid feels that he has the right to offer an opinion even

It is a fundamental of most religions that there is a God who has created and runs our universe. But, in the Bible, which really is a book about God and His intervention in human affairs, there is no actual command that is worded, "You must believe in God." And in a way this makes wonde

In reference to my post "Am I A Believer?", several readers have told me that the most troubling issue is less belief, but more what actually happens, or is allowed to happen, on earth. To make matters worse it is religion that is often the cause of much of our suffering. Of course we m

The connection between social depravity and sexual depravity is often overlooked. Lot split from his mentor Avraham and chose to live in the immediately attractive, but corrupt, city of Sodom. He had learned about hospitality from Avraham. He said very similar words of welcome to the angels that

Look at how the personality of Yosef develops. He starts off as an arrogant young man, full of himself, comfortable telling tales to his father about his brothers and quite uninhibited in recounting dreams that clearly describe how he will rule them. Even if we accept the traditional idea that he

What are we to make of Noach's Flood? God decides He has made a mistake and mankind needs to be recast in a different mold. Isn't it strange that things went so completely wrong so quickly with humanity? Didn't God know in advance?

The fact is that right from the start, when Adam was tol

A few years ago, I unintentionally upset someone. It was at a bar mitzva where I had been invited to "address" the young man. As part of my sermon, I had said that you don't have to take the traditional Jewish date of the creation of the world as being literally 5763 (or whatever it was