Tag Archives: suffering

Shabbat Yitro: What Does the Voice of G*d sound like?

וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֵ֛ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לֵאמֹֽר          God spoke all these words, saying (Exodus 20.1) What does the voice of G*d sound like? One opinion out of Jewish tradition is that we cannot handle hearing the actual voice of HaShem. Literally, hearing the Voice of G*d is insupportable in human terms: “the Israelites’ souls departed fromContinue reading “Shabbat Yitro: What Does the Voice of G*d sound like?”

Shabbat Bo: No One Should Suffer; No One

שלא היה רוצה הקב”ה שיהיה פרעה בעינוי וצער לפניו  the Holy Blessed One did not want Pharaoh to suffer – Gur Aryeh Ex.10.3 Our parashat hashavua brings us to the midst of plagues and confrontations. The suffering of the Egyptian people is increasing, and for whatever reason (conspiracy theories? miracles? scientific cause and effect? theContinue reading “Shabbat Bo: No One Should Suffer; No One”

Shabbat Shemot: A World Full of Suffering

We begin reading the Book of Exodus (Shemot, “Names”, in Hebrew) in the Torah this week; in the opening scenes, our ancestors find ourselves in a developing nightmare – and, unlike the dreams of Genesis, we can’t just wake up from it.  At first, all seemed well in our new homes in Egypt. But within theContinue reading “Shabbat Shemot: A World Full of Suffering”