“Do not afflict or oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 22:20)

“Do not oppress the stranger, for you know the soul of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 23:9)

“When a stranger lives with you in your land, do not afflict him. As one of your citizens, the stranger who lives with you shall be to you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt, I am the Lord your God.”   ( Lev. 19:33-34)

Angel for Shabbat, Parashat Vaera

by Rabbi Marc D. Angel

"And Moses spoke before God saying: behold, the children of Israel did not listen to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me..."

Moses brought the children of Israel a tremendous message: God was ready to end their slavery in Egypt; God would bring them to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. After generations of harsh servitude, the Israelites would now become free.

When confronted with a blatant falsehood uttered by the President, his spokesperson said that the President was not lying but was presenting “alternative facts.” Apparently, “alternative facts” are not lies; they are to be considered as legitimate ways of describing things the way we wish to see them, regardless of whether or not they are true.

Jacob had worked a lifetime to raise a family and now was at the point of his impending death. He gathered his family around him to offer his final words. He looked back at successes and failures, at good times and bad, at spiritual achievements and moral deficiencies.

In the midst of imparting his final speech, he paused and poignantly called out: “I wait for Your salvation O Lord” (Bereishith 49:18).

“And he [Jacob] lighted upon the place and tarried there all night because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven, and behold the angels of the Lord ascending and descending on it.” (Bereishith 28: 11-12)

“And Abraham was old, well stricken in age, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.” (Bereishith 24:1)

This is a remarkable statement: God had blessed Abraham “bakol,” in all things. Yet, in his old age, it would seem that Abraham had hit a nadir in his life, that almost everything had gone wrong for him.

I hope your academic year is going well.

Shalom uvrakha,

I hope your academic year is going well.

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Thoughts for Parashat Nitsavim

by Rabbi Marc D. Angel

The first section of this Shabbat's Torah reading expresses God's concern lest the Israelites revert to idolatry. As in so many other sections of the Torah, we are warned not to worship false gods. This is a grievous sin with terrible consequences.

ANGEL FOR SHABBAT KI TAVO--by Rabbi Marc D. Angel

I recently read an article about Brandy Young, a second-grade teacher at the Godley Elementary School in Texas.  She passed out a letter to every parent at a “Meet the Teacher Night” ahead of the start of the school year to explain her new homework policy -- or should we say, no-homework policy.