With the opening of Sefer Sh'mot, the Book of Exodus, the Torah moves from cosmic origins to the role of God in salvation and history. As the Israelites find themselves in a descending spiral of servitude and suffering, their call to God unleashes the ultimate conflict, between the very wellsprings of life and liberation (that we recognize as God) and the embodiment of tyranny and pointlessness epitomized by Pharaoh. Read more...

At its deepest core, America prides itself on the rule of law -- the   insistence that no individual, however wealthy, influential, popular or powerful, is superior to the rules which govern human conduct. Above any individual -- even the President of the United States -- are a body of laws which translate general principles into legal guidelines for harmonious living.  Read more...

As we open to this week's Torah portion, we 'turn the pages' to a new book of the Torah, the book of Exodus. We begin re-reading the story of Moses and the journey of our ancestors from slavery to freedom. Yet, within the first chapter of Exodus are several verses about two women, Shifra and Puah, whose story leaves out more than is told and whose impact is often overlooked. Read more...

Every place is not the same.  Intuitively, we have a sense that there are distinctions of space that are just as fundamental to human identity as are distinctions in time.  When we enter the elevated vaults of a Gothic cathedral, marvel at the staggering beauty of the Grand Canyon, or shrink under the lofty heights of a New York skyscraper, we respond distinctly to different spaces.  Not all places are alike.  But is the distinction between one place and another something intrinsic to the place itself, or the result of perceiving different meanings in different places?&n Read more...