The third section of the book of Exodus, starting with Exodus 9 begins with God telling Moses, “Come to Pharaoh.” The obvious question is, why does God say, “come to Pharaoh” instead of “go to Pharaoh”? Surely, “go to Pharaoh” is what we expect to hear! The classic answer is that God is telling Moses...
After 210 years of enslavement, the Jewish people are finally about to be redeemed. God gives Moses his mission to tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” What happens at the beginning of Exodus when Moses and Aaron approach the king of Egypt with their request? (Exodus 5) Not only did Pharaoh famously say, “No, I...
A 'Your Mother's Guidance' post by Rebecca Masinter Anxiety in children was on the rise way before COVID but, unfortunately, it is even more prevalent now. Fear itself isn’t a problem—it’s an opportunity to either become empowered and take action or, God forbid, to take the opposite path and become anxious and fall into dejection....
We human beings habituate very easily to new ideas and actions. Growing up, my mother taught me to grease a pan by dipping a paper towel into Crisco shortening (hydrogenated oil was not a phrase we knew) and smearing it over the pan. Years later, when I set out to bake some cookies and realized...
‘Your Mother’s Guidance’ by Rebecca Masinter After Joseph was sold to Egypt, his father, Jacob, was told that his son had been ripped apart by a wild animal. Jacob mourned deeply. We’re told “vayisabel al bno yamim rabim,” “he mourned for his son for many days. “ Over time, his children tried to comfort him. ...
A ‘Your Mother’s Guidance’ post by Rebecca Masinter Names in the Bible are not just names, When the twins, Yaakov and Eisav (Jacob and Esau) are born, their names don’t only reflect their physical traits but spiritual ones as well. Eisav’s name is from the word “asui”, meaning, made or finished. Yaakov was named from...
A ‘Your Mother’s Guidance’ post by Rebecca Masinter There are two fascinating parallel stories about Abraham, one in Genesis 12 and one in Genesis 20. In each of them, Abraham travels to a foreign land for a temporary stay, once in Egypt and once in Grar. In each of them, Abraham says that Sarah is...
Some book titles provide value even if you never read the book. (It’s quite possible that for some books, the title is the best part.) I never read All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum, but the title sticks in my mind as a clever one. I don’t know if,...
A ‘Your Mother’s Guidance’ post by Rebecca Masinter As we read the section of Genesis about the Flood, we see the world being destroyed and recreated. Noah is the man who lived through the recreation. When he left the ark, he emerged into a world that was fundamentally changed from what it had been before. ...
A ‘Your Mother’s Guidance’ post by Rebecca Masinter I have a beautiful idea to share with you today. We know that Noach spent 120 years building the Ark in preparation for the Flood, but when the time came to actually enter the ark, he delayed. Genesis 7:7 says: “And Noach went in, and his sons,...
