Author: Dinah Dye

Mishpatim 2

Mishpatim

Torah Gemstones:  Mishpatim (Ordinances) Exodus 21:1-24:18 The concluding passages in this Torah portion contain some rather mystical elements.  This week the focus is on the description of Moshe ascending the mountain and coming into...

Yitro (Jethro) 4

Yitro (Jethro)

Torah Gemstones:  Yitro (Jethro) Sh’mot (Exodus) 18:1-20:23   So just who is Yitro (Jethro) and what is so significant about his position and relationship to Moshe?  He is one of the more interesting characters...

B’shallach (When he sent out) 4

B’shallach (When he sent out)

Torah Gemstones:  B’shallach (after he had let go) Sh’mot (Exodus) 13:17-17:16 The word of the week is בקע (bakah), which means “to split”, as in the sea splitting in two.  It is also translated...

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Bo (Go)

Torah Gemstones:  Bo (Go) Shemot (Exodus) 10:1-13:16 This week we’ll connect the locust plague in Exodus with the locusts that came up out of the abyss in the Book of Revelation. So whom might...

Va’era (I appeared) 0

Va’era (I appeared)

Torah Gemstones – Va’era (I appeared) Exodus 6:2-9:35 What’s in a Name might be an appropriate title for this week’s portion, Va’era.  Why did God say He appeared to the patriarchs as El Shaddai...

Sh’mot (Names) 2

Sh’mot (Names)

Torah Gemstones Sh’mot (Names) Exodus 1:1-6:1 Although Sh’mot is translated Exodus it really means “names”.  This week’s portion begins with the names of the children of Israel who entered Egypt with Jacob.  In addition,...

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Imagery of the Fig Tree

Dr. Dye begins with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which the sages concluded was a fig tree. Rashi, she explains, made an interesting observation about the fall of Adam and...

V’yechi (and he lived) 2

V’yechi (and he lived)

Torah Gemstones:  V’yechi (and he lived) Genesis 47:28-50:26 V’yechi is the final Torah portion of the book of Beresheet (Genesis).  In this last chapter God brings us full circle from the time of Abraham’s...