Conspicuous Consumption by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text Context: Finally, Moshe receives the news for which he has waited. “One last affliction shall I bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt,” says God. “After that he shall send you forth from here.” Immediately, however, God continues with the following instruction: “Speak, please, […]

Belated Introductions by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text Context: When Moshe’s birth was chronicled in Parshat Shmot, the text deliberately omitted any description of his lineage, choosing instead to preface his birth with the mysterious sentence “And a man went from the House of Levi and he took a daughter of […]

A Blueprint for Persecution by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text Context: The Israelites, initially welcomed to Egypt at the end of the patriarchal era, experience a precipitous change of fortune after the death of Yosef and his generation. A “new” Egyptian king initiates a campaign of persecution against the descendents of […]

Menashe and Ephraim: Tying up Loose Ends by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text Context: Upon hearing that Yaakov has fallen ill, Yosef gathers his sons, Menashe and Ephraim, and rushes to his father’s bedside. During the ensuing conversation Yaakov takes two dramatic steps that carry powerful practical implications for the future. […]

Why Didn’t Yosef “Phone Home”? by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text Context: After thirteen years of slavery, Yosef experiences a dramatic transformation when he interprets Pharaoh’s dreams and is appointed viceroy over Egypt. Yosef serves in this position through the seven years of plenty and into the years of famine before […]

We recently issued a press release about our new book, Hilchot Tefilla: A Comprehensive Guide to the Laws of Daily Prayer by Rabbi David Brofsky (press release, book). Below is the table of contents, which should give you an idea of the book’s scope. Chapter 1: Netilat Yadayim — Washing Hands upon Waking Chapter 2: […]

Yaakov’s Second Dream by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text Context: Hidden in the shadow of Yaakov’s dramatic dream at Beit E-l is a second dream, experienced by the patriarch and recorded in Parshat Vayeitzei. Unlike the first, this second dream is not recorded directly as it occurs. We learn about it […]

R. Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text, on Parshat Noach for OU’s Take 5 for Torah series:

Why Go Back? by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text Context: As Avraham’s life draws near its end, he turns to his trusted servant (identified by the rabbis as Eliezer) and instructs him to return to his homeland, Aram Naharaim, in order to find a wife for Yitzchak. He specifies that he […]

Lot’s Frightening Journey by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text Context: One of the strangest and most disturbing episodes in the entire Torah is recorded immediately before the destruction of the city of Sodom. Two of the three angels who earlier visited Avraham now arrive at his nephew Lot’s doorstep in Sodom. […]