TakeTen4Torah Daily Torah Podcast

This week's parsha contains the mitzvah to eat matzah at the Seder on Pesach. The reason the Torah gives for eating matzah - because we escaped to quickly for our dough to rise - doesn't seem to be consistent with other sources in the Seder, or even in the Torah! This Ten looks at those sources and shares an approach that suggests that perhaps, there is no reason for this mitzvah altogether.

What is the basic obligation that we have to send time each day learning Torah? Take Ten to find out.

Why did the Jews deserve the subjugation they experienced under Egypt? Was it due to Avraham? The brothers of Yosef? The behavior of the Jews themselves? None of the above? Take Ten to find out. 

One of the well known features of the "Kabbalat Shabbat" liturgy is the poem of "Lecha Dodi." Take Ten to understand its origin, meaning, and we we turn to face the door at the end. 

 

How do we count Mitzvot which are made up of different actions? Take Ten to find out. 

Avraham is promised that after years of subjugation and suffering, his children will be "re-payed" with great wealth. What sort of consolation was this? Indeed, our parsha describes G-d's request that the Jews carry out this plan for their financial future and we find that there was some discomfort in carrying it out. This Ten discusses these and other troubling issues: Why were we given this money and why didn't we want to take it?

We generally believe that the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people is the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, in Parshat Bo. This Ten discusses an alternative theory, that the first mitzvah given to the Jews was one that they almost certainly could not do right away and would take very long till actually performed. What was this mitzvah? Why would it be first? Take Ten to find out.

Moshe refuses the task offered by G-d to represent the people before Pharaoh due to a problem that he had with with his speech. This Ten explores what exactly this problem was and why it may have been a significant reason that he was chosen.

Moshe "our Teacher" plays a tremendous role in Jewish history, but we know very little of his background. Why was he the one chosen by G-d at the burning bush to be His mouthpiece? What were his qualifications? This Ten discusses how - if you pay attention to the goals of the Exodus - the Torah itself reveals what made Moshe the best possible candidate for the job.

Do introductions that preface a Mitzvot count as Mitzvot? Take Ten to find out.