INSIGHT 5781 - #17: THE THEATRE OF THE PLAGUES

For  Va'era

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INSIGHT 5769 - #14: THE RELEVANCE OF YETZIAT MITRAYIM

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INSIGHT 5779 - #15: THE WHOLE PICTURE

For Va'era
 
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Insight 5778-16: ABOVE THE RULES OF NATURE

For Va'era
 
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Insight 5777-18: FREEDOM, REVERANCE AND ACTION

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Insight 5776-16: Free Choice

For Va'era

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To expand upon the theory presented in the Insight, Free Choice does not necessarily involve definite conclusions but demands of us to see the full intellectual perspective. It may be that even one accepting hatra'ah may still believe his/her behavour is correct but to do so after accepting the hatra'ah must demand of the person to at least question his/her thoughts. How could someone declare that he/she knows that this law is from God and then just ignore this idea? And if the person did not believe that the law was from God, why did this person accept the hatra'ah? The concept of Free Choice is about this type of thought and recognition. It is about not declaring the black-and-white, especially when one alternative is in one's interest, but seeing the issues.
This idea may also explain why one who is greater is held more responsible for their actions and decisions. There are times where we really, due to our limited perceptions, do not know what to do. Our ability to make a Free Choice decision can be limited. One greater would have more Free Choice ability and this is the reason that such a person could be more responsible.
 

Study Question

1)

Insight 5775-16: The Message of the Plagues

For Va'era
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Study Question

1)

Insight 74-16: Equality and Inequality

For Va'era
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Study Question

1) We brought up this issue already in the Insight but, as mentioned there, it was not something we could go into at the time. This is the question of whether the Torah challenge against slavery is specifically against Jews being enslaved or is there a general disgust within the Torah perspective toward slavery of all? This, obviously, touches upon the very subject of the relationship between the Jewish People and humanity in general. There is much room for discussion on this topic. The fact that there is a difference between the Torah rules regarding a Jewish slave and those regarding a non-Jewish slave does not, though, inherently point to a necessary distinction in the view of the entire system. This distinction may be for a variety of reasons. It should still be strongly noted that the Torah rules regarding a non-Jewish were still much, much more progressive than the rules in general regarding slavery in that world.

Insight 5773-17: The Challenge of Biblical History

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Study Question

1) The resultant basic question is thus: how do we then fully understand bechira? The fact is that it does not just represent the possibility of choice but the possibility of choice between good and evil. The further problem with a definition of bechira that is predicated on the possibility of alternative explanations of events would be the need to define one of the choices as evil. If one explains such an event as magic, for example, rather than the action of God -- given a world in which magic exists -- why would such a choice necessarily be an evil one? Has would someone thereby know that they are choosing evil? Simply arguing that bechira is possible because of alternative explanations actually continues the complication for there is still the need to understand not only what is evil but that the one making this choice knows it to be evil.

Insight 5772-15: Setting Them Up for the Fall

For Va'era

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Insight 5771-14: Context

For Va'era

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