Yossi Feintuch: Who’s afraid of the big fat ox

The biblical man did not fear an ox, though the Torah notes this week that an ox might gore a human to death. And whilst the Torah requires the execution by stoning of a man-killer oxen, it similarly decrees the same verdict for a human who murdered his fellowman.

Yossi Feintuch: The dog's role in the Exodus and its rewards

The dog makes its actual entrance into the Hebrew Bible in Parashat Bo when Moses informs the Pharaoh about the imminent Tenth plague that would devastate ‘’all the land of Egypt’’ and bring about ‘’a loud cry in’’ every Egyptian household.

Yossi Feintuch: The Pharaoh’s last worry was the loss of meat as food

Ancient Egypt’s staple food, which is constantly featured on the main stage in this weekly Torah portion, Miketz, was essentially plant-based, or vegetarian. It is no wonder, therefore, why the Pharaoh went right to sleep after he first woke up following his first dream…

Yossi Feintuch: The double meaning of "Anochi"

Selfishness is a major wall between a person and God; when a person goes – especially when s/he would rather not — to a place where there is sadness in order to express sympathy, or when s/he goes to another place where there is joy in order to rejoice with them, one defies selfishness and gain more proximity to the presence of God. 

Yossi Feintuch: What went wrong with the espionage mission?

Moses — in this weekly Torah portion Sh’lach – finds it necessary to include 12 tribal leaders in the scouting-of-the-Promised-Land adventure for the sake of being politically correct, rather than be militarily correct