This morning we discuss why we say Az Yashir, the exuberant song of praise the Jewish People sang after experiencing the Splitting of the Red Sea, every morning, and then refer to it again in our daily prayers. We call attention to its beauty and power, and trace the prayer's role in the structure of our prayer, necessarily immediately adjacent to the Amidah, to create the link between the two. It is Az Yashir that makes prayer possible.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss the serious problem in our religious community of finding a mate (the Shidduch Crisis), and the corollary problem of the sharp rise in divorce within the religious community months or even weeks after marriage. Though there are many causes (hiding or not disclosing a relevant significant flaw is one prime cause, and a terrible sin), we discuss two elements which should be on the radar of every person seeking an intimate, long-lasting relationship, but often are not considered. One is based on a story involving Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky, and the other comes from an essay by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss two alternative readings of the Splitting of the Red Sea in our Torah portion, B'Shalach. One is the supernatural miracle of the suspension of nature. The other, suggests Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, is the miraculous occurrence of a natural phenomenon at exactly the moment and place it is needed. This second reading gives us an understanding of the irony of mighty Egypt being defeated by a group of ex slaves on foot, the triumph of right over might.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss the objectively baseless complaining of the Jewish People for the quality of water and food they initially have in the desert, in light of God's overwhelming message, by splitting the Red Sea, that God can and will care for them. Yoel ibn Shu'aib (Spain, 15c.) directs our attention to the precise meaning of the tree Moshe throws into the water, with the surprising discovery that the water itself was not, nor never had been bitter.

Then we see God respond to the complaining about food in a way that teaches us we must always hear every complaint, both what is verbalized, and the underlying cause.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we explain why having a Jewish calendar is the first Mitzvah God commands us while we were still in Egypt. We explore the role of time in creating a mentality of freedom with a story about Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky's Bar Mitzvah gift to his son, and Rabbi Norman Lamm's approach to the importance of how we choose our leisure time. We close with an unforgettable story from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin about Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, the first Chief Rabbi of New York.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This evening we answer a question about why God chose Moshe, from the words and story of Amanda Gorman, the exquisitely eloquent poet. We discuss Abe Mezrich's surprising insight to why we eat Matza on Passover, and how to balance self-care with selflessness. And we analyze the ceremony of Pidyon HaBen, redemption of the first born - its curious script, and the reason it is a celebration and not a time of sadness.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we explore the plethora of games, treats (frog cupcakes, etc.), and silly songs prevalent within the Jewish world concerning the 10 Plagues in ancient Egypt leading to our Exodus. We quote Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein on why the 10 Plagues are divided into two Torah portions, indicating a shift in focus as we begin our Parsha, Bo, from demonstrating God's might to punishing and destroying Egyptians. And we discuss an insightful article by Anna Gordon in Times of Israel, with a plea to keep in mind the human suffering, even though deserved, the Egyptians suffered.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we explore the slight discrepancy between when Moshe told Paro exodus would begin, and when God actually began it. We quote Rabbi Mordechai Gifter's warning that anger and arguing can cause us to lose focus on the really important matters before us, even life and death, and harp on insignificant silliness.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss a theme that runs through the mystifying movie Bird Box, the silence in a concert at Princeton University, the work of Alexander Archipenko, and our Torah portion, Bo. And we illustrate with the story of a man on the Jerusalem Light Rail.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.

This morning we discuss the timing and significance of our adopting, at God's command in our Torah portion, Bo, a calendar based on the cycles of the moon, instead of revolutions around the sun. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin traces this back to Moshe's grandparents, and we see this in the inspiring story of Ted Williams, 'the homeless man with the golden voice' and the man who discovered him, Doral Chenoweth.

Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.

Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on:

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/adathyoutube

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/

Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha:

Apple Podcasts - https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches1

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches3

Stitcher: https://tinyurl.com/miningtheriches4

Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions for feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.