

In The Clouds

What REALLY Happened at Sinai

What supernal machinations preceded the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai? And how does that affect our relationship with the Torah?

The Sequence and Significance of the Events of the Giving of the Torah at Sinai
Real Estate
A dialogue between Moses and the angels, in which the angels challenged Israel's right to receive the Torah, yields fascinating insights into the nature of spirituality and physicality, the purpose of creation, and the role of the Torah
They entered me like tiny pieces of a puzzle that found the space, or impression, that was carved exactly to fit their dimensions. Then they would snap together, forming sentences and paragraphs and concepts...
Sounds of Sinai
It's been said that if you talk to G-d, you're a religious person; if G-d talks to you, you're crazy. I guess that means I'm crazy. G-d talks to me. Not as frequently as He should, but fairly often
The Most Precious Gift
On Shavuot we were given the Torah. Does this holiday boil down to bragging rights? Does it really matter who “owns” the title to Torah?
The Perfect Quarrel
The Three Festivals: One Big Fight
The relationship, from its very inception, has been plagued by a quarrel between the spouses. As is common with many couples, they find themselves continuously and constantly arguing the same argument.
Have Something Important to Say?
Conversation Tips from Sinai
In our nation's 3,300 year history, G‑d has directly addressed us exactly once. In doing so, G‑d also left us a perfect prototype to follow on those occasions when we really want our words to be taken seriously...
Does it Permeate?
Our sages explain that the Divine voice which broadcast the Ten Commandments did not have an echo. Why is the absence of an echo important?
The Sinai Files
The classic case, Ministering Angels v. Moses, reported in the Talmud, has been public knowledge for millennia. Only recently, however, has the complete story come to light. Here is the entire dialogue as reconstructed from some of the declassified transcripts.
The Day That Nothing Happened
After six weeks of anticipation and preparation for the great day, would everything come to a halt merely because the Jewish people were weary from the journey?
Sight and Sound
"They saw what is ordinarily heard," remark our sages, "and they heard what is ordinarily seen."
The Breakthrough
Our Sages tell us that the Torah was studied and observed by our ancestors for hundreds of years before the revelation at Sinai. So why do we celebrate that event as the "Giving of the Torah"? What actually happened at Sinai?
Torah & Reality
An echo is created when a sound meets with a substance that resists it; instead of absorbing its waves, the substance repels them, bouncing them back to the void
The Angels and Us
Understanding Shavuot
Ladies First
Commonly perceived as a concession to the weaker sex by the stronger, the rule is actually founded upon a very different rationale
The Never Ending Voice
Revolutions may come and go but revelation is eternal
One and One
The first two Commandments discuss the belief in One G-d and having no other gods. The Unity of G-d, however, is realized in the material world through the unity of the Jewish people
Angels, Human Beings, and the Torah
When Moses ascended to receive the Torah from G-d, the Angels protested: "Leave the Torah here, where it will be properly cherished."
Just Do It
What mattered was not what he intended to do, but what he actually did. He stole the bike...
and what happens when you do a mitzvah
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