A martini is a cocktail of vermouth and gin. (Less traditional drinkers — call them "the modern orthodox" — substitute vodka for gin.) Most vermouths, and those used in martinis, are fortified white wines with added ingredients such as spices, bark, and botanicals. Ratios of vermouth to gin vary. A wet martini has more vermouth than gin. But most martinis tend to be dry, with more gin than vermouth…

“God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.’” (Shemos 20:1-2). These pesukim constitute the first of the aseres ha-dibros. However, the phrase “I am Hashem your God,” does not seem to be much of a command at all. It is just a statement of fact. What, exactly, is being commanded here?…

How did Egypt — the center of commerce and culture — become a tyranny? Pharaoh recognized a threat: a local ethnic group which outperformed, and therefore threatened, his people. Pharaoh knew that his people felt the same way. Indeed, Egyptians had long hated the Jews before they moved to Egypt. (See Bereishis 43:26 and 46:34.) Pharaoh’s solution was to kill all of the Jewish boys…