Cries!
The Torah relates that Moshe had to flee for his life from Egypt. He then settled in Midyan where he met his wife Tzipora. When G-d was ready to free the Jews from their slavery in Egypt, He revealed Himself to Moshe while Moshe was shepherding the sheep of his father-in-law, Yisro. Moshe saw a …
Open and Closed!
Just recently, in the Daf Yomi, the daily study of Talmud, the following question is posed: Why when the Torah describes what was engraved in the first tablets of the Ten Commandments, the word Tov – good – does not appear, while when the Torah describes what was engraved in the second set of tablets …
Usher!
The Parsha introduces us to the servitude of the Jews in Egypt. It is no surprise that the Jews were enslaved, because years before, when G-d appeared to our forefather Avraham at the Treaty of the Halves, G-d informed Avraham that his descendants will be enslaved, because of a slight infraction of Avraham who asked …
Fuzzy!
The Egyptians were steeped in black magic and sorcery, and they relied on astrological predictions. During the enslavement and mistreatment of the Jews, the Pharoh’s astrologers informed him that the savior of the Jewish people would soon be born and that it would be a male. Pharoh ordered the midwives, Shifrah and Puah, to kill …
Amain!
The second book of the Torah is referred to as the book of redemption. It begins with the Pharoh implementing a policy of slavery on the Jewish people and progressively instilling immense pain and torture upon them. When the Jews cried out to G-d to save them, G-d dispatched Moshe at the Burning Bush to …
We Are One!
The Pharoh of Egypt decreed that all male newborn babies be thrown in the Nile to drown. The Torah then relates that Amram and Yocheved, a couple from the Tribe of Levi, had a son, who would eventually become known as Moshe. They recognized immediately that their baby was special because the whole house was …
A Day Off!
Our leader Moshe was adopted by Basya the daughter of the Pharoh and was raised from infancy until adulthood in the Pharoh’s palace. Basya, who had herself clandestinely converted to Judaism, raised Moshe with the assistance of his mother Yocheved in the palace. All this was kept hidden from the Pharoh. The Medrash relates that …
Try!
The last five portions of the Book of Shemos – Exodus – deal primarily with the Temple that accompanied the Jews while they were traveling in the desert. This includes G-d’s instruction, the people’s donations and the construction of the vessels and components of the Temple. The Menorah – the seven branched golden ornate candelabra …
Names
Torah Portion Shemos) Names This week’s portion is called Shemos – names. In it many names of people are recorded, such as, Avraham, Yitzchok, Yaacov and his 12 sons – the tribes of Israel, Moshe, his wife Tzipora, Gershom one of their sons, Aaron, the special Jewish midwives Shifra and Puah, Moshe’s father-in-law Yisro and …
Leadership!
(Torah Portion Shemos) Leadership! Our leader Moshe was raised in a most unusual circumstance. Pharoh’s daughter Basya who had clandestinely dissented from her father’s idolatrous and evil ways, brought up Moshe from infancy until adulthood within the palace of the Pharoh. Moshe’s own mother, Yocheved, was hired by Basya to nurse him, and she used …
Women First
(Torah Portion Shemos) Women First The first verses in the Book of Exodus list the names of the children of Yaacov who had settled in Egypt. The verse states, “With Yaacov, each man and his household came.” The Hebrew word used here for household, is Baiso. Generally speaking, the Hebrew word used to describe one’s …
3-D Display!
(Torah Portion Shemos) 3-D Display! When Moshe was born, the Torah uses the words, ‘Ki Tov – it was good’ to describe his appearance. The Torah used the same words, ‘Ki Tov’ when describing the creation of light. Our Sages explain that this is an allusion that when Moshe was born the entire house was …
Under the Radar!
(Torah Portion Shemos) Under the Radar! If we focus on the lives of Yosef and Moshe, two exemplary Torah personalities, we can’t fail to notice similarities in their life experiences. Yosef was viceroy over Egypt for many years, and Moshe was raised in the palace of Pharoh by Pharoh’s own daughter, Basya. Yosef was separated …
Just Raising a Hand!
(Torah Portion Shemos) Just Raising a Hand! The Torah relates that Moshe, who would eventually lead the Jewish people, was raised in the palace of Pharoh. When Moshe was three months old and in danger of being killed by the Egyptians his mother placed him in a basket in the Nile and he was found …
Rising Above
(Torah Portion Shemos) Rising Above! One who studies Torah will inevitably come across ideas that will bring him to appreciate and understand nuances that will clarify and enrich his life both in thought and in practice. Something struck me for the first time as I began the book of Exodus, which deals with the enslavement …
