With Shemot, the defining drama of the Jewish people begins. In exile in Egypt, they multiply until they are no longer a family but a nation. Pharaoh, fearing that they pose a threat to Egypt, enslaves the Israelites and orders their male children killed. Moses, an Israelite child adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, is chosen by God to confront Pharaoh and…
…when a nation is built. And that is why binyan haMishkan is in Sefer Shemot, and not in Sefer Vayikra. And now I want to show you something, something very striking about Sefer Shemot as a whole. And I just want to explain this to you. If you look carefully at Sefer Shemot, you will see there are various episodes…
…begin the book of Shemot, there is a political climate change. The family falls out of favour. Pharaoh tells his advisers: “The Israelite people are many and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, so that they may not increase…” (Shemot 1:9–10) And so begins the forced labour that turns into slavery that becomes attempted genocide….
…was completed. The Bnei Yisrael did everything just as the Lord commanded Moshe….Moshe inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moshe blessed them. Shemot 39:32, Shemot 43 And this is how the Torah describes the conclusion of the creation of the universe: The heavens and the earth were completed in…
…Closer Look Marcus J Freed now reflects on the messages within Rabbi Sacks’ essay for Ki Tissa. What stood out for you in this week’s piece by Rabbi Sacks? Rabbi Sacks mentions two verses: “Show me now Your ways” (Shemot 33:13), and “Show me now Your glory” (Shemot 33:18). It is fascinating that Moshe is asking for visual proof of…
…in the Book of Shemot. For the first time, He was building a relationship with an entire people. Shemot is testament to our belief that God influences and guides history on the largest scale, bringing the world to its ultimate destiny. This was certainly radical in biblical times, as ancient philosophy (including Greek philosophy) believed that God was the source…
…part of the book of Shemot. Shemot is about the birth of a nation. Hence Egypt, slavery, Pharaoh, the Ten Plagues, the Exodus, the journey through the sea, and the covenant at Mount Sinai. All these things would become part of the people’s collective memory. But the Sanctuary, where sacrifices were offered, surely belongs to Vayikra, otherwise known as Torat…
…Lord has said we will do [na’aseh].” (Shemot 24:3) 3. Then [Moses] took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do and hear [na’aseh ve-nishma] everything the Lord has said.”(Shemot 24:7) Only the third of these contains the entire phrase na’aseh ve-nishma. And only the third has no statement about the people’s…
…it never ceased to be difficult, and often demoralising. Moses was faced with over forty years spent leading a group of people who were prone to criticise their situations, sin and rebel, and argue among themselves. In an appalling show of ingratitude, the Israelites complain several times in the book of Shemot, after witnessing miraculous acts from God and his…