A lot happens in this parashat hashavua, from great fear to exulting celebration; running from Pharaoh and certain death turns to dancing with joy, and then, from the sublime to the ridiculous, becomes complaining about the food. So, too, with our own lives. Epic moments mix with the mundane. Water the plants. Endure the news. Celebrate aContinue reading “Shabbat BeShalakh: “do something” is not enough”
Tag Archives: Exodus
Shabbat Bo: Do Something
וְ֠אַתָּ֠ה אַל־תִּירָ֞א עַבְדִּ֤י יַֽעֲקֹב֙ וְאַל־תֵּחַ֣ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כִּ֠י הִנְנִ֤י מוֹשִֽׁעֲךָ֙ מֵרָח֔וֹק וְאֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֖ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ שִׁבְיָ֑ם וְשָׁ֧ב יַעֲק֛וֹב וְשָׁקַ֥ט וְשַׁאֲנַ֖ן וְאֵ֥ין מַחֲרִֽיד׃ But you, have no fear, My servant Jacob, Be not dismayed, O Israel! I will deliver you from far away, your folk from their land of captivity; Jacob again shall have calm and quiet, with noneContinue reading “Shabbat Bo: Do Something”
Shabbat VaEra: A Time of Transition
שִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃ עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהֹוָ֑ה עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ A song of ascents. I shall lift my eyes to the mountains. Whence shall my help come? My help is from HaShem, maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121. 1-2) Our parashat hashavua picks up the developing story of Moshe demandingContinue reading “Shabbat VaEra: A Time of Transition”
Shabbat Mishpatim: From Egypt to…Purim?
מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם וְלֹא־יֵרָא֥וּ פָנַ֖י רֵיקָֽם From Egypt none shall appear before Me empty-handed (Ex 23.15) The initial letters of Mimitzrayim Velo Yera’u Panai Rekam, “from Egypt none shall appear before Me empty-handed” spell פורים – Purim. Today is Rosh Hodesh Adar I, the first day of Adar I, so called because this is a leap year,Continue reading “Shabbat Mishpatim: From Egypt to…Purim?”
Shabbat Yitro: Who’s There?
וַיּוֹצֵ֨א מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הָעָ֛ם לִקְרַ֥את הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ בְּתַחְתִּ֥ית הָהָֽר׃ Moshe brought the people out toward God, from the camp, and they stationed themselves beneath the mountain. (Exodus 19.17) Shabbat Yitro records our ancestors’ story of the ultimate moment of revelation between the Jewish people and HaShem. This moment is so overwhelmingly interesting to theologians that mostContinue reading “Shabbat Yitro: Who’s There?”
Shabbat BeShalakh: the Shabbat of Song
וַיְהִ֗י בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח פַּרְעֹה֮ אֶת־הָעָם֒ וְלֹא־נָחָ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים דֶּ֚רֶךְ אֶ֣רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים כִּ֥י קָר֖וֹב ה֑וּא כִּ֣י ׀ אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים פֶּֽן־יִנָּחֵ֥ם הָעָ֛ם בִּרְאֹתָ֥ם מִלְחָמָ֖ה וְשָׁ֥בוּ מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃ וַיַּסֵּ֨ב אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ אֶת־הָעָ֛ם דֶּ֥רֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר יַם־ס֑וּף Now it was, when Pharaoh had sent the people free, that HaShem did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, though it is nearer, forContinue reading “Shabbat BeShalakh: the Shabbat of Song”
Shabbat BeShalakh: What It Takes To Get Across the Sea
Evil consists in ruining someone else’s life rather than examine one’s own. – M Scott Peck, People of the Lie As we follow Torah’s narrative of the Israelite escape from Egypt, this week’s parashah relates a tense, utterly human moment. It’s the well-known sense that often sets in immediately after one takes an irrevocable step,Continue reading “Shabbat BeShalakh: What It Takes To Get Across the Sea”
Shabbat BaMidbar: Fire, Water and Wilderness
The name of our parashah this week is the same as the name of the Book we are now beginning, once again, to study: BaMidbar, “in the wilderness,” the Book called Numbers in English. So far in our journey from Egypt toward that which is Promised, our Torah has recounted for us the escape itself, theContinue reading “Shabbat BaMidbar: Fire, Water and Wilderness”
Shabbat HaHodesh: Say His Name
This Shabbat carries so much significance – it is Shabbat HaHodesh, the Shabbat of The Month, that is, the first month of the Jewish year, the month in which we will commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. That escape occurred on the 14th day of the month we now call Nisan, and every year we gatherContinue reading “Shabbat HaHodesh: Say His Name”
Shabbat Shemot 5776: what do you see in that bush?
One of the useful things about Torah is that every word of the sacred document has been pored over for so many generations, by so many devoted readers, that the commentaries are legion, and a well-worn path of interpretation lies before us as we in our own day consider what insights our Torah might divulge.Continue reading “Shabbat Shemot 5776: what do you see in that bush?”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 