The Still, Small Voice This week our parashat hashavua narrates a – literally – peak moment in the Israelite story: the revelation at Mt Sinai. It’s a moment that our ancestors assumed was full of intensity and the resultant stress. One midrash goes so far as to aver that our ancestors died when they heardContinue reading “Shabbat Yitro: Silence”
Tag Archives: revelation
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 Yitro: Jewish Revelation – It’s Not What You Think
Long before either the People of Israel and G*d are ready, they meet at Sinai in this week’s parashah, called Yitro. This parashat hashavua recounts the ultimate Jewish moment of Revelation. This a moment that will be foreverafter enshrined in song and story and liturgy. Yet in our people’s cultural memory we find that there isContinue reading “Shabbat Yitro: Jewish Revelation – It’s Not What You Think”
Shabbat Yitro: What Makes a Jewish Leader?
Our parashat hashavua is Yitro. This parashah, in which we find described the revelation of the Jewish path symbolized by the Ten Words, is not named “Great Moments At Sinai” but Yitro [usually vocalized as Jethro in English], which is the name of Moshe’s father in law. Yitro is a Midianite priest – and so our parashahContinue reading “Shabbat Yitro: What Makes a Jewish Leader?”
Shabbat Yitro: What Do You Hear When You Hear the Voice of G-d?
What do you hear when you are in the presence of that which matters most? This week we read of G-d’s gift of the Aseret haDibrot, the “Ten Utterances”, to the People of Israel. The Torah text describes thunder and lightning, fire and smoke, on top of Mt. Sinai. But the midrash, teachings of the ancientContinue reading “Shabbat Yitro: What Do You Hear When You Hear the Voice of G-d?”
Shabbat Va’Era: How Does G-d Appear To You?
The parashat hashavua, the Torah reading of the week, begins in an entirely perplexing way: ב וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה; וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אֲנִי יְהוָה. G-d spoke to Moses, saying to him: ‘I am YHVH; ג וָאֵרָא, אֶל-אַבְרָהָם אֶל-יִצְחָק וְאֶל-יַעֲקֹב–בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי; וּשְׁמִי יְהוָה, לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as El Shaddai butContinue reading “Shabbat Va’Era: How Does G-d Appear To You?”
Shabbat Naso: G-d is in the Annoying Details Too
This week the parashat hashavua (“text of the week”) is called Naso, a word related to the Hebrew idiom for counting. It literally means “lift up the head”, and underscores the importance of truly seeing each person whom one is counting. This is different from the Western idea of “counting heads”, which only tells you howContinue reading “Shabbat Naso: G-d is in the Annoying Details Too”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 