This week’s Torah portion covers Exodus 30:11 to 34:35. The narrative pendulum swings from Israel’s highest high— the giving of the ten commandments— to her lowest low—the casting of the golden calf. At the exact moment that Moses descends from his forty-day stint on Mount Sinai, he witnesses the people reveling in idolatry, breaking the…
This week our Torah portion covers Exodus 27:20 to 30:10. The section is called Tetzaveh which means “you command,” the first distinctive phrase in the text. Tetzaveh introduces one of the most fundamental institutions in the Jewish religion: the priesthood. Originally, the first born of every Israelite family was dedicated to the priesthood. The priestly…
This week we are in our 19th weekly Torah portion. We are following the Jewish calendar reading cycle for one year. The portion, or parashah, goes from Exodus 25:1 to 27:19. The name of the portion is Terumah which in Hebrew means “offering,” a fitting name since the text covers the intricate blueprints for the Tabernacle…
This week’s Torah portion covers Exodus 18:1 to 20:23. Pharaoh has let the Israelites go. They are encamped opposite Mount Sinai, eating manna and quail. They are entering their seventh week of freedom. God is about to call them into covenant and appoint them as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. They are…
This week’s Torah portion covers Exodus 13:17 to 17:16. In a nutshell, this reading presents a series of rapid fire miracles. The Israelites finally leave Egypt. The waters part and they march through on dry land with walls of water on their right and left. Pharaoh’s army drowns in their pursuit of the runaway slaves.…
This week’s Torah portion covers Exodus 10:1 to 13:6. The last three of the ten plagues descend on Egypt: locusts devour the crops, impenetrable darkness shrouds the land, and finally the firstborns of every Egyptian family are killed during the night. On the night of the final plague, the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a…
Exodus 6:2 to 9:35 This week’s Torah portion covers Exodus 6:2 to 9:35. The Parashah is called Va’era which means “and I appeared,” the first words spoken to Moses in the text. In Va’era the story of the Exodus begins. Plagues hit the Egyptians in full force. Pharaoh knew the names of many false gods,…
This week’s Torah portion covers Exodus 1:1 to 6:1. This parashah is called Shemot which in Hebrew means “names.” Exodus begins with a pharaoh who “knew not Joseph” coming into power. The first words out of the new pharaoh’s mouth are “Look, the Israelites have become too numerous for us. Come we must deal shrewdly…
This week’s Torah portion covers Genesis 47:28 to 50:26. When Jacob was nearing his death in Egypt at the age of 147, he called all of his sons together to receive their final blessings. Blessings is probably not the appropriate term here because he also doles out criticisms and prophecies. To modern day, when Jews…