This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is very unusual. It starts by saying, “And you will command the children of Israel…” Why does it say this instead of the usual, “And god spoke to Moshe saying…?” Before I look at that, let’s get an overview of what our parsha contains. It starts with haShem (god) telling Moshe (Moses) to command the children of Israel to bring the oil that Aharon and his sons will use to light the menorah every day. … Continue reading
The name of this week’s parsha (Torah portion) is Trumah. I received a request (hi mom 🙂 ) to include the name of the weekly parsha, so there it is. The parshas are named from the first significant word in them. The word Trumah has as its root the word Rom, which means to raise up and is the word used to designate certain tithes that only the priests (the cohanim in Hebrew) and their families can eat. Or, in … Continue reading
This week we read a parsha (weekly Torah portion) called Mishpatim which means sentences in Hebrew. The word can be used, just like the English word, for both a sentence like the one you are reading, or for what a judge pronounces. In the parsha it is used in the latter way, for the parsha Mishpatim is almost all about laws concerning how to live. First we read about how to treat a Hebrew slave. We then read of laws … Continue reading
What an exciting parsha (Torah portion) we have. It includes haShem (god) actually talking to us. Imagine being in a group of 600,000+ looking up from the base of a smoking, shuddering mountain, with the sounds of shofars (ram’s horn horns) trumpeting, and hearing/seeing the voice of god talking to each and every one of us… I am getting ahead of myself, for this is near the end of the parsha. Let’s see how we got there. The parsha starts … Continue reading
This week’s parsha (Torah portion) was made for all the musicians in the audience. In it we find Miriam striking up the band as we sing the Song of Freedom after crossing through the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds). However I am getting a little ahead of myself. First we’ve got to get there. Then we can sing and, then, continue on our merry (?) journey to a date with the divine itself. Our parsha starts out by reminding us … Continue reading
We start this week’s parsha (Torah portion) with Moshe (Moses) being told by haShem (god) to come to Pharaoh. What a strange request! This however is the launching point for a wild exploration of the relationship between Moshe, haShem, and Pharaoh. Before I get into it, I want to give a quick overview of the parsha so we are all on the same page. As I said the parsha starts with haShem telling Moshe to come to Pharaoh. He also … Continue reading
As we open the Torah and start to read this week’s parsha (portion), we find ourselves in the throws of the 10 plagues that god has sent against Egypt. HaShem (god) sends them all because god won’t let Pharaoh let a bunch of slaves go out on a 3 day journey to make a sacrifice to their god. What in the world is haShem trying to tell us with these events? Let us look into these events a little more … Continue reading
Hello my friends and welcome to Names! Ok, for some of you, welcome to Shmot (which means names in Hebrew), and is the name of this week’s parsha (Torah portion), as well as the name of the second book of the Torah (which some of you know as Exodus). In it we find the beginnings of our hero Moshe (Moses). So, let’s not waste another minute. Let’s jump right in… The parsha begins with us recounting who came with Yaakov … Continue reading
This week’s parsha (Torah portion) marks more then the end of the first book of the Torah. It also marks the passing of an era. We start by discovering Yakov (Jacob) is dying and we end with the death of Yoseph (Joseph). Both of these have something in common: neither want their remains left in Egypt. We do not hear of this request from anyone else. And interestingly, the parsha is entitled Vay’chi which can mean he lived or he … Continue reading
Welcome from Eugene, Oregon, where, even though it is below freezing and there is talk of snow, we are ready to rejoin our heroes. The parsha (weekly Torah portion) from last week ended with Yoseph (Joseph) ready to take Benyamim (Benjamin) because it appeared that he had stolen Yoseph’s divination cup. This week’s parsha continues from this point with Yehuda (Judah) pleading with Yoseph to take him instead of Benyamim. When Yehuda finishes explaining why Benyamim is so important to … Continue reading