In the Torah section of Ki Tisa, we read G-d’s instructions for contributing to the holy service in the Mishkan as well as the inauguration of its vessels and the kohanim (priests) who are to perform the service. Subsequently, we read a description of Moses’ descent from Mount Sinai with the Holy Tablets containing the Ten Commandments to find…
We read in the Torah section of Tetzave (Sh’mot 28:2-4), “And you shall make vestments of sanctity for Aaron your brother, for glory and splendor. And you shall speak to all the wise-hearted people whom I have invested with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the vestments of Aaron to sanctify him to…
In the Torah section of Terumah, we read of the construction of the Mishkan (Holy Tabernacle), predecessor to the Bet HaMikdash, and its various components. In the course of instructing His people on the construction of the Mishkan, G-d enjoins Moses and the Israelites (Sh’mot 25:23), “And you shall make a Table of acacia wood, two cubits in length…
In the Torah section of Mishpatim, G-d introduces to the followers of His Torah many of the laws and regulations that are to guide our way of life. In one of these verses and the resultant directive we can especially see the emphasis that G-d places on the proper mindset that we are to maintain. We…
In the Torah section of Yitro, we are told of the arrival of Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law, his praise for Moses and the Israelites, his advice to Moses and the Israelites’ subsequently receiving the famous Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Amongst the Ten Commandments, fifth no less, we find (Sh’mot 20:12): “Honor your father and your…
In the Torah section of B’Shalach, we read (Sh’mot 13:18), “And the children of Israel were armed when they went up from Egypt.” On this verse, the great exegete R. Shlomo Yitchaki (1040 – 1105), known as Rashi, cites a comment found in the Mekhilta and Tanchuma on this verse: The word for “armed” in…
In the Torah section of Bo, we approach the final end to the Egyptian enslavement of the descendents of Israel. The Al-Mighty G-d, L-rd of the Universe, stretched out his arms, as it were, slapped the Egyptian slave masters with ten devastating plagues and embraced the offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, about to lead…
In the Torah section of VaEirah, we begin to read of the ten plagues that G-d put upon the land of Egypt and the Egyptian people as a result of their persecution of the people of Israel. The first plague consisted of all waters in the country turning to blood. After that plague ceased, the…
In the Torah section of Sh’mot (Sh’mot 2:1), we read, “A man went from the house of Levi and he took a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and gave birth to a son.” Our Sages identify this man and woman as Amram and his then 130 year old wife Yocheved (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 12a). In…
In the Torah reading of VaYechi, we read (Bereshit 49:20): “And Jacob blessed them that day, saying, ‘By you shall [the people of] Israel bless saying, “May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe”’ and he put Ephraim before Menashe.” In fact, religious Jews to this day bless their children to be like Ephraim and…
