Exodus
- Cloud, Construction, Craftsmen, Exodus, Israelites, Moses, Offering, Parsha, Pekudei, Pesach, Physical Presence, Priests, Service, Spring, Tabernacle, Vayakhel, Worship
Establishing a Presence
It’s time to start preparing for Pesach – I’m excited but almost can’t believe it! The weather is also telling us that spring is here with warmer temperatures and more rain. I wish…
- Aaron, Advice, Commandments, Counsel, Eliezer, Exodus, Gershom, Hebrew, Israelites, Jethro, Judges, Leaders, Moses, Mountain, Sinai, Tzipporah, Utterances, Wisdom
Words of Wisdom, Motions of Might
Always a good week in February, this week between Sarah’s birthday and mine I enjoyed nice warm weather, some good conversations with friends, and a great Kabbalat Shabbat service last night. My dad…
- Amalek, Beshalach, Birthday, Egypt, Exodus, Moses, Music, Parsha, Pesach, Pharaoh, Praise, Prayer, Red Sea, Redemption, Salvation, Shabbat Shira, Songs, Tu Bishvat
Just Keep Singing!
This is a good weekend. Today is my sister’s birthday, coinciding with Tu Bishvat and Shabbat Shirah. The weather is warm, like the world knows we should be celebrating this auspicious day. During…
- Aaron, Bo, Deities, Egypt, Exodus, Freedom, Hardened, Heart, Mockery, Moses, Oppression, Parsha, Pesach, Pharaoh, Plagues, Remember, Suffering
A Heavy Heart Leads to Glorious Freedom
Last week’s Torah portion began the account of the plagues G!d sent against Pharaoh and Egypt; this week’s parsha recounts the rest of the plagues. The section opens with G!d’s reason for bringing…
- Egypt, Exodus, Heart, Let My People Go, Magicians, Moses, Parsha, Pesach, Pharaoh, Plagues, Redemption, Seder, Stories, Vaeira
The Plague of Repetition
This week, we’re told over and over again that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. As if Moses’ job wasn’t hard enough, his shyness and Pharaoh’s refusal to comply without G!d sending plagues added obstacles…
- Burning Bush, Disobedience, Egypt, Exodus, Fear, Fire, Hebrew, Israelites, Kings, Moses, Names, Nation, Parsha, Pharaoh, Redemption, Refining, Shemot, Slavery, Trials
Haughty Kings and Trials of Fire
Done, done, and we’re on to the next one… Welcome to Exodus, the story of our people, or so they say. Named after the first word, and the title of the book, Shemot,…
- Aramean, Blessing, Circumcision, Community, Covenant, Curse, Days of Awe, Deuteronomy, Egypt, Exodus, Heart, High Holidays, Israel, Israelites, Nitzavim, Pesach, Rosh Hoshannah, Yom T'ruah
L’Chaim in 5777!
“So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” Tonight’s Shabbat is the last of 5776. Sunday night we begin celebrating the a…
- Adar, Exile, Exodus, Instructions, Josephus, Kings, Obedience, Parsha, Pekudei, Praise, Prayer, Psalms, Purim, Repetition, Tabernacle
Repeat After Me…
Truth be told, I’ve always kind of been intrigued by the repetition of instructions as the means of communicating completion. Instead of saying, “Yo, they did what G!d told them,” the reader is…
- Aaron, Altar of Incense, Ben Sira, Breastplate, Exodus, Josephus, Mediation, Moses, Offering, Ordination, Parsha, Plato, Prayer, Priests, Tabernacle, Tetzaveh, Thummim, Urim, Worship
Ritual Mediation
Last week, G!d gave instructions for designing the implements necessary for worship in his new dwelling place, the Tabernacle. In this week’s parsha, Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10), G!d tells Moses how he wants the…
- Ark of the Covenant, Exodus, Menorah, Mercy Seat, Offering, Parsha, Priests, Tabernacle, Table, Tent of Meeting, Terumah, Worship
Tabernacle Bling
It’s time to get back to those d’var Torah, don’tcha think? We’ve moved from Kislev to Adar I (since it’s a leap year), and from Bereshit (Genesis) to Shmot (Exodus), from Joseph to…