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Torah Parshiyot
PARASHAT B’SHALAH— SHABBAT SHIRAH
February 4, 2012 – 11 Shevat 5772
The former slaves leave Egypt, following a circuitous route to the Sea of Reeds. They carry the remains of Joseph, fulfilling his wishes and linking the generation of the Exodus to its forbears. God’s providential and protective care is manifested by the pillars of cloud and fire that accompany the Israelite refugees by day and by night. In a final act of defiance, Pharaoh and an armed force pursue the Israelites, trapping them at the sea. Moses reassures his panicked followers. Moses splits the sea and the Israelites cross to safety on a dry seabed. The Egyptian army pursues, but their chariots malfunction and the soldiers are drowned when the sea closes back on them. From the safety and freedom of the opposite shore, Moses and Miriam – she with timbrel in hand – lead the Israelites in the celebratory ”Song at the Sea”. The special melody used in reading the Song recalls the Israelites’ musical celebration. The poetic
section of the Biblical narrative gives the day its special designation: Shabbat Shirah.
Quickly the Israelites’ newfound freedom degenerates into a faithless longing for the simplicity and familiarity of Egyptian slavery. Only three days after their salvation at the sea, the Israelites complain of the lack of water. God guides Moses in miraculously rendering sweet the formerly bitter waters of Marah. A central biblical motif is introduced: the survival and well-being of the Israelites will depend upon their fealty to God’s commandments.
The Israelites find repast and repose at the oasis of Elim and subsequently are provided with quail for meat, and with manna, which provides both for their physical needs and for their spiritual education. The manna must not be collected on the Sabbath, and so the Israelites must trust that the life-sustaining substance will be provided in double portions on Friday. The people’s faith in confronting adversity and privation wavers again at Massah and Meribah, and is at least temporarily restored when Moses produces water from a rock.
The Israelites are attacked by Amalek, whom they defeat in battle. Moses makes a written record of the victory and erects an altar in celebration. This nine-verse passage provides the Torah reading for Purim.
PARASHAT YITRO
February 11, 2012 – 18 Shevat 5772
Jethro visits his son-in-law, Moses, in the wilderness, and expresses wonderment at all God’s blessings and protective care. He offers a sacrifice to the God of Israel and Aaron and the elders join him in a celebratory meal.
Moses has been acting as sole judge for almost all disputes. Jethro advises him to create a system of judges to hear minor cases, which would both lighten Moses’s bur- den of leadership and administration and simultaneously ease the judicial process for the Israelites. Moses, he suggests, still should exercise personal authority over major cases and questions. Moses heeds his father-in-law’s counsel, and Jethro returns to Midian.
Moses and the people Israel arrive at Mount Sinai and begin preparations for God’s revelation. Israel is adjured to be faithful to the covenant, and thus to become God’s “treasured possession” or “chosen people”. Israel is to conduct itself as “a nation of priests and a holy people”. The people unanimously em- brace and accept their covenantal status: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” After three days of anticipation and preparation, the Israelites gather at the foot of Mount Sinai. They witness “thunder and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn” that instill awe and fear in them as they are about to receive God’s law. The Israelites are warned to keep their distance, not to touch the mountain itself.
The heart of parashat Yitro is the decalogue – the Ten Commandments – which, oddly, are not given any special name or official designation in this chapter. Later, in Exodus 34:28 and Deuteronomy 4:13 and 10:4, they are referred to as aseret hadevarim – the Ten Pronouncements (or less accurately, Ten Words). The popular term “Ten Commandments” unfortunately implies they are the sum total of God’s commandments, a numerical and theological error. The decalogue is followed immediately by a series of further commandments: the prohibition against gods of silver and gold, and the prescription of an earthen altar, constructed without metal tools, and equipped with a ramp to prevent any immodesty that might result if the altar were to be reached by stairs.
PARASHAT MISHPATIM—SHABBAT SHEKALIM MEVAREKHIM HAHODESH
February 18, 2012 – 25 Shevat 5772
Parashat Mishpatim offers valuable insight into the development of Jewish law. It is the source of 53 of the 613 commandments, specifying 23 affirmative, prescriptive mitzvot and 30 prohibitions.
More important to the evolution of Jewish law is the placement of Parashat Mishpatim immediately after the revelation at Sinai and the Ten Commandments. The decalogue’s general statements were insufficient for the regulation and sanctification of daily Israelite life. Parashat Mishpatim makes significant progress toward establishing a comprehensive and workable legal code for the newly founded “nation of priests.” Many of the specific prescriptions fall under the broader categories established by the decalogue. The laws that give parashat Mishpatim its name include how to treat Hebrew servants; the distinction between premeditated murder and other homicides; the treatment of parents; laws about kidnapping and about an injury inflicted on a pregnant woman that causes her to miscarry; the legal ramifications of personal injury and damages and of sexual morality; a stringent approach to witchcraft; the fundamental principle of our obligations to strangers, widows, and orphans; proper conduct in the matter of loans and securities; the prohibition against cursing or speaking ill of judges and political leaders; tithes; the sanctity of firstborn sons and animals; the prohibition against eating carrion; laws concerning witnesses and the judiciary; a warning not to support the majority in a perversion of justice; the commandments to restore lost property and assist in unburdening an animal in distress; injunctions about the sabbatical year and Shabbat; a prohibition against mentioning the names of foreign gods; ob- servance of the pilgrimage festivals; regulations about the paschal offering and the first fruits; and the prohibition, given three times in the Torah, against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk.
God reassures Israel of His providential care and his designation of angelic protection. Israel is to receive God’s manifold blessings in exchange for fealty to the covenant. Israel will conquer the land it has been promised, and its boundaries are detailed. Israel is warned not to enter into covenants either with the indigenous peoples of Canaan or with the gods they worship. The Israelite people unanimously ratify the covenant with the famous affirmation Na’aseh v’nishma – “All that the Lord has spoken we will faithfully do!” (or “We will do and obey”). The parashah concludes with Moses and the leaders of Israel seeing God beautifully and graphically manifested on a pure, sapphire-like surface. Moses alone communes with God for forty days and nights, receiving the tablets of the Ten Commandments.
PARASHAT TERUMAH
February 25, 2012 – 2 Adar 5772
Parashat Terumah opens with a call for Israelites whose hearts so move them to contribute gifts for the construction and upkeep of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is described in detail, along with many of the accoutrements and ritual objects used there. Among the items used in construction and decoration of the Tabernacle are a variety of exotic materials, such as dolphin skins and lapis lazuli, for example. Among the appurtenances of the sanctuary described in our parashah are the ephod and breastplate used by the priest; the ark, together with its cover adorned with cherubim; and the sanctuary table. Gold bowls, ladles, and jugs were for use on the table, which is where the bread offering was placed. The seven-branch menorah that stood in the tabernacle now serves as the symbol and the official seal of the state of Israel. The brass altar and its implements also are described.
The construction of the tabernacle itself, which was based on the design revealed to Moses atop Mount Sinai, is described with attention to fine detail. Every loop, plank, peg, socket, and hook is specified. Curtains and screens separate the Holy of Holies from the surrounding sanctuary and courtyard.
