To be read on
23 Tevet 5764 (Jan.17
)
Shmot is the 1st Reading out of 11 in Exodus
and 13th overall, and 18th out of 54
in overall length.
Exodus 1:1-6:1 Haftorah: Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23
(because its opening verse parallels Ex.1:1)
Pirkei Avot: not till after
Passover
The Egyptians afflicted the Jews with forced physical labor, and
decreed drowning all Jewish newborn males. Moshe was born. His
mother hid him in a basket in the Nile, where he was discovered
and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. One day, when already adult,
Moshe killed and buried an Egyptian supervisor who beat a Jew.
The next day, realizing his deed was public knowledge, Moshe fled
to Midian where he married one of Yisro's daughters, Tzipporah,
and they had a son, Gershom. The Jews cried to G-d because of
the slavery. G-d's angel appeared to Moshe in the form of a burning
bush. G-d told Moshe that he would redeem the Jews, and that Moshe
should relay this to Pharaoh and to the Jews, even though Pharaoh
would not agree to let the Jews go.
Moshe begged G-d to appoint a messenger besides himself. G-d
decided that Aharon, Moshe's brother, should be Moshe's spokesman.
Moshe began his return journey to Egypt with his wife and sons.
Tzipporah circumcised their second son, Eliezer, when stopping
at an inn. In Egypt, the Jewish elders listened to Moshe, saw
the signs, and believed in G-d's promise to free them. But after
approaching Pharaoh, Moshe and Aharon were rebuked and thrown
out of the palace. Pharaoh instructed to harden the Jews' labor.
The foremen blamed Moshe for the Jews' misfortune. Moshe told
G-d that the situation had worsened. G-d answered that in the
end, Pharaoh would force the Jews to leave his land.
FROM THE MASTERS
OF KABBALA (K:13-64/Shmot)
From the holy
Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(Z:12-64/Vayechi
)
So
it is written [about the war of Gog and Magog]: "Thus will I magnify
Myself and sanctify Myself; and I will make Myself known in the
eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am G-d." (Ezek.
38:23).
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section
on our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From the holy
Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed
(A:13-64/Shmot
)
After [these two incarnations,] they had to be purified. For as
I have already told you (Likutei Torah in the writings of the Arizal
on Ezekiel), they were holy and powerful souls, but evil's grasp
of them spoiled them. Once they would be purified and be rid of
the sickness of impurity, they would be manifest as holy souls.
As you also know, it is specifically the holiest souls that evil
attempts to grasp.
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section
on our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From the
Shelah, Shney Luchot HaBrit by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz
(S:13-64/Shmot
)
Since
this kelipa, unfortunately, has grown and expanded further and further,
this name cannot be pronounced even when Israel is on its own land,
except within the confines of the Holy Temple. This is so because
the universe will not again be purified until the advent of the
Mashiach, when the state of the earth will correspond to the original
desire of its Creator.
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section
on our KabbalaOnline
site.
FROM THE CHASSIDIC
REBBES (V:13-64/Shmot)
"An
angel of G-d appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst
of the thorn bush; and he looked, and behold, the thorn bush was
burning with fire, but the thorn bush was not consumed."
(3:2)
Man is likened to a tree of the field: the Torah Sage is a fruit-
bearing tree, whereas the simple Jew is likened to a tree that
does not give fruit. Nonetheless, the "flame of fire"
burns precisely in the humble "thorn bush" -- in the
simple and unlearned Jew.
A Jew who prays and recites Psalms with simple faith in G-d possesses
a fire of holiness derived from purity of heart, even if he does
not understand the words. Furthermore, the "thorn bush is
not consumed." The burning flame of the simple Jew can never
be extinguished, as he is perpetually thirsty for Torah and mitzvot
-- unlike his more learned counterpart, who is able to quench
his thirst with the waters of Torah.
(The Baal Shem Tov)
"Moses returned to G-d and said, L-rd! Why have You mistreated
this people? Since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he
made things worse... You have not saved this people at all."
(5:22-23)
We are not allowed to resign ourselves to our present situation
of exile with the excuse that "such is the will of G-d."
The harshness of the exile is a sign that the Redemption is near,
yet it is still bitter and painful. Therefore, even while reaffirming
our absolute faith in the principle that "The ways of G-d
are just," we are also to express our anguish with the prayerful
outcry "Ad Masai?" -- "How much longer?" and
ask for the immediate coming of Moshiach.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE
from the Chabad
Master series, produced by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for
www.ascentofsafed.com and www.kabbalaonline.org
An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent 
(for a free weekly email subscription,
click here)
(W:13-64/Shmot)
The transition between the books
of Bereishit (Genesis) and Shmot (Exodus) has always seemed sad
to me. The entire book of Bereishit is so alive. From Adam and Chava
to Yaacov's children and grandchildren, there is a depth and development
to each character that opens a world of teachings about the human
psyche, giving us an insight into our own inner selves. All the
fundamentals about how to serve G-d are at our fingertips.
Shmot, on the other hand is different. It is hard to take a personal
example from Moshe, who was on such a high level, and there is very
little in detailed descriptions of Miriam and Aharon. We have heard
the story a hundred times and it seems a struggle each year to find
something subtle and interesting.
All this was until I read an idea from Rabbi Yitzchok Meir of Gur.
'Silly,' he says, "How can you compare Bereishit and Shmot?
Bereishit talks about people and life in the world. Shmot begins
the discussion of the redemption! We are being told to reset ourselves,
it is time to march to a different rhythm. It is incumbent upon
us to learn, to delve as much as we can, in fulfilling the Torah
statement that in every generation, a person is obliged to see himself
as though he went out of Egypt. Through our annual efforts in studying
these texts of how we were redeemed, we will bring the days of
Mashiach, to the true and final freedom."
To prove this, Rabbi Yitzchok Meir gave a very interesting explanation
from the Haggadah of Passover. The verse says, 'In order for you
to remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life'. Isn't
the word 'all' unnecessary? The Rabbis explain that the words, 'days
of your life' are brought to include this world. 'ALL' is added
to include the future days of Mashiach, meaning that you
will remember leaving Egypt even after Mashiach arrives.
Rabbi Yitzchok Meir suggests a different reading. "If you make
an effort to learn these Torah portions diligently 'all the days
of your life', then you will BRING-hasten-the 'days of Mashiach'."
The Lubavitcher Rebbe once cited a well-known story as a simple
illustration of how to hasten Mashiach. When still a child, a famous
Torah scholar asked his father for an apple. When the father refused,
the little boy cleverly outsmarted him by saying the blessing anyway,
forcing the father to fulfill his request so that the blessing would
not be in vain. We must do the same, says the Rebbe. If the Jewish
people were even now to be joyful about the redemption, certain
that G-d will send us Mashiach at any moment, this happiness will
force our Father in Heaven to bring the redemption now. Nor does
this violate the principle of not trying to force the redemption,
since we are speaking only of adding an extra measure of joy to
serving G-d.
Despite knowing we must be joyful to bring Mashiach, sometimes
the hard realities of life distract us from this goal. In response
to this, the elder chosid Reb Michael Dvorkin told this story: Once
during a war, a group of chassidim were sitting with one of the
Tzemach Tzedek's sons, Chaim Shneur Zalman. They spoke about the
difficulty of the times. "Disastrous decrees one after another!
This is the third drafting of Jewish boys for the Russian army in
one year!" Then one of the participants said, "It must
be the times of Mashiach." Sometime during the discussion,
the Tzemach Tzedek himself joined the group and said, "We know
nothing about darkness! We only know about light. And since, when
Mashiach comes there will shine an incredibly great light, don't
bother to think about the great darkness that will precede the arrival
of this great light."
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul Leiter
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click here)
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