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Overview of the Weekly
Reading: Shmot
To be read on 20 Tevet
5765 (Jan.1)
Exodus 1:1-6:1 Haftorah:
Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23 (because its opening verse parallels Ex.1:1)
Sh'mot is the 1st
Reading out of 11 in Exodus and 13th overall,
and 18th out of 54 in overall length.
Sh'mot:
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:13-65/Sh'mot)
From the holy
Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(Z:13-65/Sh'mot)
If mankind
didn't have this knowledge, then there would be no difference between
the spirit of man and the spirit of animals.
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on
our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From the holy Ari,
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed (A:13-65/Sh'mot)
For someone
who draws a picture [of a person] on paper cannot [at the same time] draw
internal organs, such as the stomach, intestines, heart, liver, or spleen,
while G-d does not only this but draws the form of another [person] inside
the abdominal cavity, i.e. the embryo inside its mother's womb. And inside
the embryo are more internal organs as well as its spirit.
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:13-65/Sh'mot)
The latter's
3 souls, i.e. the "lower" soul, life force Nefesh, was reincarnated in
the body of the Egyptian who was slain by Moses. (Ex. 2:2) His "middle"
soul, Ruach, was reincarnated in the body of Korach, whereas his "upper"
soul, i.e. Neshama was reincarnated in the body of Jethro.
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on
our KabbalaOnline
site.
FROM THE CHASSIDIC
REBBES (V:13-65/Sh'mot)
"She stretched out her hand and took it." (2:5)
This verse refers to Pharoah's daughter, who rescued Moses from the
Nile. The word the Torah uses for "hand" is amata,
because G-d made a miracle and caused her hand to stretch out many amot
[cubits] to reach Moses. This teaches us an important lesson. Whenever
we see a child in danger, whether physical or spiritual, we shouldn't
stop to calculate whether or not we can rescue the child, but we must
do our utmost to accomplish that goal, even if the situation appears
helpless. If we since rely do all that is in our power, G-d will surely
help us.
(Reb Bunim M'Pshischa) (from L'Chaim #502)
"Pharaoh said...I do not know G-d [the Tetragrammaton], nor
will I let Israel go." (Ex. 5:2)
The Tetragrammaton, or four-letter, ineffable Name of G-d, refers to
the level of G-dliness that transcends nature, whereas "Elokim"
refers to G-dliness as it is enclothed in nature. (The numerical equivalent
of the word "Elokim" is the same as "hateva"
- nature.) When Pharaoh said he did not know G-d, he meant that G-d's
transcendental aspect has no connection to the physical world. In truth,
however, G-d's ineffable Name illuminates equally in all worlds, which
Pharaoh only came to realize after a series of miracles: "And the
Egyptians shall know that I am G-d."
(Torah Ohr) (from L'Chaim #653)
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE
from the Chabad
Master series, produced by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for
www.ascentofsafed.com and www.kabbalaonline.org
MOSHIACH THIS WEEK
(M:13-65/Sh'mot)
"I will send you to Pharaoh, and you will bring forth My people,
the Children of Israel, out of Egypt." (3:10)
The physical presence of the redeemer does not necessarily signal the
redemption itself, as Moses, the first redeemer of the Jews, was physically
present in Egypt prior to the actual exodus. Likewise, Moshiach,
the final redeemer of the Jewish people, will also arrive some time prior
to the actual redemption and the ushering in of the Messianic Era.
(Sefat Emet)
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." (Ex. 5:22-23)
The harshness of the galut 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. We are not allowed to resign ourselves to our
present situation of exile with the excuse that "such is the will
of G-d."
(Lubavitcher Rebbe)
[Reprinted with permission from L'Chaim Magazine (www.lchaim.org).]
An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here) (W:13-65/Sh'mot)
The
Lubavitcher Rebbe points out that while the book of Bereishis is mainly
about our forefathers and the tribes, the book of Shmos is about the exodus
from Mitzrayim and the giving of the Torah, the foundations for the birth
of the Jewish people. If so, why does the narrative begin with the exile
itself and the harshness that followed? Why doesn't it begin with the
positive idea of the Exodus? The Rebbe explains that even though the focus
is the birth of the Jewish people, Shmos begins, not with the Exodus or
Mt Sinai, but rather specifically with the exile itself and the descent
that it demanded; this is because the whole purpose of the Torah is to
help us transform and elevate the world. Shmos, the second book of the
Torah, must first begin with the true preparation for the Exodus, which
was the servitude in Mitzrayim. This teaches us how Mitzrayim was able
to be brought under the power of the Jewish people, going from impurity
into holiness. And, also, since the book of Shmos is the paradigm for
the future and final redemption, it is also teaching us how we must behave
to hasten the coming of the Mashiah.
While the above idea is both logical and beautiful, it can also be sad
and frustrating. The Torah is telling us, that we can only reach the good
by investing all our strengths in the purifications and elevations that
preceed it. But where will we get the strength? How will we overcome the
obstacles?
In an old Chassidic book, entitled Choshva L'Tova, the following is
written: When a Jew is found in a difficult predicament, stuck between
the proverbial rock and hard place, he or she has to remember and realign
themselves with the knowledge that even if all else fails, they have a
Jewish name. Our Jewish names are the conduit through which the strength
of holiness pours into us. Even at this difficult time, the Shechina is
within us. When we think about this, we can't help but feel joy and happiness!
This is what the first verse of the Torah portion (and the book) of
Exodus hints to. "Ailu HaShmos", "These are the names (that
empower) of the Jewish people". When do our Hebrew names shine forth
to give us strength? To answer, the verse continues, "haba'im Mitzrayma",
"when we enter Mitzrayim". The word "Mitzrayim", translated
as "Egypt", is from the root tzar, or narrow, and refers to
difficult places in general. The verse then continues, "And Yaacov",
reminding us too that our forefathers, the spiritual giants, are still
with us. Through this, the verse concludes, "each man and his household
arrive", each family is enveloped in holiness and in the protective
shade of our holy ancestors and will not be stopped by any obstacle.
Rabbi Bunim said it in a different way. "Atem Nitzavim", "All
of you are standing before G-d", is the first verse of one of the
last portions of the Torah. Not only does this mean that ALL of you, ALL
of the Jewish people are standing before G-d, but also, all of YOU, the
entire person, all of his or her 248 limbs and organs and 365 sinews,
is standing before G-d, regardless of our past actions. ALL OF US are
enveloped in holiness, standing with no separation before our Creator,
one with the Almighty. We are sure to succeed if we always remember our
Jewish name.
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul
P.S. Please also read
my weekly Shabbat Law, below.)
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click here)
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