Yitro, Exodus 18:1-20:23 It is testimony to the universality of the Torah that the very portion which describes the election of Israel as God’s “kingdom of priests” through the Covenant at Sinai is named after the world’s greatest high-priest of idolatry, Yitro – Jethro –...

Beshallah, Exodus 13:17-17:16 The three main narratives in our portion – about the crossing of the Red Sea, the Manna that sustained Israel in the wilderness and the war of Amalek – come to teach fundamental lessons about Faith and Trust that relate to all people. The Splitting of the Sea The...

Bo, Exodus 10:1-13:16 We see in the account of the Ten Plagues and the Exodus that God repeatedly discriminated between the Egyptian masters – who were stricken – and their Israelite slaves, who were saved. This happened in the case of the plague of wild animals (Ex. 8:18-19), the pestilence that...

Va-eira, Exodus 6:2-9:35 The dramatic story of the redemption of the enslaved people of Israel from their Egyptian masters takes up the first four portions of the book of Exodus. Of these, the second – our present portion – and the one that follows it describe in graphic detail the series of Ten...

Shemot, Exodus 1:1-6:1 Much of the history of humanity has been the story of one person, group or nation ruling over others in various guises under different names. Very early on those who were more assertive took control over the more compliant, building great empires with complex hierarchies of leaders...