Mindful Torah...and more

This week's Torah parasha /portion is Terumah ( Shemot /Exodus 25:1 - 27:19).  In this parashah , God begins instructing Moshe on how the mikdash, or portable sanctuary, is to be constructed.  A key concept can be found in the beginning of the parashah when God says to Moshe, "And let them make Me a sanctuary/holy place that I may dwell among them" (25:8).  The Hebrew word for "I may dwell" is v'shakhanti .  The root of this word is shin-khaf-nun the same as for the word mishkan , another name used in the Torah for the wilderness Tabernacle or sanctuary.  It appears from this verse that the mikdash / mishkan is to be built so that God can dwell in the presence of the people.  Yet isn't God to be found everywhere?  Nahum Sarna, in the JPS Torah commentary, points out that the verb sh-kh-n connotes a temporary, nomadic dwelling, not a permanent home.  As we read elsewhere in the Torah, God dwells periodically in the mikdash / mishkan .  ...

This week's Torah portion is Mishpatim (Exodus/ Shemot 21:1 – 24:18). Following on the heels of the giving of the Ten Commandments (well, Ten Statements, to be exact), Mishpatim continues the Sinai narrative by listing the various additional ordinances decreed by God to Moses, which he is then meant to communicate to the people.  According to ancient rabbinic understanding, mishpatim are the laws that might easily be obeyed without being explicitely commanded. In contemporary parlance, they are 'no-brainers.’  It makes sense that we should treat other people kindly, not murder and not insult one's parents (yes, that is included here as a follow-up to honoring your parents). On one level it might seem superfluous to even mention these laws, if they are based on common sense. However, we all know too well that common sense does not always prevail. Therefore, a reminder never hurts. However, there is much more to this parashah than simply reminding us to obey ...

This week's parashah /portion) is Yitro ( Shemot /Exodus 18:1-20:23). It contains within of the central, dramatic mythic moments, when God speaks the Ten Commandments (literally, the ten utterances) from the mountain.  But the text is unclear as to what the people heard and what Moses heard. There is a story about a group of rabbis who were arguing (what a surprise) about exactly what the people heard at Sinai. The first rabbi said that the people heard the first two commandments: I am the Lord and You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me (nor make any graven images).  No, exclaimed the next rabbi, the people only heard the first commandment "I am the Eternal, Your God.  That's all they needed to hear in order to begin their relationship with the Divine!' Each rabbi claimed that the people heard progressively less and less until the final rabbi stated that all the people heard was the first letter of the first word of the first commandment. That letter ' alep...

This week's parashah , Beshallakh ( Shemot /Exodus 13:17-18:1) contains within it the splitting and crossing of the Sea of Reeds. At first glance, this is a story of God redeeming the people through the performance of a miracle. In the narrative, the role of the people is clearly secondary to that of God. Nevertheless, there is some human involvement in the miracle. When Moses prays to God for deliverance at the shore of the sea God responds, "Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. And you, lift up your rod and hold out your arm over the sea and split it, so that the Israelites may march into the sea on dry ground." We also read in a midrash (rabbinic legend), the rabbis tell us that God splits the sea because one man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, walks into the sea first, rather than waiting around for God. Nachshon acts. He takes matters into his own hands. God sees this and tells Moses that it's time for him to lead the people through the s...