Mindful Torah...and more

     Covid-time related confusion took hold of me yesterday.       I posted my commentary on Parshat Bo, which I forgot to post last week, and did not post my commentary on this week's Torah portion. So here it is....a day late. Shabbat Shalom! ----------------------------------------------- This week's parashah is Beshallakh ( Exodus/Shemot 13:17-17:16 )  week's parashah is Beshalach. Pharaoh has not just allowed the Israelites to leave, but he almost forced them out of the land after the tenth plague, the death of the first born. Now they are standing on at the shore of the sea of Reeds waiting to see what comes next. Once again, Pharaoh has had a change of heart. Suddenly they see that him and all of Egypt's chariots bearing down upon them at the shore of the Sea of Reeds. The people are crying out to Moses in fear. His basic response is to tell them to watch as God performs a miracle for them. God then replies to Moses “Why are you crying out...

Today is the seventh day of the festival of Pesakh/Passover, the feast celebrating the redemption from Egyptian slavery. According to tradition, this is the day when the Israelites crossed Yam Suf /the Sea of Reeds (or Red Sea, if you prefer the older translations). Most of us are familiar with this event from Bible stories we have read or movies we have seen, and yet there is much more contained within this story than meets the eye. According to midrash (rabbinic lore) the seas split not merely because Moses raised his staff over the water, but because one man dare to enter the waters on his own without waiting for Moses or anyone else to take action. This man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, understood that in order to achieve freedom and salvation we must not merely wait around or pray for it, but we must act as partners with God in order to make it happen! It was Nachshon’s bravery and his faith in the divine-human partnership that enabled him to enter the raging waters ...

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 , 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...