Weekly Torah Reading, Vayyakhel-Pekudei, March 21, 2020
Exodus 35:1-40:38 I don’t know how many of you real readers (roughly a thousand or so—a drop in the bucket for such websites as this one) are asking the same question that my own imaginary reader is: “How can …
Weekly Torah Reading, Ki Tissa, March 14, 2020
Exodus 30:11-34:35 Not Speaking with God The episode of the Golden Calf in this week’s reading is hard to justify. God had just finished telling the Israelites in the Ten Commandments not to make any statues or idols …
Weekly Torah Reading Shabbat Zakhor, March 7, 2020
Exodus 27:20-30:10, Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Forget or Remember? The Shabbat just preceding Purim is called “Shabbat Zakhor” because the Torah reading on that day ends with the commandment of Deut 25:17-19: Remember what Amalek did to you on your …
Weekly Torah Reading, Terumah, February 29, 2020
Exodus 25:1-27:19 Return to the Garden This week’s reading contains God’s instructions for the building of the mishkan, the traveling tabernacle (that is, a big tent) in which the Israelites will offer sacrifices to God. Hardly a detail is …
Weekly Torah Reading, Mishpatim, February 22, 2020
Exodus 21:1-24:18 The Torah on Abortion This week’s reading contains numerous laws governing various aspects of daily life. At first, some of these might seem far removed from our own daily lives. You’re probably not going to pay …
Weekly Torah Reading, Yitro, February 15, 2020
Exodus 18:1-20:23 Moses and the 611 People long ago noticed something interesting about the Ten Commandments. In the first two commandments, God speaks in the first person, using the words “I” and “Me”: “I am the Lord your God, …
Weekly Torah Reading, Beshallaḥ, February 8, 2020
Exodus 13:17-17:15 Two Great Songs This week’s reading prominently features the Song of the Sea—the song that the Israelites sang after their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15). For this reason, this Shabbat is also known …
Weekly Torah Reading, Bo’, February 1, 2020
Exodus 10:1-13:17 A Heavy Heart What does the Torah mean by saying that God “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart? A very old tradition holds that this phrase means “to make stubborn.” God tells Moses to go in to talk to Pharaoh, …