The Sidra of Vayakhel begins with the statement that Moses assembled the whole nation together, which included the women and children. It was a rare assembly which was necessary after the grave crisis of the building of the golden calf and Moses’ smashing of the tablets. It was most encouraging that despite everything […]
The opening commandment in the Sidra of Ki Tissa instructs Moses to conduct the census which took place by means of a contribution of half a Shekel from each person over the age the 20. The age of 20 was the military age in ancient times. Therefore, it is to be assumed that Moses […]
The Sidra of Tetzaveh is unique in that it does not mention the name of Moses. All other Sidrot, since his birth, mention him. However, in this Sidra, Aaron is at the centre of our attention and his name is mentioned many times. The Almighty’s decision to omit Moses name comes to stress the two […]
The Sidra of T’rumah is devoted, in its entirety, to the building of the Tabernacle and the furniture that stood in it. It existed for 479 years. After travelling in the desert with the Israelites for almost 40 years, it continued to be the centre of worship until King Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem. […]
The Sidra of Mishpatim, which means social laws, is a logical sequence to the 10 Commandments which precede it. In fact, it is a commentary on them. The mediaeval commentator, Nachmanides, says that it is, particularly, a continuation of the 10th commandment which commands us not to be envious. If a person does not have […]
Only five Sidrot are named after a Biblical personality. Three of those personalities, No’ach, Yitro and Pinchas, were greatly admired. The other two, Korach and Balak, became famous for their evil conduct. It is possible that Yitro was given the honour of having a Sidra named after him because he was one of the greatest […]
The first section of today’s Sidra describes the Israelites’ journey out of the land of Egypt. They travelled from Sukkot to Etam, which was situated on the edge of the desert. The Torah tells us the route by which the Almighty decided to take them. There were three possible routes: the North Eastern route, […]
The Sidra of BO contains the last three plagues; Locusts, Darkness and the Killing of the First Born Sons. These three plagues stand out because they are associated with darkness, directly or indirectly. The Torah says that the locusts came in such vast numbers that they covered the entire sky, so that the land became […]
My question is: Why doesn’t the new Sidra begin with a new chapter, instead of beginning at chapter 6 verse 2? The answer is that the chapter divisions were introduced into the Bible by Stephen Langton, an archbishop of Canterbury in 1227, whereas our Rabbis divided the Torah into Sedarim much earlier. The divisions […]
The book of Sh’mot is described as the book of Exile and Redemption. It opens with the account of the Israelites’ integration into Egyptian society. By the time of Joseph’s death, at the age of 110 years, for legal and economic reasons it became impossible for them to leave. As a result of Joseph’s measures […]