Most of this week’s Torah portion involves various civil laws which help govern a kind and generous society. The portion begins with the laws of slavery, which when compared to the norms of society in Biblical times, are particularly humane.
For years, we have been talking about the Land of Israel. It is a land holy to both Jews and Christians and people of both faiths are responding to current events in Israel from a Biblical perspective. But how do Christians and Jews each see the Land?
This week’s portion begins with Jethro’s historic visit to the Children of Israel in the desert. The story begins in Exodus Chapter 18: “And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’s father-in-law, heard of all that G-d did to Moses and to his nation Israel, that He brought Israel out of Egypt.”
There is an enormous amount of unrest in our country these days, coming both from within the country and from without. Just over a week ago, on Friday night, seven people were murdered outside a synagogue in Jerusalem, by an Arab terrorist resident of Jerusalem.
This week’s portion tells the story of the parting of the Red Sea, the culmination of the Exodus from Egypt, and includes the Song of Moses (and the shorter Song of Miriam). Grand events happen in this week’s Torah reading and it is, indeed, an awe- inspiring few chapters.
We are at the start of a new year, a year that we pray will be free of illness, a year of new beginnings. And while we have yearned to return to normal, we know that there will be a new normal. But some things never change. In each edition of Nahala, we introduce you to Christian and Jewish individuals who have done amazing things for Israel, often despite terrible hardships. And this edition is no different!
I became a Zionist at the age of 13. My parents had always been Zionists in a typical American way. They loved Israel, went to every emergency meeting about Israel, and they gave generously to Israeli causes. Whatever they could do for Israel from the comfort of Cleveland, Ohio, they did.
This week’s Torah portion includes the final three plagues and the beginning of the exodus. It also includes the instructions for the celebration of the Passover holiday and the procedure for the sacrifice of the lamb.