▼ Sabbath Song:

Abstract of the Commentary by Michael Schneider,
israel today, Jerusalem:

This weekly portion (parashat) begins with ransom (kofer nefesh) and atonement money (kessef kippurim) in the value of “half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary” for every man over 20. “The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves.” (30:15).

In chapter 31, we read about God’s Calling to Bezalel (in God’s shadow) from the tribe Judah. He was a man with the Spirit of God with wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Bezalel Ben-Uri was anointed by the Almighty to design His sanctuary – what a privilege! He was a skilled, inspired craftsman. (The art academy today in Jerusalem is named after him, Bezalel – and is located across the street where the ISRAEL TODAY offices are).

In chapter 32, we read about the building of the Golden Calf. That is what happens when spiritual leadership is missing! Moses, the mediator between man and God, was on Mount Sinai for 40 days….

The Lord warns: “They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them…” (32:8).

Here we have the true test of a man of God: The Lord said to Moses: “… I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation” (32:9-10). God wanted to destroy this rebellious people and bless Moses with a nation through him.

But Moses, a true leader, spoke to the heart of God and pled for his people. He asked God to reconsider, wondering what the nations, especially Egypt, would think of the mighty God of Israel who had delivered them from Egypt just “to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth” (32:12)?
Second try: Moses reminded the Lord of His eternal Covenant with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

After seeing the golden calf, Moses broke the two tablets of the 10 commandments and then the golden idol was burn. He said: “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!” (32:26; which, by the way, is an election slogan for the ultra-Orthodox Shas party today). Following that, 3,000 people were killed in punishment.

After the punishment, Moses approached God for the third time to intercede for forgiveness on behalf of his people. Moses was ready to lay down his life for the sake of his people: “But now, if You will, forgive their sin–and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!” (32:32; also the first hint that there is a Book of Life in heaven)

So God sent “His angel” who walked with the people (verse 34).

Moses wanted to see more of God: “I pray You, show me Your glory!”
But not all the Lord has shown Moses, saying: “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”
…New Testament instances:cp. Romans 9:15-20
…and “you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen” (verse 23).

Then the LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth…” (34:6)

Moses fell on the ground to ask forgiveness for his people: “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your own possession.”
God renewed His covenant: “Behold, I am going to make a covenant before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations…” (34:10)

And so it is until today! God has performed many miracles for His people before the eyes of all nations – just look at the rebirth of the State of Israel and the return of His people to their land after almost 2000 years!

Shabbat Shalom

Commentary by Rabbi Chaim Richman, The Temple Institute, Jerusalem:
“And they will build Me a sanctuary and I will dwell amongst them.” (Exodus 25:8) “Build it for ME,” G-d says. For My names sake. I want to dwell amongst man in this world. Such is My desire. G-d is not asking for perfection from mankind. Only for a welcome into this world.

Shabbat Shalom

Commentary:
After the Ten Commandments were given, the Children of Israel were given the laws of how to practice their everyday lives. Order and precepts were given to a people who were former slaves who had just been delivered.
That’s why, the first of these laws deals with the freedom of a Hebrew slave on the seventh year. Instead of freedom, the slave has a choice to become a servant forever in his master’s household. He does this “because he loves him.” To signify this, his ear was pierced. Another sign on flesh as circumcision. Spiritually speaking, he then dedicated his life to God and will hear only His voice.

Then there were another three basic laws, which actually is a secret to a successful marriage with commands we find in Genesis 2. The three duties of a husband we find although in our reading and are also mentioned at a Jewish marriage. “He may not reduce her food, her clothing, and her conjugal rights” (21:10-11).

Punishment for breaking the law also had certain measurements, sometimes he paid with his life, sometimes he paid back five times what he owed and other times he paid double.

Almost every case had a legal covering so that the person “could not take the law in his own hands.”

Having a renewal of the mind, away from the Egyptian ways and thinking was the name of the game. Everyone should read those passages (Christians: and those in the New Testament relating the renewal of the mind and relate to their present circumstances).

Other laws included dealing with immorality, such as extra-marital affairs (22:15), which sadly we find more and more believers falling into this sin. We should take the Word of GOD, including the Torah, seriously and make it our guide for life.

Concerning strangers, we need to treat them fairly and justly because “we were also strangers in the land of Egypt” and “we know the heart of a stranger.” If we treat them unjustly, God will hear their cry and act with death on those who abuse the weak (22:20-23)! This is because he also heard our cries when we were strangers in Egypt!

Chapter 23 teaches of the three national feasts, but we first read about the Sabbatical year. This is where in the seventh year one rests from working in his fields.

“You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.” (23:8) – sadly, you can find it more and more in our society!

Interesting, that from a portion of the verse in 23:19 became a whole study on kosher-foods in separating meat and dairy. The original law says, “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.” Literally it speaks about a young goat boiled in the mother’s milk, which was forbidden because it was an idol ritual of the neigbor nations. Today, Rabbinical law made it much stricter even forbidding chicken meat eaten with milk.

After hearing the new ordinances the people agreed answered Moses and GOD: “Na‘asse ve-nishma – we will do and we will hear!” (24:7) This way of obedience is so strange to the world, it is so godly. A man normally first listen and then (if it suits him) he does!

So, let as live godly and obey Him by doing first what He asks of us and then listening to the whys! – as a good servant.

Shabbat Shalom

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Commentary by Rabbi Chaim Richman, The Temple Institute, Jerusalem:

“All that the L-rd spoke we will do and we will hear.” (Exodus 24:7) The very essence of our relationship with HaShem: We will do even before we fully understand G-d’s word. The secret of Israel.

Commentary:
Our Torah portion “Jethro” is one of the six readings named after a person. The others include Noah, Sarah, Korah, Balak and Pinchas (Phinneas). Our reading was named for the heathen and pagan priest of Midian who eventually became Moses’ father-in-law. It is here, we read in the heart of the Torah the most important scripture in the Jewish faith with the giving of the law and here it is named after a heathen (goy).
This shows us again that God’s Word was made available to all of mankind.

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Commentary by Rabbi Chaim Richman, The Temple Institute, Jerusalem:

“I am Hashem your G-d.” (Exodus 20:2) This is the first commandment and it is essentially the last. G-d has woven His name throughout the entire Torah, and His presence throughout all of creation. To know His name and to believe in Him is the entirety of of all the commandments.

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Moses described ‘all the hardship that had befallen them on the journey’ but never ceased to give honor and praise to God Almighty! This is not a story filled with complaints, but rather one that is encouraging. We can learn from this when we encounter the hardships of life – give praises to God!

The heathen priest recognized God for who he was: “The LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed” (18:11).

Jethro gave Moses advice in changing the justice system, as a loving father-in-law, from one judge (Moses) to 70 – with one rationale: “You will surely wear out (naval), both yourself and these people who are with you…” (18:18).

The verb ‘naval’ was given in the verse twice, emphasizing the weight of the word that means ‘to wither, to wilt and to dry-out’ like the leaves (Psalm 1:3). He meant that Moses’ antithesis could slowly dry-out. But, it also meant that naval is a vile person, a miscreant, scoundrel (see Nabal, the evil and harsh husband of Abigail in 1 Samuel 25). Therefore, it was the last thing that Jethro desires for his son-in-law.

God many times calls a person, blesses them, but with those abundants of blessings comes a need for help. A man of God, like Moses should humble himself and let go of the little things and allow others to administer the small ‘cases’. Believe me, it’s not always easy for them to do this.

“’Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (19:5-6).

The Receiving of the Torah (the Law; correct translation: guidance or teaching) three months after the exodus from Egypt, falls according to Jewish scholars during Hebrew year of 2448 (1312 befor).

When the Jewish people came to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah they practiced humility! Humility is the key to unity!

The Ten Commandments were engraved on two tablets. Both tablets were of equal size and contrary to popular belief, the two tablets were square and not rounded on top.

The right tablet contained the commandments about GOD and the left contained the commandments concerning man. The five commandments on the right contained 146 words and the five others on the left had only 26 words. Why? How the Jewish scholars explain this?

The left tablets, with mitzvot (commandments) for man, where written with bigger letters to add emphasis. Because one cannot claim piety by meticulously do Mitzvot toward God and ignore the commandments of how to treat our neighbor. Our relationship towards others plays a huge role in our relationship with God. Someone who is not faithful to people will not be faithful to God.

Why ten (commandments)? The Talmud tells us that the Ten Commandments correspond to the ten sayings God used to create the world. “So it teaches us that by keeping the ten Commandments, one preserves the universe!” – that’s why we need to be doers of the Word!
Shabbat Shalom

Abstract of the Commentary by Michael Schneider,
israel today, Jerusalem:
This week’s Torah portion tells us that Pharaoh had a change of heart after expelling the children of Israel from Egypt, leading him to chase after them. The Israelites began to panic when they saw Pharaoh’s horses galloping after them. They were quick to forget God’s powerful work and their praises turned to complaints.

Moses stood as a mediator between God and man. Yet, all he heard were the complaints of the people: “Now you let us die here in the desert!” and “Why did you let us out of Egypt?” (14:11-12).

The Midrash tells us to be careful what you say because the words of dying in the desert were fulfilled 40 years later!

The LORD gives the same answer today during times of panic and distress: “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent” (14:14) and “Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD!”

God had His hand on His people, not allowing them to pass through the land of the Philistines, along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea (which today is the Gaza Strip where the Palestinians live). They had to go through the desert for several reasons, not only to avoid war, but also because of the threat of assimilation and influence of foreign gods.

God wanted His people to have a real change of heart, which was a 40-year journey. The goal was total surrender and dependency on the LORD! It worked best in a dry and barren desert.

God told Moses: “As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.”
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Commentary by Rabbi Chaim Richman, Temple Institute Jerusalem:

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From the God given staff, which previously worked wonders in Egypt through bringing the plagues and dividing the sea, Moses used it to hit a rock, pouring forth water for more than 2 million people.

Sadly, we see that even through God’s wondrous works, it didn’t bring true repentance. Just look at the manna from heaven during their days of wandering in the desert.

The manna from heaven became Daily Bread. This is also mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer, expressed in physical and spiritual terms. It becomes a daily provision, not a weekly, monthly or yearly supply (16:18).

The believer should seek the Lord in the morning daily! This also, shows that we are equal in the Lord’s eyes. On Friday, a double portion was given so they could rest on Shabbat. To remember this, we bless two pieces of hallah, braided loaves of bread eaten on Shabbat.

It’s amazing to see that only three days after praising God in the Song of Moses (the Song of the Sea), the children of Israel began grumbling again (15:22).

We find another victorious praise song in our Torah portion in Judges 4 and 5, by Deborah the judge.

So, let’s be thankful and not complain!

Shabbat Shalom

Abstract of the Commentary by Michael Schneider
israel today, Jerusalem:
This week’s Torah portion speaks about the last three plagues over Egypt, where God showed the mighty Pharaoh His great power. The final plague follows with the triumphant Exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt, from slavery into freedom.

Jewish scholars explain that the first nine plagues are divided into three-year cycles. Before every three-year cycle, the LORD commanded Moses early in the morning to stand before Pharaoh in the presence of many (7:15; 8:16; 9:13) and forewarned him of what was coming (7:17; 8:17). The third time of every cycle Moses stood before Pharaoh, it came without warning (8:12).

In the beginning, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, he refused let the people go, but then stepwise he did allow the people sacrifice to the God of Israel. Then he said it was okay for the men, women and children to leave Egypt, but without the livestock and finally God had the victory, calling the children out with wealth and blessings.

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Video-Commentary by Rabbi Chaim Richman, Temple Institute, Jerusalem:

A new world order. Sounds scary, but thats exactly what G-d established when he commanded Israel, saying, “This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year.” (Exodus 12:2)
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Even Pharaoh’s advisors told him to let God’s people go, but Pharaoh’s pride and selfish ambitions kept him from listening to counsel. May we also be careful and recognize our pride early on, willing to humble ourselves and surrender all. The punishment for Pharaoh and ‘all who trusted him’ came later through Nebuchadnezzar when he ruled Babylon (Jeremiah 46).

Remember it took only three days to leave Egypt, but 40 years for Egypt and her cults and idols to leave the minds and hearts of Israel.
In order to know the exact timing of the Exodus we must begin with the Babylonian exile, which we know happened in 586 BOT. If we add another 390 ‘day-years’ mentioned in Ezekiel 4:4-13 we come to the year King Solomon divided the two kingdoms into Israel and Judea in 976 BOT. Take another 36 (40 less 4) years of Solomon’s reign and the 480 years between his throne and the time of the Exodus described in 1 Kings 6:1 and the date comes to 1492 BOT!

Commandments were given, still used today, which commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. A blameless lamb should be kept on the 10th of Nissan and on the 14th slaughtered and eaten at the last supper on the 15th of Nissan at the last night.

According to the faith of Christianity the Exodus also foreshadows the sacrificial atonement of the Lamb of God who, although blameless, was slaughtered on the cross. For the Children of God, celebrating the evening before brought salvation, but to those who opposed Him, it brought death. A lesson to us!

Concerning the final plague, the Lord had the final say. While Pharaoh was guilty of murdering all the Hebrew newborns, God went and killed Pharaoh’s first-born child.

Shabbat Shalom

Abstract of the commentary by Michael Schneider,
israel today, Jerusalem:
This week’s Torah portion shows us how the children of Israel first began experiencing freedom from slavery as the LORD began making Himself known to them. God had a plan to deliver his people, first, by bringing them out of Egypt and redeeming them and then taking them as His people (v.6–7). This is also the way He saves people from the bondage of sin.

Aaron, Moses’ brother, became his mouth, speaking in his place even though God commanded Moses to speak to Pharaoh. But all this shows is that it’s a waste of time to try and argue with God because His plans will always be accomplished.

God wanted to show His power in the battle between God and man as he did with Pharaoh and showed all of Egypt (the world) His ‘great judgments’ (7:4). He works the same today, showing the nations His work of restoring and returning His people back to their Land – even in much greater dimensions, according to the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 23:7–8.

There’s a story of a minister who was preaching in northern Alaska about the ‘Return of the Jews.’ More than 5,000, including Eskimos trekked through the arctic ice to hear of God’s mighty work in our time.

The world watched and was amazed. The birth of the State of Israel became the greatest miracle of the century!

In Ezekiel, the prophets says, “When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations… They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God” (28:25-26).

We first read about seven of the 10 plagues before deliverance from Egypt, in an ascending order of distress. They began by striking nature first, then the animals, followed by man.

It is remarkable that during the plagues, the children of Israel were set apart. They didn’t suffer as plagues rained down on Egypt (8:22). In spite of the blood, they were able to drink clean water and received light in the land of Goshen, despite the darkness. God, also, takes care of His children in today’s dark world.

However, before God plagued Egypt, He always hardened Pharaoh’s heart. As Moses demanded, “Let my people go, so that they will serve Me!” These words threatened Pharaoh as felt he’d lose his power.

This is why the first part of the command is easier with an emphasis on ‘Let my people go!’ The second part, ‘So that they will serve Me!’ is harder to follow and is why those of us who are stubborn will fail.

God did His part in delivering His people, now it’s our turn to have a change of heart.

Shabbat Shalom