Parshat Beshalach: Chapters 13-14

Parshat Beshalach (Chapter 13)

• Hashem did not lead Bnei Yisrael through the land of the Plishtim
• This was to prevent them from turning around and returning to Mitzrayim if they became scared
• Only ⅕ of Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim
• The rest died during מכת חושך because they were not prepared to accept the Torah

Parshat Beshalach (Chapter 14)

• Bnei Yisrael is praised for listening to Moshe
• This even happened when it seemed like Moshe's instructions would lead to capture by Pharaoh and his army
• Pharaoh convinced his nation to chase Bnei Yisrael
• He did this by promising to lead the army, share spoils of war, actions atypical for a king
• Those who feared Hashem saved their animals during the plagues
• The animals whose owners feared Hashem were saved, and used to chase Bnei Yisrael
• The Mitzrim pursued Bnei Yisrael with complete unity, acting as one man with one heart
• Upon seeing the Mitzrim chasing them, Bnei Yisrael became afraid and prayed to Hashem
• This prayer was modeled after the Avot's actions in times of need
• An angel traveled behind Bnei Yisrael to separate them from the Mitzrim
• The angel also intercepted arrows and stones shot by the Mitzrim

Parshat Beshalach (Chapter 15)

• When Hashem split the Yam Suf, all water in the world split as well
• Hashem revealed His Glory so much to the Bnei Yisrael, that they could point to Him and say "This is my G-d"
• Even simple maidservants experienced divine clarity at the splitting of the Red Sea, exceeding that of prophets

Questions from the Parsha

• Moshe took Yosef's bones with him when Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim
• Bnei Yisrael saw dead Mitzrim on the shore of the sea
• After crossing the Yam Suf, Miriam sang praise and Shira with the women

Hebrew Phrases

• מְשָׁכָם בִּדְבָרִים - He pulled them (persuaded them) with words
• בְּלֵב אֶחָד כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד - Like one man with one heart
• רָאֲתָה שִׁפְחָה עַל הַיָּם מַה שֶׁלֹא רָאוּ נְבִיאִים - Maidservants were able to see what even Neviim couldn't see while prophesizing

Parshat Yitro (Chapter 18)

• Yitro heard about the splitting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek
• These events motivated him to convert to Judaism
• Moshe initially planned to bring his wife and sons to Mitzrayim
• Aharon advised against it, thinking it would increase suffering, so Moshe's family returned to Midian
• Pharaoh attempted to kill Moshe after learning he killed an Egyptian
• God transformed Moshe's neck into marble, preventing injury
• The Torah praises Yitro for leaving behind honor, comfort, and luxury to learn Torah in the desert
• The exodus from Mitzrayim was a great miracle, as it was a closed country from which no slave had ever escaped

Parshat Yitro (Chapter 19)

• Bnei Yisrael camped united, without disputes, like one person with one heart
• Hashem told Bnei Yisrael accepting the Torah at this moment would make it perpetually easier

Parshat Yitro (Chapter 20)

• Moshe conveyed that Bnei Yisrael desired to hear the Aseret Hadibrot directly from Hashem
• Bnei Yisrael wanted to see their King
• Hashem spoke all of the Aseret Hadibrot in a single breath

Parshat Yitro (Chapter 20 continued)

• The commandment "Do not steal" in the Aseret Hadibrot refers to kidnapping
• Stealing items is addressed later in the Torah

Questions from the Parsha

• Hashem carried Bnei Yisrael out of Mitzrayim on eagles' wings
• If Bnei Yisrael keeps Hashem's mitzvot, they will become His treasured nation
• All of Bnei Yisrael said "We will do what all that Hashem said"

Hebrew Phrases

• כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד - Like one man with one heart
• שֶׁכָּל הַתְחָלוֹת קָשׁוֹת - All beginnings are hard
• רְצוֹנֵנוּ לִרְאוֹת אֶת מַלְכֵּנוּ - We want to see our King

Parshat Mishpatim (Chapter 21)

• Hashem instructs Moshe not only to teach Bnei Yisrael the mitzvot verbatim but to explain the reasons behind them
• Someone who buys a Jewish slave needs to feed the slave's wife and children

Parshat Mishpatim (Chapter 21 continued)

• A slave who does not wish to leave his master remains a slave only until the Yovel year
• If a man wounds his friend, he must pay for the damage caused
• If he wounds his parents, he is to be put to death

Parshat Mishpatim (Chapter 22)

• A firstborn son must be redeemed from the Kohein at 30 days old with 5 silver coins
• This also applies to a firstborn animal

Parshat Mishpatim (Chapter 23)

• No one can remain unaffected by bribery
• Even a scholar who accepts a bribe will forget his learning and confuse the truth
• There is a mitzvah of Bikkurim, to bring the first ripened fruits to the Beit Hamikdash for the Kohanim
• Only the seven special fruits of Eretz Yisrael are brought as Bikkurim.
• The commandment "You cannot cook a baby goat in its mother's milk" prohibits cooking, eating, or deriving pleasure from meat and milk together
• This commandment is written three times in the Torah to emphasize prohibition

Parshat Mishpatim (Chapter 24)

• Hashem had something that looked like a sapphire brick under His throne
• This was to remind Him of Bnei Yisrael's suffering in Mitzrayim
• All 613 mitzvot are included in the Aseret Hadibrot

Questions from the Parsha

• Yehoshua was Moshe's assistant
• Moshe told to elders to wait for him to return
• A cloud covered the mountain

Hebrew Phrases

• בִּכְלַל עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת הֵן - They are included in the Aseret Hadibrot
• לִזְכֹּר צָרָתָן שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל - To remember the suffering of Bnei Yisrael
• טַעֲמֵי הַדָּבָר - The reason for it

Parshat Terumah (Chapter 25)

• All materials for the Mishkan were donated
• Everyone gave what they wanted, but silver was donated equally as half a shekel each
• Yaakov foresaw that Bnei Yisrael would need wood to build the Mishkan
• He brought trees to Mitzrayim for this purpose, and his descendants took the trees with them when they left Egypt
• The Aron was made of 3 pieces
• Two were made of gold and one of wood
• Each piece had 4 walls and a bottom, the wooden piece was placed in a gold piece
• The Keruvim on top of the Aron looked like the face of a child
• The Shulchan featured a golden crown because it symbolized wealth and royalty
• This was indication of a sign of royalty
• Moshe was unsure of how to make the menorah
• Hashem instructed him to throw the gold into the fire, and it would be made on its own

Parshat Terumah (Chapter 26)

• The Parochet was the curtain that acted as a partition, separating Hashem's Shechinah from Bnei Yisrael

Questions From The Parsha

• The purpose of building the Mishkan was to host Hashem's presence
• The Menorah has a base, branches, knobs, flowers, and cups

Hebrew Phrases

• וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם - And you should make for Me a Mikdash - so that I may be among you
• וְהִיא נַעֲשֵׂית מֵאֵלֶיהָ - And it will be made by itself
• סִימָן לְכֶתֶר מַלְכוּת - It resembles the crown of royalty

Parshat Tetzaveh (Chapter 27)

• The Kohen would hold the Menorah flame until it rose on its own

Parshat Tetzaveh (Chapter 28)

• The names of the tribes were written on the Ephod
• This was so that Hashem would see the names and think about the tribes' righteousness
• The pomegranates on the Kohein Gadol's robe were round and hollow
• The pattern was two pomegranates and then one bell attached and hanging from the bottom of the Kohein Gadol's Me'il
• The Torah states that if the Kohein wears all the right clothing, he will not die
• One can also learn what not to do something by understanding what not to do, by learning the negative
• The Kohein Gadol had 8 garments, while a regular Kohein had 4
• A Kohein Gadol became the Kohein Gadol after his father if he was worthy
• The Ohel Moed was a meeting place for Hashem and Bnei Yisroel
• It was like a King who set up a place to meet with his servants
• The Kohein would clean out the cups in the morning

Questions from the Parsha

• Pure olive oil was used for the Menorah
• Kodesh L'Hashem was written on the hat
• The leftovers from the korban were to be burnt because they are holy

Hebrew Phrases

• עַד שֶׁתְּהֵא שַׁלְהֶבֶת עוֹלָה מֵאֵלֶיהָ - Until the flame would rise on its own
• מִכְּלָל לָאוּ אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ הֵן - From the negative we learn the positive

(Chapter 30)

• Like a king, creates set time and placed to talk to his subjects

Parshat Ki Tisa (Chapter 30)

• Hashem showed Moshe a coin of fire weighing ½ a shekel
• Bnei Yisroel should bring this coin to be counted
• When Bnei Yisroel sinned with the golden calf, many died in a plague
• Hashem counted them after the plague to show how precious His sheep are to Him
• The two tablets had a different number of letters, but were the same size in length and width
• Satan showed Bnei Yisroel images of Moshe in שָׁמַיִם, which made them think Moshe had died
• Aharon told the men to collect jewelry from their wives and children, thinking that they would protect their jewelry
• They didn't wait for their wives' jewelry and gave the men their own jewelry

Parshat Ki Tisa (Chapter 30 continued)

• Erev Rav, a group of people who joined Bnei Yisroel from Mitzrayim, forced Aharon to make the Egel
• They convinced Bnei Yisroel to serve it
• Satan woke up Bnei Yisroel early so they would sin
• The letters on the tablets could be read from both sides - It was a miracle

Parshat Ki Tisa (Chapter 34)

• When the first set of tablets were given, it was a big deal with many sounds, lots of people, and a shofar
• By the second set, given only to Moshe, as intimacy is better than modesty
• Hashem is much more generous when rewarding than punishing: Mitzvah/2000 generations, punishment/4 generations
• Understand how powerful sin is through Bnei Yisroel: worthy of Hashem appearing, but after the sin they cowered

Questions from the parsha

• A person is obligated from age 20 to bring half-shekel
• What does Hashem call Bnei Yisrael? A stiff-necked (stubborn) nation
• Moshe wanted Hashem to erase him from the Torah for Bnei Yisrael's sin

Hebrew phrases

• לְהוֹדִיעַ שֶהִיא חַבִיבָה עָלָיו - To make known how precious they are to him
• אֵין לְךָ יָפֶה מִן הַצְנִיעוּת- Nothing is better than modesty
• בֹּא וּרְאֵה כַּמָה גָדוֹל כֹּחָה שֶׁל עֲבֵירָה - Come and see how great the power of a sin is

Parshat Vayakhel (Chapter 35)

• Moshe first discussed Shabbat with Bnei Yisrael, then building the Mishkan, to show the prohibition of violating Shabbat in the process
• When Bnei Yisrael donated materials for the Mishkan, the leaders of each Shevet waited to give whatever was lacking at the end
• They didn't want to miss out
• Bnei Yisrael donated everything needed and offered to start building the Mishkan, with extra materials
• Bnei Yisrael were careful to start building again, and the leaders then brought their contributions

Parshat Vayakhel (Chapter 35 continued)

• Ahaliyav was from shevet Dan (the lowest), appointed to build with Betzalel from shevet Yudah(important shevet)
• Not recognizing influential people any more than poor people

Parshat Vayakhel (Chapter 36)

• So much construction happened that there was enough already and everything was done

Parshat Vayakhel (Chapter 37)

• It sounds like Betzalel built the Aron alone, devoted himself to the Aron more

Parshat Vayakhel (Chapter 38)

• Women of Bnei Yisrael mirrors used beautify themselves so when their husbands would come home they would see their beautiful wives and it would give them strength to continue and have more children
• It was more precious to God and to the Jewish people
• Moshe had initially deemed these mirrors as inappropriate for use, but God said to use them as a source of merit
• More precious than anything else