by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 27, 2022 | Community, Covenant, God, Holiness, Responsibility, Revelation and Prophecy, Yitro
The Exodus from Egypt would not have been complete without entering into a covenant with God. In this covenant, the nation of Israel swears to keep the Torah. Just like the covenant made with Abraham, the covenant at Sinai was sealed with blood (Exodus 24:8). Unlike...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 26, 2022 | Hebrew Language, Repentance, Responsibility, Yitro
In the Book of Exodus, directly after God presented the Ten Commandments to the Hebrews which explicitly prohibit murder, the Torah restates the rule but adds an exception: He who fatally strikes a man shall be put to death. If he did not do it by design, but it came...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 25, 2022 | Mishpatim
After leaving slavery in Egypt, the Torah outlines for the Hebrews strict guidelines for slavery. Slavery appears frequently in the Bible, sometimes in a positive light, as it does with Eliezer the slave of Abraham and the handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah, or in a...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 24, 2022 | Faith, Holiness, Israel, Messiah, Mishpatim, Shabbat
The Shemittah comes every seven years, making it a form of Sabbath that occurs on a yearly, rather than a weekly, cycle. Observing the Shemittah acknowledges that the land of Israel belongs to the God of Israel. We work the land for six years, and on the seventh, we...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 23, 2022 | Kindness and Compassion, Mishpatim
After centuries of being enslaved and persecuted by the Egyptians, the Torah commands the Jews to treat strangers kindly “for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20). The specific prohibition against abusing strangers is repeated four times in the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2022 | Temple, Yitro
After giving the Torah to the Children of Israel, God emphasizes that they are not to serve idols. He then commands them to serve him on an altar. The altar was used to burn communal sacrifices that were brought daily and on holidays, and for individual sacrifices...
