Bar’chu
et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed!
Baruch
ata YHVH. Eloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan
lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the
blessed One for all eternity. Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the
Universe, you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us
your Torah.)
Isa 27:6 Those who
come (Shemot- Yesh 43:1-.. O Yisra’ěl, “Do not fear, for
I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name, you are Mine.) He causes to take root in Ya‛aqoḇ, (not in the
Church or Synagogue) Yisra’ěl shall blossom and bud. And they shall fill the
face of the world with fruit.
Isa 27:7 Has He
smitten him as he struck the ones who were striking him? Or as a killer
– was he killed as he was killing?
Isa 27:8 In measure,
by sending her away, You contended with her. He shall take away by His rough
wind in the day of the east wind.
Isa 27:9 Therefore
by this the crookedness of Ya‛aqoḇ is covered.(Heb – ‘’kippur’’ a propitiatory
shelter) And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: when he makes all
the stones of the slaughter-place like chalkstones that are beaten to dust –
Ashěrim and sun-pillars rise no more.
Isa 27:10 For the
city of defence is lonely, a home forsaken and left like a wilderness – there
the calf feeds, and there it lies down, and shall consume its branches.
Isa 27:11 When its
twigs are dry, they are broken off, women come and set them on fire. For it is
a people of no understanding, therefore He who made them has no compassion on
them, and He who formed them shows them no favour.
Isa 27:12 And in
that day it shall be that יהוה threshes, from the channel of the River to the wadi of
Mitsrayim. And you shall be gathered one by one,a O children of Yisra’ěl.
Footnote: a Jer_3:14-15.
Isa 27:13 And in
that day it shall be that a great shophar is blown, and those who were
perishing in the land of Ashshur and the outcasts in the land of Mitsrayim
shall come, and shall worship יהוה on the set-apart mountain, in
Yerushalayim.
“In her penetrating
analysis, Professor Leibowitz asks: What was the reason for the people’s exile
to Egypt? Citing the normative Jewish understanding of evil, Professor
Leibowitz states, “Like all other calamities that have overtaken us, this exile
too was a punishment for sin.”
What was the particular
sin of the Jewish people in this case? Their desire to assimilate. As proof of
the people’s massive assimilation, Professor Leibowitz notes that when the
children of Jacob first entered Egypt, they declared to Pharaoh (Genesis 47:4)
that they intended to stay in Egypt only temporarily, “La’goor ba’ah’retz bah’noo.” Eventually,
however, Genesis 47:27 reports, “Vah’yay’shev
Yisrael…vah’yay’ah’chah’zoo vah,” that not only did the sons of Jacob settle in Egypt,
they took permanent foothold in Egypt! (Heb niphal verb “achaz” – to be caught
or grasped or settled)
Furthermore, the Midrash
Rabba on the verse (Exodus 1:8), “Now a new king arose,” notes,
This teaches you, that
when Joseph died, they [the Jews in Egypt] abrogated the rite of circumcision.
They said, “Let us be like the Egyptians.” Because they did so, the Holy One,
blessed be He, turned the love that the Egyptians bore them, into hatred…
The Midrash Yalkut Shimoni
also confirms that the Jews of Egypt were entirely assimilated. On the verse
(Exodus 1:7),”And the land was filled with them,” the Yalkut Shimoni explains
that the amphitheaters and circuses of Egypt were filled with Hebrews.
The Ha’amek
Davar points out cogently that, originally, Joseph had
arranged for the Jewish people to reside in an exclusive ghetto area in the
land of Goshen. The fact that during the tenth plague, the Al-mighty had to
pass over the homes of the Hebrews that had the mark of the blood on the door,
indicates that the Jews had forsaken Goshen, and were now entirely dispersed,
living in Egyptian neighborhoods into which they had assimilated. Says the
Ha’amek Davar, “the Israelites were punished for violating Jacob’s wish that
they should live apart from the Egyptians in Goshen. The Midrash relates that they wished to be like the Egyptians. As a result of intermingling with them, they preferred to imitate them, and not be different. This is the reason why we [Jews] suffer persecution in every age, because we do not desire to keep apart from the nations.”
Nehama Leibowitz points out a keen difference between the approach of the Midrash and the approach of the Ha’amek Davar. According to the Midrash, the punishment that the Israelites experienced emanated directly from Heaven. G-d turned the love with which the Egyptians bore them into hatred.The Ha’amek Davar, who sees the punishment as a natural consequence of the people’s desire to assimilate, insists that the Jews brought the hardships upon themselves. The non-Jewish nations particularly resent the Jewish minority invading their economic and cultural life.
Professor Leibowitz refers to a number of Midrashim that regard the sufferings and the exiles of the Jewish people, not as punishment, but as a source of inspiration, one that serves a vital educational purpose. Citing the verse in Proverbs 13:24, “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” the Midrash in Shemot Rabba claims that whoever spares his son corrective punishment, drives him to delinquency and hates him. The fact that Absalom fell into evil ways is attributed to the fact that his father, King David, failed to correct him. Declares Professor Leibowitz, “Exile and suffering are here invested with the refining and purificatory character.” End quote.
Exo 1:1 And these are the names of the children of
Yisra’ĕl who came to Mitsrayim with Yaʽaqoḇ, each one with his
household:
Exo 1:2
Re’uḇĕn, Shimʽon, Lĕwi, and Yehuḏah;
Exo 1:3
Yissasḵar, Zeḇulun, and Binyamin;
Exo 1:4 Dan
and Naphtali, Gaḏ and Ashĕr.
Exo 1:5 And
all those who were descendants of Yaʽaqoḇ were seventy beings,
as Yosĕph was already in Mitsrayim.
Whenever the Father wants to deliver His people
from bondage and establish His Kingdom and Rule on earth He seems to use a set
pattern. He calls and prepares a leader or visionary; this leader lays down his
life for this cause and for the people YHVH calls him to bring deliverance to.
The
pattern seems to repeat itself; first 12 leaders then 70 messengers.
In the opening verses
of this parashah we see this pattern established: First the fathers/leaders of
the 12 tribes and then those with them which bring the total amount to seventy
messengers or witnesses.
We see this pattern repeated with Moshe. He chose
12 leaders from the 12 tribes and then those with them totalling 70 men.
Num 11:16 Then יהוה said to Mosheh, “Gather to Me seventy men
of the elders of Yisra’ĕl, whom you know to be the elders of the people and
officers over them. And bring them to the Tent of Meeting, and let them stand
there with you.
We see the same pattern with Yahshua. He chose 12
disciples and then those with them totalling 70.
Luk 10:1 And after this the Master appointed seventy
others, and sent them two by two ahead of Him into every city and place where
He Himself was about to go.
Luk 10:2 Then He said to them, “The harvest indeed is
great, but the workers are few, therefore pray the Master of the harvest to
send out workers into His harvest.
The same words used to introduce this parasha are
also used in Mat 10:2 And these are the names of the
twelve emissaries……(‘’ve
ele shemot’’)
“I think one of
the first things I would do would be to get a small group of eight or ten or
twelve men around me that would meet a few hours a week and pay the price. It
would cost them something in time and effort. I would share with them
everything I have, over a period of years. Then I would actually have twelve
ministers among the laymen who in turn could take eight or ten or twelve more
and teach them. I know one or two churches that are doing that, and it is
revolutionizing the church. Christ, I think, set the pattern. He spent most of
his time with twelve men. He didn’t spend it with a great crowd. In fact, every
time he had a great crowd it seems to me that there weren’t too many results.
The great results, it seems to me, came in his personal interview and in the
time he spent with the twelve. Quoted in “Billy Graham Speaks: The
Evangelical World Prospect,” Christianity
Today, vol.3, no.1, p.5, Oct.13, 1958.
Five Major Discourses or
Sermons in Matthew correspond to the five books of Torah.
1. The Sermon on the Mount
(5:1‑7:28) – Beresheet/ Gen – Foundation of our redemption.
2. The Missionary
Discourse (10:1‑42)-Mat 10:2 ואלה שמות The same two words are used in the opening
chapter of Exodus – ve ele shemot – “these are the names”
3. The Parable Discourse
(13:1‑53) – Parables of the Kingdom of YHVH.
This sermon compares
to the third book of the Torah – Vayikra – “and he called” – a Kingdom of
Priests.
4. The Community Discourse
(17:22‑18:35) – Book of Bemidbar/Numbers – our pilgrimage – life in the
wilderness. Parable of the lost sheep.
5. The Apocalyptic
Discourse (24:1‑25:46) – Devarim the goal of our redemption – return to the
land and the perfecting of the covenant.
Exo 1:6 And
Yosĕph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.
Exo 1:7 And
the children of Yisra’ĕl bore fruit and increased very much, multiplied and
became very strong, and the land was filled with them.
Exo 1:8 Then
a new sovereign arose over Mitsrayim, who did not know Yosĕph,
Exo 1:9 and
he said to his people, “See, the people of the children of Yisra’ĕl are more
and stronger than we,
Exo 1:10
come, let us act wisely towards them, lest they increase, and it shall
be when fighting befalls us, that they shall join our enemies and fight against
us, and shall go up out of the land.”
The
book of Yasher gives some very interesting details about how powerful Yisrael
had become and how they conquered armies who vastly outnumbered them. So they
devised a scheme to enslave them. See chapters 65-80
Yasher
Chapter 68 1. And it was at that time the spirit of God was upon Miriam the
daughter of Amram the sister of Aaron, and she went forth and prophesied about
the house, saying, Behold a son will be born unto us from my father and mother
this time, and he will save Israel from the hands of Egypt.
Exo 1:11 So
they set slave-masters over them to afflict them with their burdens, and they
built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raʽamses.
Exo 1:12 But
the more they afflicted them, the more they increased and grew, and they were
in dread of the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Exo 1:13 And
the Mitsrites made the children of Yisra’ĕl serve with harshness,
Exo 1:14 and
they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in
all kinds of work in the field, all their work which they made them do was with
harshness.
Exo 1:15
Then the sovereign of Mitsrayim spoke to the Heḇrew midwives, of whom
the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puʽah,
Exo 1:16 and
he said, “When you deliver the Heḇrew
women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall put him
to death, but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
Exo 1:17 But
the midwives feared Elohim, and did not do as the sovereign of Mitsrayim
commanded them, and kept the male children alive.
Exo 1:18 So
the sovereign of Mitsrayim called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have
you done this, and kept the male children alive?”
Exo 1:19 And
the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Heḇrew women are not like
the Mitsrite women. For they are lively and give birth before the midwives come
to them.”
Exo 1:20 So
Elohim was good to the midwives, and the people increased and became very
numerous.
Exo 1:21 And
it came to be, because the midwives feared Elohim, that He provided households
for them.
Exo 1:22 And
Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Throw every son who is born into the
river, and keep alive every daughter.”
Exo 2:1 And a man of the house of Lĕwi went and
married a daughter of Lĕwi.
Exo 2:2 And the woman conceived and bore a son. And
she saw that he was a lovely child, and she hid him three months.
Exo 2:3 And when she could hide him no longer, she
took an ark of wicker for him, and coated it with tar and pitch, and put the
child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the edge of the river.
Exo 2:4 And his sister stood at a distance, to know
what would be done to him.
Exo 2:5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash
herself at the river, and her young women were walking by the river-side. And
when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her female servant to get it,
Exo 2:6 and opened it and saw the child, and see, the
baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the children
of the Heḇrews.”
Exo 2:7 And
his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you
from the Heḇrew women to nurse the
child for you?”
Exo 2:8 And
Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” And the girl went and called the child’s
mother.
Exo 2:9 And
Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me,
then I shall pay your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.
Exo 2:10 And
the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her
son. And she called his name Mosheh, saying, “Because I have drawn him out of
the water.”
Exo 2:11 And
in those days it came to be, when Mosheh was grown, that he went out to his
brothers and looked at their burdens. And he saw a Mitsrite beating a Heḇrew, one of his
brothers.
Exo 2:12 So
he turned this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he smote the Mitsrite
and hid him in the sand.
Exo 2:13 And
he went out the second day and saw two Heḇrew
men fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why do you smite your
neighbour?”
Exo 2:14 And
he said, “Who made you a head and a judge over us? Do you intend to slay me as
you slew the Mitsrite?” And Mosheh feared and said, “Truly, the matter is
known!”
Exo 2:15 And
Pharaoh heard of this matter, and he sought to kill Mosheh. But Mosheh fled
from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Miḏyan. And he sat down
by a well.
Exo 2:16 And
the priest of Miḏyan had seven
daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water
their father’s flock,
Exo 2:17 but
the shepherds came and drove them away. Then Mosheh stood up and came to their
rescue, and watered their flock.
Exo 2:18 And
they came to Reʽuw’ĕl their father,
and he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”
Exo 2:19 And
they said, “A Mitsrite rescued us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also
drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”
Exo 2:20 And
he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why did you leave the man? Call him
and let him eat bread.”
Exo 2:21 And
Mosheh agreed to dwell with the man, and he gave Tsipporah his daughter to
Mosheh.
Exo 2:22 And
she bore him a son, and he called his name Gĕreshom, for he said, “I have
become a sojourner in a foreign land.”
Exo 2:23 And
it came to be after these many days that the sovereign of Mitsrayim died. And
the children of Yisra’ĕl groaned because of the slavery, and they cried out. And
their cry came up to Elohim because of the slavery.
Exo 2:24 And
Elohim heard their groaning, and Elohim remembered His covenant with Aḇraham, with Yitsḥaq, and with Yaʽaqoḇ.
Exo 2:25 And
Elohim looked on the children of Yisra’ĕl, and Elohim knew!
1Co 10:13 No trial
has overtaken you except such as is common to man, and Elohim is trustworthy,
who shall not allow you to be tried beyond what you are able, but with the
trial shall also make the way of escape, enabling you to bear it.
1Co 10:14 Therefore, my
beloved ones, flee from idolatry.
Baruch atah
YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam
nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are
you Yahweh, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of
truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you,
YHVH giver of the Torah – Ameyn.)