Sh'Mot/Exodus

Sh'Mot/Exodus 1
Parashah 13: Sh’mot (Names) 1:1–6:1

¹ These are the names of the sons of Isra’el who came into Egypt with Ya‘akov; each man came with his household: ² Re’uven, Shim‘on, Levi, Y’hudah, ³ Yissakhar, Z’vulun, Binyamin, ⁴ Dan, Naftali, Gad and Asher. ⁵ All told, there were seventy descendants of Ya‘akov; Yosef was already in Egypt.

⁶ Yosef died, as did all his brothers and all that generation. ⁷ The descendants of Isra’el were fruitful, increased abundantly, multiplied and grew very powerful; the land became filled with them.

⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt. He knew nothing about Yosef ⁹ but said to his people, “Look, the descendants of Isra’el have become a people too numerous and powerful for us. ¹⁰ Come, let’s use wisdom in dealing with them. Otherwise, they’ll continue to multiply; and in the event of war they might ally themselves with our enemies, fight against us and leave the land altogether.”

¹¹ So they put slave-masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built for Pharaoh the storage cities of Pitom and Ra‘amses. ¹² But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, until the Egyptians came to dread the people of Isra’el ¹³ and worked them relentlessly, ¹⁴ making their lives bitter with hard labor — digging clay, making bricks, all kinds of field work; and in all this toil they were shown no mercy.

¹⁵ Moreover, the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shifrah and the other Pu‘ah. ¹⁶ “When you attend the Hebrew women and see them giving birth,” he said, “if it’s a boy, kill him; but if it’s a girl, let her live.” ¹⁷ However, the midwives were ELOHIM-fearing women, so they didn’t do as the king of Egypt ordered but let the boys live. (ii) ¹⁸ The king of Egypt summoned the midwives and demanded of them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?” ¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, “It’s because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women — they go into labor and give birth before the midwife arrives.” ²⁰ Therefore ELOHIM prospered the midwives, and the people continued to multiply and grow very powerful. ²¹ Indeed, because the midwives feared ELOHIM, he made them founders of families. ²² Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born, throw in the river; but let all the girls live.”

Sh'mot/Exodus 2

¹ A man from the family of Levi took a woman also descended from Levi as his wife. ² When she conceived and had a son, upon seeing what a fine child he was, she hid him for three months. ³ When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket, coated it with clay and tar, put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the riverbank. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the river while her maids-in-attendance walked along the riverside. Spotting the basket among the reeds, she sent her slave-girl to get it. ⁶ She opened it and looked inside, and there in front of her was a crying baby boy! Moved with pity, she said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.” ⁷ At this point, his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find you one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter answered, “Yes, go.” So the girl went and called the baby’s own mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will pay you for doing it.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰ Then, when the child had grown some, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter; and she began to raise him as her son. She called him Moshe [pull out], explaining, “Because I pulled him out of the water.”

(iii) ¹¹ One day, when Moshe was a grown man, he went out to visit his kinsmen; and he watched them struggling at forced labor. He saw an Egyptian strike a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen. ¹² He looked this way and that; and when he saw that no one was around, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. ¹³ The next day, he went out and saw two Hebrew men fighting with each other. To the one in the wrong he said, “Why are you hitting your companion?” ¹⁴ He retorted, “Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian?” Moshe became frightened. “Clearly,” he thought, “the matter has become known.” ¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of it, he tried to have Moshe put to death. But Moshe fled from Pharaoh to live in the land of Midyan.

One day, as he was sitting by a well, ¹⁶ the seven daughters of the priest of Midyan came to draw water. They had filled the troughs to water their father’s sheep, ¹⁷ when the shepherds came and tried to drive them away. But Moshe got up and defended them; then he watered their sheep. ¹⁸ When they came to Re‘u’el their father, he said, “How come you’re back so soon today?” ¹⁹ They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds; more than that, he drew water for us and watered the sheep.” ²⁰ He asked his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man there? Invite him to have something to eat.”

²¹ Moshe was glad to stay on with the man, and he gave Moshe his daughter Tzipporah in marriage. ²² She gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom [foreigner there], for he said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

²³ Sometime during those many years the king of Egypt died, but the people of Isra’el still groaned under the yoke of slavery, and they cried out, and their cry for rescue from slavery came up to ELOHIM. ²⁴ ELOHIM heard their groaning, and ELOHIM remembered his covenant with Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov. ²⁵ ELOHIM saw the people of Isra’el, and ELOHIM acknowledged them.

Sh'mot/Exodus 3

¹ (iv) Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of ELOHIM, to Horev. ² The angel of יְהוַה appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. ³ Moshe said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.” ⁴ When יְהוַה saw that he had gone over to see, ELOHIM called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moshe! Moshe!” He answered, “Here I am.” ⁵ He said, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. ⁶ I am the ELOHIM of your father,” he continued, “the ELOHIM of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the ELOHIM of Ya‘akov.” Moshe covered his face, because he was afraid to look at ELOHIM. ⁷ יְהוַה said, “I have seen how my people are being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slave-masters, because I know their pain. ⁸ I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that country to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Kena‘ani, Hitti, Emori, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi. ⁹ Yes, the cry of the people of Isra’el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Therefore, now, come; and I will send you to Pharaoh; so that you can lead my people, the descendants of Isra’el, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ Moshe said to ELOHIM, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra’el out of Egypt?” ¹² He replied, “I will surely be with you. Your sign that I have sent you will be that when you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

¹³ Moshe said to ELOHIM, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, ‘The ELOHIM of your ancestors has sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” ¹⁴ ELOHIM said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ ELOHIM said further to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [YHWH], the ELOHEI your fathers, the ELOHEI Avraham, the ELOHEI Yitz’chak and the ELOHEI Ya‘akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation. (v) ¹⁶ Go, gather the leaders of Isra’el together, and say to them, יְהוַה, the ELOHEI your fathers, the ELOHEI Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, has appeared to me and said, “I have been paying close attention to you and have seen what is being done to you in Egypt; ¹⁷ and I have said that I will lead you up out of the misery of Egypt to the land of the Kena‘ani, Hitti, Emori, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ ¹⁸ They will heed what you say. Then you will come, you and the leaders of Isra’el, before the king of Egypt; and you will tell him, ' יְהוַה, the ELOHEI the Hebrews, has met with us. Now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert; so that we can sacrifice to יְהוַה our ELOHIM.’ ¹⁹ I know that the king of Egypt will not let you leave unless he is forced to do so. ²⁰ But I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do there. After that, he will let you go. ²¹ Moreover, I will make the Egyptians so well-disposed toward this people that when you go, you won’t go empty-handed. ²² Rather, all the women will ask their neighbors and house guests for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, with which you will dress your own sons and daughters. In this way you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Sh'emot/Exodus 4

¹ Moshe replied, “But I’m certain they won’t believe me, and they won’t listen to what I say, because they’ll say, יְהוַה did not appear to you.’” ² יְהוַה answered him, “What is that in your hand?” and he said, “A staff.” ³ He said, “Throw it on the ground!” and he threw it on the ground. It turned into a snake, and Moshe recoiled from it. ⁴ Then יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Put your hand out and take it by the tail.” He reached out with his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand. ⁵ “This is so that they will believe that יְהוַה, the God of their fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov, has appeared to you!”

⁶ Furthermore יְהוַה said to him, “Now put your hand inside your coat.” He put his hand in his coat; and when he took it out his hand was leprous, as white as snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Now put your hand back in your coat.” He put his hand back in his coat; and when he took it out, it was as healthy as the rest of his body. ⁸ “If they won’t believe you or heed the evidence of the first sign, they will be convinced by the second. ⁹ But if they aren’t persuaded even by both these signs and still won’t listen to what you say, then take some water from the river, and pour it on the ground. The water you take from the river will turn into blood on the dry land.”

¹⁰ Moshe said to יְהוַה, “Oh, יְהוַה, I’m a terrible speaker. I always have been, and I’m no better now, even after you’ve spoken to your servant! My words come slowly, my tongue moves slowly.” ¹¹ יְהוַה answered him, “Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes a person dumb or deaf, keen-sighted or blind? Isn’t it I, יְהוַה? ¹² Now, therefore, go; and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what to say.”

¹³ But he replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else — anyone you want!” ¹⁴ At this, , יְהוַה’s anger blazed up against Moshe; he said, “Don’t you have a brother, Aharon the Levi? I know that he’s a good speaker. In fact, here he is now, coming out to meet you; and he’ll be happy to see you. ¹⁵ You will speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and his, teaching you both what to do. ¹⁶ Thus he will be your spokesman to the people, in effect; for you, he will be a mouth; and for him, you will be like ELOHIM. ¹⁷ Now take this staff in your hand, because you need it to perform the signs.”

(vi) ¹⁸ Moshe left, returned to Yitro his father-in-law and said to him, “I beg you to let me go and return to my kinsmen in Egypt, to see if they are still alive.” Yitro said to Moshe, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ , יְהוַה said to Moshe in Midyan, “Go on back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.” ²⁰ So Moshe took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and started out for Egypt. Moshe took God’s staff in his hand. ²¹ , יְהוַה said to Moshe, “When you get back to Egypt, make sure that you do before Pharaoh every one of the wonders I have enabled you to do. Nevertheless, I am going to make him hardhearted, and he will refuse to let the people go. ²² Then you are to tell Pharaoh:  ' יְהוַה says, “Isra’el is my firstborn son. ²³ I have told you to let my son go in order to worship me, but you have refused to let him go. Well, then, I will kill your firstborn son!”’”

²⁴ At a lodging-place on the way, , יְהוַה met Moshe and would have killed him, ²⁵ had not Tzipporah taken a flintstone and cut off the foreskin of her son. She threw it at his feet, saying, “What a bloody bridegroom you are for me!” ²⁶ But then, ELOHIM let Moshe be. She added, “A bloody bridegroom because of the circumcision!”

²⁷ , יְהוַה said to Aharon, “Go into the desert to meet Moshe.” He went, met him at the mountain of ELOHIM and kissed him. ²⁸ Moshe told him everything יְהוַה had said in sending him, including all the signs he had ordered him to perform. ²⁹ Then Moshe and Aharon went and gathered together all the leaders of the people of Isra’el. ³⁰ Aharon said everything יְהוַה had told Moshe, who then performed the signs for the people to see. ³¹ The people believed; when they heard that יְהוַה had remembered the people of Isra’el and seen how they were oppressed, they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Sh'emot/Exodus 5

¹ (vii) After that, Moshe and Aharon came and said to Pharaoh, “Here is what יְהוַה, the ELOHEI Isra’el, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they can celebrate a festival in the desert to honor me.’” ² But Pharaoh replied, “Who is יְהוַה, that I should obey when he says to let Isra’el go? I don’t know יְהוַה, and I also won’t let Isra’el go.” ³ They said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days’ journey into the desert, so that we can sacrifice to יְהוַה ELOHAI. Otherwise, he may strike us with a plague or with the sword.” ⁴ The king of Egypt answered them, “Moshe and Aharon, what do you mean by taking the people away from their work? Get back to your labor! ⁵ Look!” Pharaoh added, “the population of the land has grown, yet you are trying to have them stop working!”

⁶ That same day Pharaoh ordered the slave-masters and the people’s foremen, ⁷ “You are no longer to provide straw for the bricks the people are making, as you did before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But you will require them to produce the same quantity of bricks as before, don’t reduce it, because they’re lazing around. This is why they’re crying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Give these people harder work to do. That will keep them too busy to pay attention to speeches full of lies.”

¹⁰ The people’s slave-masters went out, their foremen too, and said to the people, “Here is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will no longer give you straw. ¹¹ You go, yourselves, and get straw wherever you can find it. But your output is not to be reduced.’” ¹² So the people were dispersed throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The slave-masters kept pressing them. “Keep working! Make your daily quota, just as when straw was provided.” ¹⁴ The foremen of the people of Isra’el, whom Pharaoh’s slave-masters had appointed to be over them, were flogged and asked, “Why haven’t you fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday and today, as you did formerly?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the people of Isra’el came and complained to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? ¹⁶ No straw is given to your servants, yet they keep telling us to make bricks. And now your servants are being flogged, but the fault lies with your own people.” ¹⁷ “Lazy!” he retorted, “You’re just lazy! That’s why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to יְהוַה.’ ¹⁸ Get going now, and get back to work! No straw will be given to you, and you will still deliver the full amount of bricks.” ¹⁹ When they said, “You are not to reduce your daily production quota of bricks,” the foremen of the people of Isra’el could see that they were in deep trouble.

²⁰ As they were leaving Pharaoh, they encountered Moshe and Aharon standing by the road; ²¹ and they said to them, “May יְהוַה look at you and judge accordingly, because you have made us utterly abhorrent in the view of Pharaoh and his servants, and you have put a sword in their hands to kill us!” (Maftir) ²² Moshe returned to יְהוַה and said, “יְהוַה, why have you treated this people so terribly? What has been the value of sending me? ²³ For ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has dealt terribly with this people! And you haven’t rescued your people at all!”

Sh'emot/Exodus 6

¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Now you will see what I am going to do to Pharaoh. With a mighty hand he will send them off; with force he will drive them from the land!”

Haftarah Sh’mot: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 27:6–28:13; 29:22–23 (A); Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 1:1–2:3 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Sh’mot: Mattityahu (Matthew) 22:23–33; 41–46; Mark 12:18–27; 35–37; Luke 20:27–44; Acts 3:12–15; 5:27–32; 7:17–36; 22:12–16; 24:14–16; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:23–26

Parashah 14: Va’era (I appeared) 6:2–9:35

² God spoke to Moshe; he said to him, “I am יְהוַה. ³ I appeared to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name, יְהוַה. ⁴ Also with them I established my covenant to give them the land of Kena‘an, the land where they wandered about and lived as foreigners. ⁵ Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Isra’el, whom the Egyptians are keeping in slavery; and I have remembered my covenant.

⁶ “Therefore, say to the people of Isra’el: ‘I am יְהוַה. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians, rescue you from their oppression, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ I will take you as my people, and I will be your ELOHIM. Then you will know that I am יְהוַה your ELOHIM, who freed you from the forced labor of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov — I will give it to you as your inheritance. I am יְהוַה.’”

⁹ Moshe said this to the people of Isra’el. But they wouldn’t listen to him, because they were so discouraged, and their slavery was so cruel.

¹⁰ יְהוַה said to Moshe, ¹¹ “Go in; and tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Isra’el leave his land.” ¹² Moshe said to יְהוַה, “Look, the people of Isra’el haven’t listened to me; so how will Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?” ¹³ But יְהוַה spoke to Moshe and Aharon and gave them orders concerning both the people of Isra’el and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt.

(ii) ¹⁴ These were the heads of their families: the sons of Re’uven the firstborn of Isra’el were Hanokh, Pallu, Hetzron and Karmi. These were the families of Re’uven.

¹⁵ The sons of Shim‘on were Y’mu’el, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin, Tzochar and Sha’ul the son of a Kena‘ani woman. These were the families of Shim‘on.

¹⁶ These are the names of the sons of Levi with their descendants: Gershon, K’hat and M’rari. Levi lived to be 137 years old. ¹⁷ The sons of Gershon were Livni and Shim‘i, with their families. ¹⁸ The sons of K’hat were ‘Amram, Yitz’har, Hevron and ‘Uzi’el. K’hat lived to be 133 years old. ¹⁹ The sons of M’rari were Machli and Mushi. These were the families of Levi with their descendants.

²⁰ ‘Amram married Yokheved his father’s sister, and she bore him Aharon and Moshe. ‘Amram lived to be 137 years old. ²¹ The sons of Yitz’har were Korach, Nefeg and Zikhri. ²² The sons of ‘Uzi’el were Misha’el, Eltzafan and Sitri. ²³ Aharon married Elisheva daughter of ‘Amminadav and sister of Nachshon, and she bore him Nadav, Avihu, El‘azar and Itamar. ²⁴ The sons of Korach were Asir, Elkanah and Avi’asaf. These were the Korchi families. ²⁵ El‘azar the son of Aharon married one of the daughters of Puti’el, and she bore him Pinchas. These were the heads of the families of Levi, family by family.

²⁶ These are the Aharon and Moshe to whom יְהוַה said, “Bring the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt, division by division,” ²⁷ and who told Pharaoh king of Egypt, to let the people of Isra’el leave Egypt. These are the same Moshe and Aharon.

²⁸ On the day when יְהוַה spoke to Moshe in the land of Egypt, (iii) ²⁹ he said, “I am יְהוַה. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything I say to you.”

³⁰ Moshe answered יְהוַה, “Look, I’m such a poor speaker that Pharaoh won’t listen to me.”

Sh'emot/Exodus 7

¹  But יְהוַה said to Moshe, “I have put you in the place of ELOHIM to Pharaoh, and Aharon your brother will be your prophet. ² You are to say everything I order you, and Aharon your brother is to speak to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people of Isra’el leave his land. ³ But I will make him hardhearted. Even though I will increase my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, ⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my armies, my people the sons of Isra’el, out of the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. ⁵ Then, when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the people of Isra’el out from among them, the Egyptians will know that I am יְהוַה.”

⁶ Moshe and Aharon did exactly what יְהוַה ordered them to do. ⁷ Moshe was eighty years old and Aharon eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

(iv) ⁸ יְהוַה said to Moshe and Aharon, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ tell Aharon to take his staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, so that it can become a snake.” ¹⁰ Moshe and Aharon went in to Pharaoh and did this, as יְהוַה had ordered — Aharon threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a snake. ¹¹ But Pharaoh in turn called for the sages and sorcerers; and they too, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing, making use of their secret arts. ¹² Each one threw his staff down, and they turned into snakes. But Aharon’s staff swallowed up theirs. ¹³ Nevertheless, Pharaoh was made hardhearted; and he didn’t listen to them, as יְהוַה had said would happen.

יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Pharaoh is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water. Stand on the riverbank to confront him, take in your hand the staff which was turned into a snake, ¹⁶ and say to him, ‘יְהוַה, the ELOHIM of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say: “Let my people go, so that they can worship me in the desert.” But until now you haven’t listened; ¹⁷ so יְהוַה says, “This will let you know that I am יְהוַה”: I will take the staff in my hand and strike the water in the river, and it will be turned into blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the river will die, the river will stink and the Egyptians won’t want to drink water from the river.’”

¹⁹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Say to Aharon, ‘Take your staff, reach out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, canals, ponds and all their reservoirs, so that they can turn into blood. There will be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars.’” ²⁰ Moshe and Aharon did exactly what יְהוַה had ordered. He raised the staff and, in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, struck the water in the river; and all the water in the river was turned into blood. ²¹ The fish in the river died, and the river stank so badly that the Egyptians couldn’t drink its water. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

²² But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts, so that Pharaoh was made hardhearted and didn’t listen to them, as יְהוַה had said would happen. ²³ Pharaoh just turned and went back to his palace, without taking any of this to heart. ²⁴ All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink, because they couldn’t drink the river water.

²⁵ Seven days after יְהוַה had struck the river, ^{26 (8:1)} יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Here is what יְהוַה says: “Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ^{27 (8:2)} If you refuse to let them go, I will strike all your territory with frogs. ^{28 (8:3)} The river will swarm with frogs. They will go up, enter your palace and go into your bedroom, onto your bed. They will enter the houses of your servants and your people and go into your ovens and kneading bowls. ^{29 (8:4)} The frogs will climb all over you, your people and your servants.”’”

Sh'emot/Exodus 8

¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Say to Aharon, ‘Reach out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals and ponds; and cause frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’” ² Aharon put out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ³ But the magicians did the same with their secret arts and brought up frogs onto the land of Egypt.

⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, “Intercede with יְהוַה to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let the people go and sacrifice to יְהוַה.” ^{5 (9)} Moshe said to Pharaoh, “Not only that, but you can have the honor of naming the time when I will pray for you, your servants and your people to be rid of the frogs, both yourselves and your homes, and that they stay only in the river.” ^{6 (10)} He answered, “Tomorrow.” Moshe said, “It will be as you have said, and from this you will learn that יְהוַה our God has no equal. (v) ^{7 (11)} The frogs will leave you and your homes, also your servants and your people; they will stay in the river only.” ^{8 (12)} Moshe and Aharon left Pharaoh’s presence, and Moshe cried to יְהוַה about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. ⁹ יְהוַה did as Moshe had asked — the frogs died in the houses, courtyards and fields; ¹⁰ they gathered them in heaps till the land stank. ¹¹ But when Pharaoh saw that he had been given some relief, he made himself hardhearted and would not listen to them, just as יְהוַה had said would happen.

¹² יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Say to Aharon: ‘Reach out with your staff and strike the dust on the ground; it will become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’” ¹³ They did it — Aharon reached out his hand with his staff and struck the dust on the ground, and there were lice on people and animals; all the dust on the ground became lice throughout the whole land of Egypt. ¹⁴ The magicians tried with their secret arts to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on people and animals. ¹⁵ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh was made hardhearted, so that he didn’t listen to them, just as יְהוַה had said would happen.

¹⁶  יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh when he goes out to the water and say to him, ‘Here is what יְהוַה says: “Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ^{17 (21)} Otherwise, if you won’t let my people go, I will send swarms of insects on you, your servants and your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of insects, and likewise the ground they stand on. ¹⁸  But I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live — no swarms of insects will be there — so that you can realize that I am יְהוַה, right here in the land. (vi) ^{19 (23)} Yes, I will distinguish between my people and your people, and this sign will happen by tomorrow.”’” ^{20 (24)} יְהוַה did it: terrible swarms of insects went into Pharaoh’s palace and into all his servants’ houses — the insects ruined the entire land of Egypt.

²¹  Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, “Go, and sacrifice to your God here in the land.” ^{22 (26)} But Moshe replied, “It would be inappropriate for us to do that, because the animal we sacrifice to יְהוַה ELOHEINU is an abomination to the Egyptians. Won’t the Egyptians stone us to death if before their very eyes we sacrifice what they consider an abomination? ²³ No, we will go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to יְהוַה ELOHEINU, as he has ordered us to do.” ^{24 (28)} Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, so that you can sacrifice to יְהוַה ELOHEIKIM in the desert. Only you are not to go very far away. Intercede on my behalf.” ^{25 (29)} Moshe said, “All right, I am going away from you, and I will intercede with יְהוַה; so that tomorrow, the swarms of insects will leave Pharaoh, his servants and his people. Just make sure that Pharaoh stops playing games with the people by preventing them from going and sacrificing to יְהוַה.”

^{26 (30)} Moshe left Pharaoh and interceded with יְהוַה, ²⁷  and יְהוַה did what Moshe had asked: he removed the swarms of insects from Pharaoh, his servants and his people — not one remained. ²⁸ But this time, too, Pharaoh made himself stubborn and didn’t let the people go.

Sh'emot/Exodus 9

¹ Then יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘Here is what יְהוַה, the ELOHIM of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ² If you refuse to let them go and persist in holding on to them, ³ the hand of יְהוַה is on your livestock in the field — on the horses, donkeys, camels, cattle and flocks — and will make them suffer a devastating illness. ⁴ But יְהוַה will distinguish between Egypt’s and Isra’el’s livestock — nothing belonging to the people of Isra’el will die.”’” ⁵ יְהוַה determined the exact time by saying, “Tomorrow יְהוַה will do this in the land.” ⁶ The following day, יְהוַה did it — all the livestock of Egypt died; but not one of the animals belonging to the people of Isra’el died. ⁷ Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the people of Isra’el had died. Nevertheless, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he didn’t let the people go.

⁸ יְהוַה said to Moshe and Aharon, “Take handfuls of ashes from a kiln, and let Moshe throw them in the air before Pharaoh’s eyes. ⁹ They will turn into fine dust over all the land of Egypt and become infected sores on men and animals throughout Egypt.” ¹⁰ So they took ashes from a kiln, stood in front of Pharaoh and threw them in the air; and they became infected sores on men and animals. ¹¹ The magicians couldn’t even stand in Moshe’s presence because of the sores, which were on them as well as on the other Egyptians. ¹² But יְהוַה made Pharaoh hardhearted, so that he didn’t listen to them — just as יְהוַה had said to Moshe.

¹³ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Here is what יְהוַה says: “Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ¹⁴ For this time, I will inflict my plagues on you, yourself, and on your officials and your people; so that you will realize that I am without equal in all the earth. ¹⁵ By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such severe plagues that you would have been wiped off the earth. ¹⁶ But it is for this very reason that I have kept you alive — to show you my power, and so that my name may resound throughout the whole earth. (vii) ¹⁷ Since you are still setting yourself up against my people and not letting them go, ¹⁸ tomorrow, about this time, I will cause a hailstorm so heavy that Egypt has had nothing like it from the day it was founded until now. ¹⁹ Therefore, send and hurry to bring indoors all your livestock and everything else you have in the field. For hail will fall on every human being and animal left in the field that hasn’t been brought home, and they will die.”’”

²⁰ Whoever among Pharaoh’s servants feared what יְהוַה had said had his slaves and livestock escape into the houses; ²¹ but those who had no regard for what יְהוַה had said left their slaves and livestock in the field.

²² יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand toward the sky, so that there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, falling on people, animals and everything growing in the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” ²³ Moshe reached out with his staff toward the sky, and יְהוַה sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. יְהוַה caused it to hail on the land of Egypt — ²⁴ it hailed, and fire flashed up with the hail; it was terrible, worse than any hailstorm in all of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ Throughout all the land of Egypt, the hail struck everything in the field, people and animals; and the hail struck every plant growing in the field and broke every tree there. ²⁶ But in the land of Goshen, where the people of Isra’el were, there was no hail.

²⁷ Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said to them, “This time I have sinned: י יְהוַה is in the right; I and my people are in the wrong. ²⁸ Intercede with י יְהוַה — we can’t take any more of this terrible thunder and hail; and I will let you go, you will stay no longer.” ²⁹ Moshe said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to יְהוַה; the thunder will end, and there won’t be any more hail — so that you can know that the earth belongs to יְהוַה. ³⁰ But you and your servants, I know you still won’t fear יְהוַה, ELOHIM.” ³¹ The flax and barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe and the flax in bud. ³² But the wheat and buckwheat were not ruined, because they come up later. (Maftir) ³³ Moshe went out of the city, away from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to יְהוַה. The thunder and hail ended, and the rain stopped pouring down on the earth. ³⁴ When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had ended, he sinned still more by making himself hardhearted, he and his servants. ³⁵ Pharaoh was made hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Isra’el go, just as יְהוַה had said through Moshe.

Haftarah Va’era: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 28:25–29:21

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Va’era: Romans 9:14–17; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1

Sh'mot/Exodus 10

Parashah 15: Bo (Go) 10:1–13:16

¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants hardhearted, so that I can demonstrate these signs of mine among them, ² so that you can tell your son and grandson about what I did to Egypt and about my signs that I demonstrated among them, and so that you will all know that I am יְהוַה.”
³ Moshe and Aharon went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Here is what יְהוַה, ELOHIM of the Hebrews, says: ‘How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ⁴ Otherwise, if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. ⁵ One won’t be able to see the ground, so completely will the locusts cover it. They will eat anything you still have that escaped the hail, including every tree you have growing in the field. ⁶ They will fill your houses and those of your servants and of all the Egyptians. It will be like nothing your fathers or their fathers have ever seen since the day they were born until today.’” Then he turned his back and left.

⁷ Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How much longer must this fellow be a snare for us? Let the people go and worship יְהוַה ELOHEIHEM. Don’t you understand yet that Egypt is being destroyed?” ⁸ So Moshe and Aharon were brought to Pharaoh again, and he said to them, “Go, worship יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM. But who exactly is going?” ⁹ Moshe answered, “We will go with our young and our old, our sons and our daughters; and we will go with our flocks and herds; for we must celebrate a feast to יְהוַה.” ¹⁰ Pharaoh said to them, “יְהוַה certainly will be with you if I ever let you go with your children! It’s clear that you are up to no good. ¹¹ Nothing doing! Just the men among you may go and worship יְהוַה. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” And they were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.

(ii) ¹² יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that locusts will invade the land and eat every plant that the hail has left.” ¹³ Moshe reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and יְהוַה caused an east wind to blow on the land all day and all night; and in the morning the east wind brought the locusts. ¹⁴ The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled throughout Egypt’s territory. It was an invasion more severe than there had ever been before or will ever be again. ¹⁵ They completely covered the ground, so that the ground looked black. They ate every plant growing from the ground and all the fruit of the trees left by the hail. Not one green thing remained, not a tree and not a plant in the field, in all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Pharaoh hurried to summon Moshe and Aharon and said, “I have sinned against יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM and against you. ¹⁷ Now, therefore, please forgive my sin just this once; and intercede with יְהוַה your ELOHIM, so that he will at least take away from me this deadly plague!” ¹⁸ He went out from Pharaoh and interceded with יְהוַה. ¹⁹ יְהוַה reversed the wind and made it blow very strongly from the west. It took up the locusts and drove them into the Yam Suf; not one locust remained on Egyptian soil. ²⁰ But יְהוַה made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Yisra’el go.

²¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand toward the sky, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness so thick it can be felt!” ²² Moshe reached out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. ²³ People couldn’t see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the people of Isra’el had light in their homes.

(iii) ²⁴ Pharaoh summoned Moshe and said, “Go, worship יְהוַה; only leave your flocks and herds behind — your children may go with you.” ²⁵ Moshe answered, “You must also see to it that we have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we can sacrifice to יְהוַה ELOHAI. ²⁶ Our livestock will also go with us — not a hoof will be left behind — because we must choose some of them to worship יְהוַה our ELOHIM, and we don’t know which ones we will need to worship יְהוַה until we get there.” ²⁷ But יְהוַה made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he would not let them go. ²⁸ Pharaoh said to them, “Get away from me! And you had better not see my face again, because the day you see my face, you will die!” ²⁹ Moshe answered, “Well spoken! I will see your face no more.”

Exodus 11-20
Sh'mot/Exodus 11

¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “I’m going to bring still one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt, and after that he will let you leave here. When he does let you go, he will throw you out completely! ² Now tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman her neighbor for gold and silver jewelry.” ³ יְהוַה made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people. Moreover, Moshe was regarded by Pharaoh’s servants and the people as a very great man in the land of Egypt.

(iv) ⁴ Moshe said, “Here is what יְהוַה says: ‘About midnight I will go out into Egypt, ⁵ and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the slave-girl at the hand-mill, and all the firstborn of the livestock. ⁶ There will be a horrendous wailing throughout all the land of Egypt — there has never been another like it, and there never will be again. ⁷ But not even a dog’s growl will be heard against any of the people of Isra’el, neither against people nor against animals. In this way you will realize that יְהוַה distinguishes between Egyptians and Isra’el. ⁸ All your servants will come down to me, prostrate themselves before me and say, “Get out! — you and all the people who follow you!” and after that, I will go out!’ ” And he went out from Pharaoh in the heat of anger. ⁹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that still more of my wonders will be shown in the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰ Moshe and Aharon did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but יְהוַה had made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Isra’el leave his land.

Sh'mot/Exodus 12

¹ יְהוַה spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt; he said,
² “You are to begin your calendar with this month; it will be the first month of the year for you. ³ Speak to all the assembly of Isra’el and say, ‘On the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb or kid for his family, one per household — ⁴ except that if the household is too small for a whole lamb or kid, then he and his next-door neighbor should share one, dividing it in proportion to the number of people eating it. ⁵ Your animal must be without defect, a male in its first year, and you may choose it from either the sheep or the goats.

⁶ “‘You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, and then the entire assembly of the community of Isra’el will slaughter it at dusk. ⁷ They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame at the entrance of the house in which they eat it. ⁸ That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it with matzah and maror. ⁹ Don’t eat it raw or boiled, but roasted in the fire, with its head, the lower parts of its legs and its inner organs. ¹⁰ Let nothing of it remain till morning; if any of it does remain, burn it up completely.

¹¹ “‘Here is how you are to eat it: with your belt fastened, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand; and you are to eat it hurriedly. It is יְהוַה’s Pesach [Passover]. ¹² For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am יְהוַה. ¹³ The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over you — when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you.

¹⁴ “‘This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to יְהוַה; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation.

¹⁵ “‘For seven days you are to eat matzah — on the first day remove the leaven from your houses. For whoever eats hametz [leavened bread] from the first to the seventh day is to be cut off from Isra’el. ¹⁶ On the first and seventh days, you are to have an assembly set aside for God. On these days no work is to be done, except what each must do to prepare his food; you may do only that. ¹⁷ You are to observe the festival of matzah, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you are to observe this day from generation to generation by a perpetual regulation. ¹⁸ From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day, you are to eat matzah. ¹⁹ During those seven days, no leaven is to be found in your houses. Whoever eats food with hametz in it is to be cut off from the community of Isra’el — it doesn’t matter whether he is a foreigner or a citizen of the land. ²⁰ Eat nothing with hametz in it. Wherever you live, eat matzah.’”

(v) ²¹ Then Moshe called for all the leaders of Isra’el and said, “Select and take lambs for your families, and slaughter the Pesach lamb. ²² Take a bunch of hyssop leaves and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame. Then, none of you is to go out the door of his house until morning. ²³ For יְהוַה will pass through to kill the Egyptians; but when he sees the blood on the top and on the two sides, יְהוַה will pass over the door and will not allow the Destroyer to enter your houses and kill you. ²⁴ You are to observe this as a law, you and your descendants forever.

²⁵ “When you come to the land which יְהוַה will give you, as he has promised, you are to observe this ceremony. ²⁶ When your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this ceremony?’ ²⁷ say, ‘It is the sacrifice of י יְהוַהs Pesach [Passover], because [יְהוַה] passed over the houses of the people of Isra’el in Egypt, when he killed the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” The people of Isra’el bowed their heads and worshipped. ²⁸ Then the people of Isra’el went and did as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe and Aharon — that is what they did.

(vi) ²⁹ At midnight יְהוַה killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. ³⁰ Pharaoh got up in the night, he, all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was horrendous wailing in Egypt; for there wasn’t a single house without someone dead in it. ³¹ He summoned Moshe and Aharon by night and said, “Up and leave my people, both you and the people of Isra’el; and go, serve יְהוַה as you said. ³² Take both your flocks and your herds, as you said; and get out of here! But bless me, too.” ³³ The Egyptians pressed to send the people out of the land quickly, because they said, “Otherwise we’ll all be dead!”

³⁴ The people took their dough before it had become leavened and wrapped their kneading bowls in their clothes on their shoulders. ³⁵ The people of Isra’el had done what Moshe had said — they had asked the Egyptians to give them silver and gold jewelry and clothing; ³⁶ and יְהוַה had made the Egyptians so favorably disposed toward the people that they had let them have whatever they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷ The people of Isra’el traveled from Ra‘amses to Sukkot, some six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting children. ³⁸ A mixed crowd also went up with them, as well as livestock in large numbers, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ They baked matzah loaves from the dough they had brought out of Egypt, since it was unleavened; because they had been driven out of Egypt without time to prepare supplies for themselves.

⁴⁰ The time the people of Isra’el lived in Egypt was 430 years. ⁴¹ At the end of 430 years to the day, all the divisions of יְהוַה left the land of Egypt. ⁴² This was a night when יְהוַה kept vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt, and this same night continues to be a night when יְהוַה keeps vigil for all the people of Isra’el through all their generations.

⁴³ יְהוַה said to Moshe and Aharon, “This is the regulation for the Pesach lamb: no foreigner is to eat it. ⁴⁴ But if anyone has a slave he bought for money, when you have circumcised him, he may eat it. ⁴⁵ Neither a traveler nor a hired servant may eat it. ⁴⁶ It is to be eaten in one house. You are not to take any of the meat outside the house, and you are not to break any of its bones. ⁴⁷ The whole community of Isra’el is to keep it. ⁴⁸ If a foreigner staying with you wants to observe יְהוַה’s Pesach, all his males must be circumcised. Then he may take part and observe it; he will be like a citizen of the land. But no uncircumcised person is to eat it. ⁴⁹ The same teaching is to apply equally to the citizen and to the foreigner living among you.”

⁵⁰ All the people of Isra’el did just as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe and Aharon. ⁵¹ On that very day, יְהוַה brought the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.

Sh'mot/Exodus 13

¹ (vii) יְהוַה said to Moshe, ² “Set aside for me all the firstborn. Whatever is first from the womb among the people of Isra’el, both of humans and of animals, belongs to me.” ³ Moshe said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you left Egypt, the abode of slavery; because יְהוַה, by the strength of his hand, has brought you out of this place. Do not eat hametz. ⁴ You are leaving today, in the month of Aviv. ⁵ When יְהוַה brings you into the land of the Kena‘ani, Hitti, Emori, Hivi and Y’vusi, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you are to observe this ceremony in this month. ⁶ For seven days you are to eat matzah, and the seventh day is to be a festival for יְהוַה. ⁷ Matzah is to be eaten throughout the seven days; neither hametz nor leavening agents are to be seen with you throughout your territory. ⁸ On that day you are to tell your son, ‘It is because of what יְהוַה did for me when I left Egypt.’

⁹ “Moreover, it will serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, so that יְהוַה’s Torah may be on your lips; because with a strong hand יְהוַה brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ Therefore you are to observe this regulation at its proper time, year after year. ¹¹ When יְהוַה brings you into the land of the Kena‘ani, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and gives it to you, ¹² you are to set apart for יְהוַה everything that is first from the womb. Every firstborn male animal will belong to יְהוַה. ¹³ Every firstborn from a donkey, you are to redeem with a lamb; but if you choose not to redeem it, you must break its neck. But from people, you are to redeem every firstborn son. (Maftir) ¹⁴ When, at some future time, your son asks you, ‘What is this?’ then say to him, ‘With a strong hand יְהוַה brought us out of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh was unwilling to let us go, יְהוַה killed all the firstborn males in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of animals. This is why I sacrifice to יְהוַה any male that is first from the womb of an animal, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ This will serve as a sign on your hand and at the front of a headband around your forehead that with a strong hand יְהוַה brought us out of Egypt.”

Haftarah Bo: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 46:13–28

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Bo: Luke 2:22–24; Yochanan (John) 19:31–37; Acts 13:16 –17; Revelation 8:6–9:12; 16:1–21

Parashah 16: B’shallach (After he had let go) 13:17–17:16

¹⁷ After Pharaoh had let the people go, ELOHIM did not guide them to the highway that goes through the land of the P’lishtim, because it was close by — ELOHIM thought that the people, upon seeing war, might change their minds and return to Egypt. ¹⁸ Rather, ELOHIM led the people by a roundabout route, through the desert by the Yam Suf. The people of Isra’el went up from the land of Egypt fully armed.

¹⁹ Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him, for Yosef had made the people of Isra’el swear an oath when he said, “ELOHIM will certainly remember you; and you are to carry my bones up with you, away from here.”

²⁰ They traveled from Sukkot and set up camp in Etam, at the edge of the desert. ²¹ יְהוַה went ahead of them in a column of cloud during the daytime to lead them on their way, and at night in a column of fire to give them light; thus they could travel both by day and by night. ²² Neither the column of cloud by day nor the column of fire at night went away from in front of the people.

Sh'mot/Exodus 14

¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, ² “Tell the people of Isra’el to turn around and set up camp in front of Pi-Hachirot, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Ba‘al-Tz’fon; camp opposite it, by the sea. ³ Then Pharaoh will say that the people of Isra’el are wandering aimlessly in the countryside, the desert has closed in on them. ⁴ I will make Pharaoh so hardhearted that he will pursue them; thus I will win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will realize at last that I am יְהוַה.” The people did as ordered.

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people. They said, “What have we done, letting Isra’el stop being our slaves?” ⁶ So he prepared his chariots and took his people with him — ⁷ he took 600 first-quality chariots, as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, along with their commanders. ⁸ יְהוַה made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he pursued the people of Isra’el, as they left boldly. (ii) ⁹ The Egyptians went after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, with his cavalry and army, and overtook them as they were encamped by the sea, by Pi-Hachirot, in front of Ba‘al-Tz’fon. ¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the people of Isra’el looked up and saw the Egyptians right there, coming after them. In great fear the people of Isra’el cried out to יְהוַה ¹¹ and said to Moshe, “Was it because there weren’t enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out to die in the desert? Why have you done this to us, bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Didn’t we tell you in Egypt to let us alone, we’ll just go on being slaves for the Egyptians? It would be better for us to be the Egyptians’ slaves than to die in the desert!” ¹³ Moshe answered the people, “Stop being so fearful! Remain steady, and you will see how יְהוַה is going to save you. He will do it today — today you have seen the Egyptians, but you will never see them again! ¹⁴ יְהוַה will do battle for you. Just calm yourselves down!”

(A: iii) ¹⁵ יְהוַה asked Moshe, “Why are you crying to me? Tell the people of Isra’el to go forward! ¹⁶ Lift your staff, reach out with your hand over the sea, and divide it in two. The people of Isra’el will advance into the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ As for me, I will make the Egyptians hardhearted; and they will march in after them; thus I will win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, chariots and cavalry. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians will realize that I am יְהוַה, when I have won myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, his chariots and his cavalry.”

¹⁹ Next, the angel of ELOHIM, who was going ahead of the camp of Isra’el, moved away and went behind them; and the column of cloud moved away from in front of them and stood behind them. ²⁰ It stationed itself between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Isra’el — there was cloud and darkness here, but light by night there; so that the one did not come near the other all night long.

²¹ Moshe reached his hand out over the sea, and יְהוַה caused the sea to go back before a strong east wind all night. He made the sea become dry land, and its water was divided in two. ²² Then the people of Isra’el went into the sea on the dry ground, with the water walled up for them on their right and on their left.

²³ The Egyptians continued their pursuit, going after them into the sea — all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and cavalry. ²⁴ Just before dawn, יְהוַה looked out on the Egyptian army through the column of fire and cloud and threw them into a panic. ²⁵ He caused the wheels of their chariots to break off, so that they could move only with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “יְהוַה is fighting for Isra’el against the Egyptians! Let’s get away from them!”

(A: iv, S: iii) ²⁶ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Reach your hand out over the sea, and the water will return and cover the Egyptians with their chariots and cavalry.” ²⁷ Moshe reached his hand out over the sea, and by dawn the sea had returned to its former depth. The Egyptians tried to flee, but יְהוַה swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water came back and covered all the chariots and cavalry of Pharaoh’s army who had followed them into the sea — not even one of them was left. ²⁹ But the people of Isra’el walked on dry ground in the sea, with the water walled up for them on their right and on their left.

³⁰ On that day, יְהוַה saved Isra’el from the Egyptians; Isra’el saw the Egyptians dead on the shore. ³¹ When Isra’el saw the mighty deed that יְהוַה had performed against the Egyptians, the people feared יְהוַה, and they believed in יְהוַה and in his servant Moshe.

Sh'mot/Exodus 15

¹ Then Moshe and the people of Isra’el sang this song to יְהוַה:

“I will sing to my , יְהוַה for he is highly exalted:
the horse and its rider he threw in the sea.

² Yah is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
This is my ELOHEI: I will glorify him;
ELOHEI my father: I will exalt him.
³ my father is a warrior;
my father  is his name.

⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he hurled into the sea.
His elite commanders
were drowned in the Yam Suf.
⁵ The deep waters covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.

⁶ Your right hand, O יְהוַה, is sublimely powerful;
your right hand, יְהוַה, shatters the foe.
⁷ By your great majesty you bring down your enemies;
you send out your wrath to consume them like stubble.

⁸ With a blast from your nostrils the waters piled up —
the waters stood up like a wall,
the depths of the sea became firm ground.
⁹ The enemy said, ‘I will pursue and overtake,
divide the spoil and gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
¹⁰ You blew with your wind, the sea covered them,
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹ Who is like you, יְהוַה, among the mighty?
Who is like you, sublime in holiness,
awesome in praises, working wonders?

¹² You reached out with your right hand:
the earth swallowed them.
¹³ In your love, you led the people you redeemed;
in your strength, you guided them to your holy abode.

¹⁴ The peoples have heard, and they tremble;
anguish takes hold of those living in P’leshet;
¹⁵ then the chiefs of Edom are dismayed;
trepidation seizes the heads of Mo’av;
all those living in Kena‘an are melted away.
¹⁶ Terror and dread fall on them;
by the might of your arm they are still as stone
until your people pass over, יְהוַה,
till the people you purchased pass over.

¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain which is your heritage,
the place, יְהוַה, that you made your abode,
the sanctuary, יְהוַה, which your hands established.

¹⁸ יְהוַה will reign forever and ever.

¹⁹ For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots
and with his cavalry into the sea,
but יְהוַה brought the sea waters back upon them,
while the people of Isra’el walked on dry land
in the midst of the sea!”

²⁰ Also Miryam the prophet, sister of Aharon, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing, ²¹ as Miryam sang to them:

“Sing to יְהוַה, for he is highly exalted!
The horse and its rider he threw in the sea!”

²² Moshe led Isra’el onward from the Yam Suf. They went out into the Shur Desert; but after traveling three days in the desert, they had found no water. ²³ They arrived at Marah but couldn’t drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness]. ²⁴ The people grumbled against Moshe and asked, “What are we to drink?” ²⁵ Moshe cried to יְהוַה; and יְהוַה showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good. There יְהוַה made laws and rules of life for them, and there he tested them. ²⁶ He said, “If you will listen intently to the voice of יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am יְהוַה your healer.”

(A: v, S: iv) ²⁷ They came to Eilim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and camped there by the water.

Sh'mot/Exodus 16

¹ They traveled on from Eilim, and the whole community of the people of Isra’el arrived at the Seen Desert, between Eilim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving the land of Egypt. ² There in the desert the whole community of the people of Isra’el grumbled against Moshe and Aharon. ³ The people of Isra’el said to them, “We wish יְהוַה had used his own hand to kill us off in Egypt! There we used to sit around the pots with the meat boiling, and we had as much food as we wanted. But you have taken us out into this desert to let this whole assembly starve to death!”

⁴ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Here, I will cause bread to rain down from heaven for you. The people are to go out and gather a day’s ration every day. By this I will test whether they will observe my Torah or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have brought in, it will turn out to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” ⁶ Moshe and Aharon said to all the people of Isra’el, “This evening, you will realize that it has been יְהוַה who brought you out of Egypt; ⁷ and in the morning, you will see יְהוַה’s glory. For he has listened to your grumblings against יְהוַה — what are we that you should grumble against us?” ⁸ Moshe added, “What I have said will happen when יְהוַה gives you meat to eat this evening and your fill of bread tomorrow morning. יְהוַה has listened to your complaints and grumblings against him — what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against יְהוַה.”

⁹ Moshe said to Aharon, “Say to the whole community of Isra’el, ‘Come close, into the presence of יְהוַה, for he has heard your grumblings.’”
¹⁰ As Aharon spoke to the whole community of the people of Isra’el, they looked toward the desert; and there before them the glory of יְהוַה appeared in the cloud; (A: vi, S: v) ¹¹ and יְהוַה said to Moshe, ¹² “I have heard the grumblings of the people of Isra’el. Say to them: ‘At dusk you will be eating meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will realize that I am יְהוַה , ELOHEIKEM.’”

¹³ That evening, quails came up and covered the camp; while in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴ When the dew had evaporated, there on the surface of the desert was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the people of Isra’el saw it, they asked each other, “Man hu? [What is it?]” because they didn’t know what it was. Moshe answered them, “It is the bread which יְהוַה has given you to eat. ¹⁶ Here is what יְהוַה has ordered: each man is to gather according to his appetite — each is to take an ‘omer [two quarts] per person for everyone in his tent.” ¹⁷ The people of Isra’el did this. Some gathered more, some less; ¹⁸ but when they put it in an ‘omer-measure, whoever had gathered much had no excess; and whoever had gathered little had no shortage; nevertheless each person had gathered according to his appetite.

¹⁹ Moshe told them, “No one is to leave any of it till morning.” ²⁰ But they didn’t pay attention to Moshe, and some kept the leftovers until morning. It bred worms and rotted, which made Moshe angry at them. ²¹ So they gathered it morning after morning, each person according to his appetite; but as the sun grew hot, it melted.

²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two ‘omers per person; and all the community leaders came and reported to Moshe. ²³ He told them, “This is what יְהוַה has said: ‘Tomorrow is a holy Shabbat for יְהוַה. Bake what you want to bake; boil what you want to boil; and whatever is left over, set aside and keep for the morning.’” ²⁴ They set it aside till morning, as Moshe had ordered; and it didn’t rot or have worms. ²⁵ Moshe said, “Today, eat that; because today is a Shabbat for יְהוַה — today you won’t find it in the field. ²⁶ Gather it six days, but the seventh day is the Shabbat — on that day there won’t be any.” ²⁷ However, on the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather and found none.

²⁸ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “How long will you refuse to observe my mitzvot and teachings? ²⁹ Look, יְהוַה has given you the Shabbat. This is why he is providing bread for two days on the sixth day. Each of you, stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.” (S: vi) ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The people called the food man. It was like coriander seed, white; and it tasted like honey cakes. ³² Moshe said, “Here is what יְהוַה has ordered: ‘Let two quarts of man be kept through all your generations, so that they will be able to see the bread which I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.’” ³³ Moshe said to Aharon, “Take a jar, put in it two quarts of man, and set it aside before יְהוַה to be kept through all your generations.” ³⁴ Just as יְהוַה ordered Moshe, Aharon set it aside before the testimony to be kept. ³⁵ The people of Isra’el ate man for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate man until they arrived at the borders of the land of Kena‘an. ³⁶ (An ‘omer is one-tenth of an eifah [which is a bushel dry-measure].)

Sh'mot/Exodus 17

¹ (vii) The whole community of the people of Isra’el left the Seen Desert, traveling in stages, as יְהוַה had ordered, and camped at Refidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. ² The people quarreled with Moshe, demanding, “Give us water to drink!” But Moshe replied, “Why pick a fight with me? Why are you testing יְהוַה?” ³ However, the people were thirsty for water there and grumbled against Moshe, “For what did you bring us up from Egypt? To kill us, our children and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴ Moshe cried out to יְהוַה, “What am I to do with these people? They’re ready to stone me!” ⁵ יְהוַה answered Moshe, “Go on ahead of the people, and bring with you the leaders of Isra’el. Take your staff in your hand, the one you used to strike the river; and go. ⁶ I will stand in front of you there on the rock in Horev. You are to strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so the people can drink.” Moshe did this in the sight of the leaders of Isra’el. ⁷ The place was named Massah [testing] and M’rivah [quarreling] because of the quarreling of the people of Isra’el and because they tested יְהוַה by asking, “Is יְהוַה with us or not?”

⁸ Then ‘Amalek came and fought with Isra’el at Refidim. ⁹ Moshe said to Y’hoshua, “Choose men for us, go out, and fight with ‘Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with ELOHIM’s staff in my hand.” ¹⁰ Y’hoshua did as Moshe had told him and fought with ‘Amalek. Then Moshe, Aharon and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ When Moshe raised his hand, Isra’el prevailed; but when he let it down, ‘Amalek prevailed. ¹² However, Moshe’s hands grew heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aharon and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other; so that his hands stayed steady until sunset. ¹³ Thus Y’hoshua defeated ‘Amalek, putting their people to the sword.

(Maftir) ¹⁴ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Write this in a book to be remembered, and tell it to Y’hoshua: I will completely blot out any memory of ‘Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ Moshe built an altar, called it יְהוַה Nissi [יְהוַה is my banner/miracle], ¹⁶ and said, “Because their hand was against the throne of Yah, יְהוַה will fight ‘Amalek generation after generation.”

Haftarah B’shallach: Shof’tim (Judges) 4:4–5:31 (A); 5:1–31 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah B’shallach: Luke 2:22–24; Yochanan (John) 6:25–35; 19:31–37; 1 Corinthians 10:1–13; 2 Corinthians 8:1–15; Revelation 15:1–4

Parashah 17: Yitro (Jethro) 18:1–20:23(26)
Sh'mot/Exodus 18

¹ Now Yitro the priest of Midyan, Moshe’s father-in-law, heard about all that ELOHIM had done for Moshe and for Isra’el his people, how יְהוַה had brought Isra’el out of Egypt. ² After Moshe had sent away his wife Tzipporah and her two sons, Yitro Moshe’s father-in-law had taken them back. ³ The name of the one son was Gershom, for Moshe had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.” ⁴ The name of the other was Eli‘ezer [ELOHEI helps], “because the ELOHEI my father helped me by rescuing me from Pharaoh’s sword.” ⁵ Yitro Moshe’s father-in-law brought Moshe’s sons and wife to him in the desert where he was encamped, at the mountain of ELOHIM. ⁶ He sent word to Moshe, “I, your father-in-law Yitro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

⁷ Moshe went out to meet his father-in-law, prostrated himself and kissed him. Then, after inquiring of each other’s welfare, they entered the tent. ⁸ Moshe told his father-in-law all that יְהוַה had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Isra’el’s sake, all the hardships they had suffered while traveling and how יְהוַה had rescued them. ⁹ Yitro rejoiced over all the good that יְהוַה had done for Isra’el by rescuing them from the Egyptians. ¹⁰ Yitro said, “Blessed be יְהוַה, who has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh, who has rescued the people from the harsh hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that יְהוַה is greater than all other gods, because he rescued those who were treated so arrogantly.” ¹² Yitro Moshe’s father-in-law brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to ELOHIM, and Aharon came with all the leaders of Isra’el to share the meal before ELOHIM with Moshe’s father-in-law.

(ii) ¹³ The following day Moshe sat to settle disputes for the people, while the people stood around Moshe from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When Moshe’s father-in-law saw all that he was doing to the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing to the people? Why do you sit there alone, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵ Moshe answered his father-in-law, “It’s because the people come to me seeking ELOHIM’s guidance. ¹⁶ Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me; I judge between one person and another, and I explain to them ELOHIM'S laws and teachings.”

¹⁷ Moshe’s father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing isn’t good. ¹⁸ You will certainly wear yourself out — and not only yourself, but these people here with you as well. It’s too much for you — you can’t do it alone, by yourself. ¹⁹ So listen now to what I have to say. I will give you some advice, and ELOHIM will be with you. You should represent the people before ELOHIM, and you should bring their cases to ELOHIM. ²⁰ You should also teach them the laws and the teachings, and show them how to live their lives and what work they should do. ²¹ But you should choose from among all the people competent men who fear ELOHIM, honest and incorruptible to be their leaders, in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²² Normally, they will settle the people’s disputes. They should bring you the difficult cases; but ordinary matters they should decide themselves. In this way, they will make it easier for you and share the load with you. ²³ If you do this — and ELOHIM is directing you to do it — you will be able to endure; and all these people too will arrive at their destination peacefully.”

(iii) ²⁴ Moshe paid attention to his father-in-law’s counsel and did everything he said. ²⁵ Moshe chose competent men from all Isra’el and made them heads over the people, in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²⁶ As a general rule, they settled the people’s disputes — the difficult cases they brought to Moshe, but every simple matter they decided themselves.

²⁷ Then Moshe let his father-in-law leave, and he went off to his own country.

Sh'mot/Exodus 19

¹ (iv) In the third month after the people of Isra’el had left the land of Egypt, the same day they came to the Sinai Desert. ² After setting out from Refidim and arriving at the Sinai Desert, they set up camp in the desert; there in front of the mountain, Isra’el set up camp.

³ Moshe went up to ELOHIM, and יְהוַה called to him from the mountain: “Here is what you are to say to the household of Ya‘akov, to tell the people of Isra’el: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. ⁵ Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; ⁶ and you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart.’ These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra’el.”

(v) ⁷ Moshe came, summoned the leaders of the people and presented them with all these words which יְהוַה had ordered him to say. ⁸ All the people answered as one, “Everything יְהוַה has said, we will do.” Moshe reported the words of the people to יְהוַה. ⁹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “See, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will be able to hear when I speak with you and also to trust in you forever.” Moshe had told יְהוַה what the people had said; ¹⁰ so יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Go to the people; today and tomorrow separate them for me by having them wash their clothing; ¹¹ and prepare for the third day. For on the third day, יְהוַה will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people. ¹² You are to set limits for the people all around; and say, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or even touch its base; whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death. ¹³ No hand is to touch him; for he must be stoned or shot by arrows; neither animal nor human will be allowed to live.’ When the shofar sounds, they may go up on the mountain.”

(S: vi) ¹⁴ Moshe went down from the mountain to the people and separated the people for ELOHIM, and they washed their clothing. ¹⁵ He said to the people, “Prepare for the third day; don’t approach a woman.”

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day, there was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain. Then a shofar blast sounded so loudly that all the people in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ Moshe brought the people out of the camp to meet God; they stood near the base of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was enveloped in smoke, because יְהוַה descended onto it in fire — its smoke went up like the smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. ¹⁹ As the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moshe spoke; and God answered him with a voice.

(A: vi, S: vii) ²⁰ י יְהוַה came down onto Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; then יְהוַה called Moshe to the top of the mountain; and Moshe went up. ²¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Go down and warn the people not to force their way through to יְהוַה to see him; if they do, many of them will perish. ²² Even the cohanim, who are allowed to approach יְהוַה, must keep themselves holy; otherwise, יְהוַה may break out against them.” ²³ Moshe said to יְהוַה, “The people can’t come up to Mount Sinai, because you ordered us to set limits around the mountain and separate it.” ²⁴ But יְהוַה answered him, “Go, get down! Then come back up, you and Aharon with you. But don’t let the cohanim and the people force their way through to come up to יְהוַה, or he will break out against them.”

²⁵ So Moshe went down to the people and told them.

Sh'mot/Chapter 20

¹ Then ELOHIM said all these words:

א ² “I am יְהוַה your ELOHIM, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.

ב ³ “You are to have no other elohim before me. ⁴ You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. ⁵ You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM, am a jealous ELOHIM, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.

ג ⁷ “You are not to use lightly the name of יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM, because יְהוַה will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly.

ד ⁸ “Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for ELOHIM. ⁹ You have six days to labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Shabbat for יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM. On it, you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. ¹¹ For in six days, יְהוַה made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why יְהוַה blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.

ה ¹² “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM is giving you.

ו ¹³ “Do not murder.

ז ⁽¹⁴⁾ “Do not commit adultery.

ח ⁽¹⁵⁾ “Do not steal.

ט ⁽¹⁶⁾ “Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.

י ^{14 (17)} “Do not covet your neighbor’s house; do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

(A: vii) ¹⁵ All the people experienced the thunder, the lightning, the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled. Standing at a distance, ¹⁶ they said to Moshe, “You, speak with us; and we will listen. But don’t let ELOHIM speak with us, or we will die.” ¹⁷ Moshe answered the people, “Don’t be afraid, because ELOHIM has come only to test you and make you fear him, so that you won’t commit sins.” ¹⁸ So the people stood at a distance, but Moshe approached the thick darkness where ELOHIM was.

(A: Maftir) ¹⁹  יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Here is what you are to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘You yourselves have seen that I spoke with you from heaven. ²⁰ You are not to make with me elohei silver, nor are you to make elohei gold for yourselves. (S: Maftir) ²¹ For me you need make only an altar of earth; on it you will sacrifice your burnt offerings, peace offerings, sheep, goats and cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you. ²² If you do make me an altar of stone, you are not to build it of cut stones; for if you use a tool on it, you profane it. ²³ Likewise, you are not to use steps to go up to my altar; so that you won’t be indecently uncovered.’”

Haftarah Yitro: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 6:1–7:6; 9:5(6)– 6(7) (A); 6:1–13 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Yitro: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:21–30; 15:1–11; 19:16–30; Mark 7:5–15; 10:17–31; Luke 18:18–30; Acts 6:1–7; Romans 2:17–29; 7:7–12; 13:8–10; Ephesians 6:1–3; 1 Timothy 3:1–14; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:5–9; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 12:18–29; Ya‘akov (James) 2:8–13; 1 Kefa (1 Peter) 2:9–10

Exodus 21-40
Parashah 18: Mishpatim (Rulings) 21:1–24:18

Sh'mot/Exodus 21

¹ “These are the rulings you are to present to them:

² “If you purchase a Hebrew slave, he is to work six years; but in the seventh, he is to be given his freedom without having to pay anything. ³ If he came single, he is to leave single; if he was married when he came, his wife is to go with him when he leaves. ⁴ But if his master gave him a wife, and she bore him sons or daughters, then the wife and her children will belong to her master, and he will leave by himself. ⁵ Nevertheless, if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, so I don’t want to go free,’ ⁶ then his master is to bring him before God; and there at the door or doorpost, his master is to pierce his ear with an awl; and the man will be his slave for life.

⁷ “If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to go free like the men-slaves. ⁸ If her master married her but decides she no longer pleases him, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He is not allowed to sell her to a foreign people, because he has treated her unfairly. ⁹ If he has her marry his son, then he is to treat her like a daughter. ¹⁰ If he marries another wife, he is not to reduce her food, clothing or marital rights. ¹¹ If he fails to provide her with these three things, she is to be given her freedom without having to pay anything.

¹² “Whoever attacks a person and causes his death must be put to death. ¹³ If it was not premeditated but an act of ELOHIM, then I will designate for you a place to which he can flee. ¹⁴ But if someone willfully kills another after deliberate planning, you are to take him even from my altar and put him to death.

¹⁵ “Whoever attacks his father or mother must be put to death.

¹⁶ “Whoever kidnaps someone must be put to death, regardless of whether he has already sold him or the person is found still in his possession.

¹⁷ “Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death.

¹⁸ “If two people fight, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist, and the injured party doesn’t die but is confined to his bed; ¹⁹ then, if he recovers enough to be able to walk around outside, even if with a cane, the attacker will be free of liability, except to compensate him for his loss of time and take responsibility for his care until his recovery is complete.

(ii) ²⁰ “If a person beats his male or female slave with a stick so severely that he dies, he is to be punished; ²¹ except that if the slave lives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his property.

²² “If people are fighting with each other and happen to hurt a pregnant woman so badly that her unborn child dies, then, even if no other harm follows, he must be fined. He must pay the amount set by the woman’s husband and confirmed by judges. ²³ But if any harm follows, then you are to give life for life, ²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound and bruise for bruise.

²⁶ “If a person hits his male or female slave’s eye and destroys it, he must let him go free in compensation for his eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out his male or female slave’s tooth, he must let him go free in compensation for his tooth.

²⁸ “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox is to be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner of the ox will have no further liability. ²⁹ However, if the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner was warned but did not confine it, so that it ended up killing a man or a woman; then the ox is to be stoned, and its owner too is to be put to death. ³⁰ However, a ransom may be imposed on him; and the death penalty will be commuted if he pays the amount imposed. ³¹ If the ox gores a son or daughter, the same rule applies. ³² If the ox gores a male or female slave, its owner must give their master twelve ounces of silver; and the ox is to be stoned to death.

³³ “If someone removes the cover from a cistern or digs one and fails to cover it, and an ox or donkey falls in, ³⁴ the owner of the cistern must make good the loss by compensating the animal’s owner; but the dead animal will be his.

³⁵ “If one person’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the revenue from the sale; and they are also to divide the dead animal. ³⁶ But if it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner did not confine it; he must pay ox for ox, but the dead animal will be his.

Sh'mot/Exodus 22

^{37 (22:1)} “If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

² “If a thief caught in the act of breaking in is beaten to death, it is not murder; ^{2 (3)} unless it happens after sunrise, in which case it is murder. A thief must make restitution; so if he has nothing, he himself is to be sold to make good the loss from the theft. ^{3 (4)} If what he stole is found alive in his possession, he is to pay double, no matter whether it is an ox, a donkey or a sheep.

(iii) ^{4 (5)} “If a person causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over or lets his animal loose to graze in someone else’s field, he is to make restitution from the best produce of his own field and vineyard.

^{5 (6)} “If a fire is started and spreads to thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain or a field is destroyed, the person who lit it must make restitution.

^{6 (7)} “If a person entrusts a neighbor with money or goods, and they are stolen from the trustee’s house, then, if the thief is found, he must pay double. ^{7 (8)} But if the thief is not found, then the trustee must state before ELOHIM that he did not take the person’s goods himself. ^{8 (9)} In every case of dispute over ownership, whether of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any missing property, where one person says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to come before ELOHIM; and the one whom ELOHIM condemns must pay the other one double.

^{9 (10)} “If a person trusts a neighbor to look after a donkey, ox, sheep or any animal, and it dies, is injured or is driven away unseen, ^{10 (11)} then the neighbor’s oath before יְהוַה that he has not taken the goods will settle the matter between them — the owner is to accept it without the neighbor’s making restitution. ^{11 (12)} But if it was stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner. ^{12 (13)} If it was torn to pieces by an animal, the neighbor must bring it as evidence, and then he doesn’t need to make good the loss.

^{13 (14)} “If someone borrows something from his neighbor, and it gets injured or dies with the owner not present, he must make restitution. ^{14 (15)} If the owner was present, he need not make good the loss. If the owner hired it out, the loss is covered by the hiring fee.

^{15 (16)} “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ^{16 (17)} But if her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay a sum equivalent to the bride-price for virgins.

^{17 (18)} “You are not to permit a sorceress to live.

^{18 (19)} “Whoever has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.

^{19 (20)} “Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than יְהוַה alone is to be completely destroyed.

^{20 (21)} “You must neither wrong nor oppress a foreigner living among you, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

^{21 (22)} “You are not to abuse any widow or orphan. ^{22 (23)} If you do abuse them in any way, and they cry to me, I will certainly heed their cry. ^{23 (24)} My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword — your own wives will be widows and your own children fatherless.

^{24 (25)} “If you loan money to one of my people who is poor, you are not to deal with him as would a creditor; and you are not to charge him interest. ^{25 (26)} If you take your neighbor’s coat as collateral, you are to restore it to him by sundown, ^{26 (27)} because it is his only garment — he needs it to wrap his body; what else does he have in which to sleep? Moreover, if he cries out to me, I will listen; because I am compassionate.

(iv) ^{27 (28)} “You are not to curse ELOHIM, and you are not to curse a leader of your people.

^{28 (29)} “You are not to delay offering from your harvest of grain, olive oil or wine.

“The firstborn of your sons you are to give to me. ^{29 (30)} You are to do the same with your oxen and your sheep — it is to stay with its mother seven days, and on the eighth day you are to give it to me.

^{30 (31)} “You are to be my specially separated people. Therefore you are not to eat any flesh torn by wild animals in the countryside; rather, throw it out for the dogs.

Sh'mot/Exodus 23

¹ “You are not to repeat false rumors; do not join hands with the wicked by offering perjured testimony. ² Do not follow the crowd when it does what is wrong; and don’t allow the popular view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be to pervert justice. ³ On the other hand, don’t favor a person’s lawsuit simply because he is poor.

⁴ “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey straying, you must return it to him. ⁵ If you see the donkey which belongs to someone who hates you lying down helpless under its load, you are not to pass him by but to go and help him free it.

(v) ⁶ “Do not deny anyone justice in his lawsuit simply because he is poor. ⁷ Keep away from fraud, and do not cause the death of the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. ⁸ You are not to receive a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the righteous.

⁹ “You are not to oppress a foreigner, for you know how a foreigner feels, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ “For six years, you are to sow your land with seed and gather in its harvest. ¹¹ But the seventh year, you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people can eat; and what they leave, the wild animals in the countryside can eat. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.

¹² “For six days, you are to work. But on the seventh day, you are to rest, so that your ox and donkey can rest, and your slave-girl’s son and the foreigner be renewed.

¹³ “Pay attention to everything I have said to you; do not invoke the names of other gods or even let them be heard crossing your lips.

¹⁴ “Three times a year, you are to observe a festival for me. ¹⁵ Keep the festival of matzah: for seven days, as I ordered you, you are to eat matzah at the time determined in the month of Aviv; for it was in that month that you left Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. ¹⁶ Next, the festival of harvest, the firstfruits of your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts. ¹⁷ Three times a year all your men are to appear before Ha'Adon (the sovereign), יְהוַה.

¹⁸ “You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the fat of my festival to remain all night until morning.

¹⁹ “You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of יְהוַה your  ELOHIM.

“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk.

(vi) ²⁰ “I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. ²¹ Pay attention to him, listen to what he says and do not rebel against him; because he will not forgive any wrongdoing of yours, since my name resides in him. ²² But if you listen to what he says and do everything I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. ²³ When my angel goes ahead of you and brings you to the Emori, Hitti, P’rizi, Kena‘ani, Hivi and Y’vusi, I will make an end of them. ²⁴ You are not to worship their gods, serve them or follow their practices; rather, you are to demolish them completely and smash their standing-stones to pieces.

²⁵ “You are to serve יְהוַה your ELOHIM; and he will bless your food and water. I will take sickness away from among you. (vii) ²⁶ In your land your women will not miscarry or be barren, and you will live out the full span of your lives. ²⁷ I will send terror of me ahead of you, throwing into confusion all the people to whom you come; and I will make all your enemies turn their backs on you. ²⁸ I will send hornets ahead of you to drive out the Hivi, Kena‘ani and Hitti from before you. ²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in one year, which would cause the land to become desolate and the wild animals too many for you. ³⁰ I will drive them out from before you gradually, until you have grown in number and can take possession of the land. ³¹ I will set your boundaries from the Yam Suf to the sea of the P’lishtim and from the desert to the [Euphrates] River, for I will hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out from before you. ³² You are not to make a covenant with them or with their gods. ³³ They are not to live in your land; otherwise they will make you sin against me by ensnaring you to serve eloheihem.”

Shemot/Exodus 24

¹ To Moshe [יְהוַה] said, “Come up to — you, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, and seventy of the leaders of Isra’el. Prostrate yourselves at a distance, ² while Moshe alone approaches יְהוַה — the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.” ³ Moshe came and told the people everything יְהוַה had said, including all the rulings. The people answered with one voice: “We will obey every word יְהוַה has spoken.”

⁴ Moshe wrote down all the words of י יְהוַה. He rose early in the morning, built an altar at the base of the mountain and set upright twelve large stones to represent the twelve tribes of Isra’el. ⁵ He sent the young men of the people of Isra’el to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings of oxen to יְהוַה. ⁶ Moshe took half of the blood and put it in basins; the other half of the blood he splashed against the altar. ⁷ Then he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud, so that the people could hear; and they responded, “Everything that יְהוַה has spoken, we will do and obey.” ⁸ Moshe took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which יְהוַה has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

⁹ Moshe, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu and seventy of the leaders went up; ¹⁰ and they saw Ha'ELOHEI Isra’el. Under his feet was something like a sapphire stone pavement as clear as the sky itself. ¹¹ He did not reach out his hand against these notables of Isra’el; on the contrary, they saw ELOHIM, even as they were eating and drinking.

¹² יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Come up to me on the mountain, and stay there. I will give you the stone tablets with the Torah and the mitzvot I have written on them, so that you can teach them.” ¹³ Moshe got up, also Y’hoshua his assistant; and Moshe went up onto the mountain of ELOHIM. ¹⁴ To the leaders he said, “Stay here for us, until we come back to you. See, Aharon and Hur are with you; whoever has a problem should turn to them.” (S: Maftir) ¹⁵ Moshe went up onto the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. (A: Maftir) ¹⁶ The glory of יְהוַה stayed on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moshe out of the cloud. ¹⁷ To the people of Isra’el EL SHADDAI of יְהוַה looked like a raging fire on the top of the mountain. ¹⁸ Moshe entered the cloud and went up on the mountain; he was on the mountain forty days and nights.

Haftarah Mishpatim: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:8–22; 33:25–26

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Mishpatim: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:38–42; 15:1–20; Mark 7:1–23; Acts 23:1–11; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 9:15–22; 10:28–39

Sh'mot/Exodus 25

Parashah 19: T’rumah (Contribution) 25:1–27:19

¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, ² “Tell the people of Isra’el to take up a collection for me — accept a contribution from anyone who wholeheartedly wants to give. ³ The contribution you are to take from them is to consist of gold, silver and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple and scarlet yarn; fine linen, goat’s hair, ⁵ tanned ram skins and fine leather; acacia-wood; ⁶ oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; ⁷ onyx stones and other stones to be set, for the ritual vest and breastplate.

⁸ “They are to make me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them. ⁹ You are to make it according to everything I show you — the design of the tabernacle and the design of its furnishings. This is how you are to make it.

¹⁰ “They are to make an ark of acacia-wood three-and-three-quarters feet long, two-and-a-quarter feet wide and two-and-a-quarter feet high. ¹¹ You are to overlay it with pure gold — overlay it both inside and outside — and put a molding of gold around the top of it. ¹² Cast four gold rings for it, and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side. ¹³ Make poles of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ Put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark; you will use them to carry the ark. ¹⁵ The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they are not to be removed from it. ¹⁶ Into the ark you are to put the testimony which I am about to give you.

(ii) ¹⁷ “You are to make a cover for the ark out of pure gold; it is to be three-and-three-quarters feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet high. ¹⁸ You are to make two k’ruvim of gold. Make them of hammered work for the two ends of the ark-cover. ¹⁹ Make one keruv for one end and one keruv for the other end; make the k’ruvim of one piece with the ark-cover at its two ends. ²⁰ The k’ruvim will have their wings spread out above, so that their wings cover the ark, and their faces are toward each other and toward the ark-cover. ²¹ You are to put the ark-cover on top of the ark.

“Inside the ark you will put the testimony that I am about to give you. ²² There I will meet with you. I will speak with you from above the ark-cover, from between the two k’ruvim which are on the ark for the testimony, about all the orders I am giving you for the people of Isra’el.

²³ “You are to make a table of acacia-wood three feet long, eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches high. ²⁴ Overlay it with pure gold, and put a molding of gold around the top of it. ²⁵ Make around it a rim a handbreadth wide, and put a molding of gold around the rim. ²⁶ Make four gold rings for it, and attach the rings to the four corners, near its four legs. ²⁷ The rings to hold the poles used to carry the table are to be placed close to the rim. ²⁸ Make the poles of acacia-wood, overlay them with gold, and use them to carry the table.

²⁹ “Make its dishes, pans, bowls and pitchers of pure gold. ³⁰ On the table you are to place the bread of the presence in my presence always.

(S: iii) ³¹ “You are to make a menorah of pure gold. It is to be made of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, ring of outer leaves and petals are to be of one piece with it. ³² It is to have six branches extending from its sides, three branches of the menorah on one side of it and three on the other. ³³ On one branch are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; likewise on the opposite branch three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a ring of outer leaves and petals; and similarly for all six branches extending from the menorah. ³⁴ On the central shaft of the menorah are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its ring of outer leaves and petals. ³⁵ Where each pair of branches joins the central shaft is to be a ring of outer leaves of one piece with the pair of branches — thus for all six branches. ³⁶ The rings of outer leaves and their branches are to be of one piece with the shaft. Thus the whole menorah is to be a single piece of hammered work made of pure gold.

³⁷ “Make seven lamps for the menorah, and mount them so as to give light to the space in front of it. ³⁸ Its tongs and trays are to be of pure gold. ³⁹ The menorah and its utensils are to be made of sixty-six pounds of pure gold. ⁴⁰ See that you make them according to the design being shown you on the mountain.

 

Sh'mot/Exodus 26

¹ (A: iii) “You are to make the tabernacle with ten sheets of finely woven linen and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn. You are to make them with k’ruvim worked in, that have been crafted by a skilled artisan. ² Each one is to be forty-two feet long and six feet wide; all the sheets are to be the same size. ³ Five sheets are to be joined one to another, and the other five sheets are to be joined one to another. ⁴ Make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set, and do the same on the edge of the outermost sheet in the second set. ⁵ Make fifty loops on the one sheet, and make fifty loops on the edge of the sheet in the second set; the loops are to be opposite one another. ⁶ Make fifty fasteners of gold, and couple the sheets to each other with the fasteners, so that the tabernacle forms a single unit.

⁷ “You are to make sheets of goat’s hair to be used as a tent covering the tabernacle; make eleven sheets. ⁸ Each sheet is to be forty-five feet long and six feet wide — all eleven sheets are to be the same size. ⁹ Join five sheets together and six sheets together, and fold the sixth sheet double at the front of the tent. ¹⁰ Make fifty loops on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and fifty loops on the edge of the outermost sheet in the second set. ¹¹ Make fifty fasteners of bronze, put the fasteners in the loops, and join the tent together, so that it forms a single unit. ¹² As for the overhanging part that remains of the sheets forming the tent, the half-sheet remaining is to hang over the back of the tabernacle; ¹³ and the eighteen inches on the one side and the eighteen inches on the other side of that remaining in the length of the sheets forming the tent is to hang over the tabernacle to cover it on each side.

¹⁴ “You are to make a covering for the tent of tanned ram skins and an outer covering of fine leather.

(iv) ¹⁵ “Make the upright planks for the tabernacle out of acacia-wood. ¹⁶ Each plank is to be fifteen feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet wide. ¹⁷ There are to be two projections on each plank, and the planks are to be joined one to another. That is how you are to make all the planks for the tabernacle.

¹⁸ “Make the planks for the tabernacle as follows: twenty planks for the south side, facing southward. ¹⁹ Make forty silver sockets under the twenty planks, two sockets under one plank for its two projections and two sockets under another plank for its two projections. ²⁰ “For the second side of the tabernacle, to the north, make twenty planks ²¹ and their forty silver sockets, two sockets under one plank and two under another. ²² “For the rear part of the tabernacle, toward the west, make six planks. ²³ For the corners of the tabernacle in the rear, make two planks; ²⁴ these are to be double from the bottom all the way to the top but joined at a single ring. Do the same with both of them; they are to form the two corners. ²⁵ Thus there will be eight planks with their silver sockets, sixteen sockets, two sockets under one plank and two under another.

²⁶ “Make crossbars of acacia-wood, five for the planks of the one side of the tabernacle, ²⁷ five crossbars for the planks of the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the planks at the side of the tabernacle at the rear toward the west. ²⁸ The middle crossbar, halfway up the planks, is to extend from end to end. ²⁹ Overlay the planks with gold, make gold rings for them through which the crossbars will pass, and overlay the crossbars with gold.

³⁰ “You are to erect the tabernacle according to the design you have been shown on the mountain.

(v) ³¹ “You are to make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. Make it with k’ruvim worked in, that have been crafted by a skilled artisan. ³² Hang it with gold hooks on four acacia-wood posts overlaid with gold and standing in four silver sockets. ³³ Hang the curtain below the fasteners. Then bring the ark for the testimony inside the curtain; the curtain will be the divider for you between the Holy Place and the Especially Holy Place. ³⁴ You are to put the ark-cover on the ark for the testimony in the Holy of Holies.

³⁵ “You are to put the table outside the curtain and the menorah opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; put the table on the north side.

³⁶ “For the entrance to the tent, make a screen of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen; it should be in colors, the work of a weaver. ³⁷ For the screen, make five posts of acacia-wood; overlay them with gold; and cast for them five sockets of bronze.

Sh'mot/Exodus 27

¹ (vi) “You are to make the altar of acacia-wood, seven-and-a-half feet long and seven-and-a-half feet wide — the altar is to be square and four-and-a-half feet high. ² Make horns for it on its four corners; the horns are to be of one piece with it; and you are to overlay it with bronze.

³ “Make its pots for removing ashes, and its shovels, basins, meat-hooks and fire pans; all its utensils you are to make of bronze.
⁴ Make for it a grate of bronze netting; and on the four corners of the netting, make four bronze rings. ⁵ Put it under the rim of the altar, so that the netting reaches halfway up the altar. ⁶ Make poles of acacia-wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. ⁷ Its poles are to be put into the rings; the poles are to be on both sides of the altar for carrying it. ⁸ The altar is to be made of planks and hollow inside. They are to make it just as you were shown on the mountain.

(vii) ⁹ “Here is how you are to make the courtyard of the tabernacle. On the south side, facing southward, are to be tapestries for the courtyard made of finely woven linen, 150 feet for one side, ¹⁰ supported on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets; the hooks on the posts and the attached rings for hanging are to be of silver. ¹¹ Likewise, along the north side are to be tapestries 150 feet long, hung on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets, with silver hooks and rings for the posts. ¹² Across the width of the courtyard on the west side are to be tapestries seventy-five feet long, hung on ten posts in ten sockets. ¹³ The width of the courtyard on the east side, facing east, will be seventy-five feet. ¹⁴ The tapestries for one side [of the gateway] will be twenty-two-and-a-half feet long, hung on three posts in three sockets; ¹⁵ for the other side there will be tapestries twenty-two-and-a-half feet long on three posts in three sockets.

¹⁶ “For the gateway of the courtyard there is to be a screen thirty feet made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. It should be in colors, the work of a weaver. It is to be on four posts in four sockets. (Maftir) ¹⁷ All the posts all the way around the courtyard are to be banded with silver and to stand in sockets of bronze. ¹⁸ The length of the courtyard is to be 150 feet and the width seventy-five feet everywhere; with the height seven-and-a-half feet. The tapestries and screen are to be of finely woven linen, and the sockets are to be of bronze.

¹⁹ “All the equipment needed for every kind of service in the tabernacle, as well as the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.

Haftarah T’rumah: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 5:26(12)– 6:13

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah T’rumah: Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 8:1–6; 9:23–24; 10:1

Parashah 20: Tetzaveh (You are to order) 27:20 –30:10

²⁰ “You are to order the people of Isra’el to bring you pure oil of pounded olives for the light, and to keep a lamp burning continually. ²¹ Aharon and his sons are to put it in the tent of meeting, outside the curtain in front of the testimony, and keep it burning from evening until morning before Adonai. This is to be a permanent regulation through all the generations of the people of Isra’el.

Sh'mot/Exodus 28

¹ “You are to summon your brother Aharon and his sons to come from among the people of Isra’el to you, so that they can serve me as cohanim — Aharon and his sons Nadav, Avihu, El‘azar and Itamar. ² You are to make for your brother Aharon garments set apart for serving ELOHIM, expressing dignity and splendor. ³ Speak to all the craftsmen to whom I have given the spirit of wisdom, and have them make Aharon’s garments to set him apart for me, so that he can serve me in the office of cohen.

⁴ “The garments they are to make are these: a breastplate, a ritual vest, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aharon and his sons, so that he can serve me in the office of cohen. ⁵ They are to use gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and fine linen.

⁶ “They are to make the ritual vest of gold, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely woven linen, crafted by a skilled artisan. ⁷ Attached to its front and back edges are to be two shoulder-pieces that can be fastened together. ⁸ Its decorated belt is to be of the same workmanship and materials — gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely woven linen. ⁹ Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Isra’el — ¹⁰ six of their names on one stone and the six remaining names on the other, in the order of their birth. ¹¹ An engraver should engrave the names of the sons of Isra’el on the two stones as he would engrave a seal. Mount the stones in gold settings, ¹² and put the two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the vest as stones calling to mind the sons of Isra’el. Aharon is to carry their names before יְהוַה on his two shoulders as a reminder.

(ii) ¹³ “Make gold squares ¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; attach the cord-like chains to the squares.

¹⁵ “Make a breastplate for judging. Have it crafted by a skilled artisan; make it like the work of the ritual vest — make it of gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely woven linen. ¹⁶ When folded double it is to be square — a hand-span by a hand-span. ¹⁷ Put in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: the first row is to be a carnelian, a topaz and an emerald; ¹⁸ the second row a green feldspar, a sapphire and a diamond; ¹⁹ the third row an orange zircon, an agate and an amethyst; ²⁰ and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx and a jasper. They are to be mounted in their gold settings. ²¹ The stones will correspond to the names of the twelve sons of Isra’el; they are to be engraved with their names as a seal would be engraved, to represent the twelve tribes.

²² “On the breastplate, make two pure gold chains twisted like cords. ²³ Also for the breastplate, make two gold rings; and put the gold rings on the two ends of the breastplate. ²⁴ Put the two twisted gold chains in the two rings at the two ends of the breastplate; ²⁵ attach the other two ends of the twisted chains to the front of the shoulder-pieces of the ritual vest. ²⁶ Make two gold rings and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, at its edge, on the side facing in toward the vest. ²⁷ Also make two gold rings and attach them low on the front part of the vest’s shoulder-pieces, near the join, above the vest’s decorated belt. ²⁸ Then bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that it can be on the vest’s decorated belt, and so that the breastplate won’t swing loose from the vest. ²⁹ Aharon will carry the names of the sons of Isra’el on the breastplate for judging, over his heart, when he enters the Holy Place, as a continual reminder before יְהוַה. ³⁰ You are to put the urim and the tumim in the breastplate for judging; they will be over Aharon’s heart when he goes into the presence of יְהוַה. Thus Aharon will always have the means for making decisions for the people of Isra’el over his heart when he is in the presence of יְהוַה.

(iii) ³¹ “You are to make the robe for the ritual vest entirely of blue. ³² It is to have an opening for the head in the middle. Around the opening is to be a border woven like the neck of a coat of mail, so that it won’t tear. ³³ On its bottom hem make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet; and put them all the way around, with gold bells between them all the way around — ³⁴ gold bell, pomegranate, gold bell, pomegranate, all the way around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aharon is to wear it when he ministers, and its sound will be heard whenever he enters the Holy Place before יְהוַה and when he leaves, so that he won’t die.

³⁶ “You are to make an ornament of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal, ‘Set apart for יְהוַה.’ ³⁷ Fasten it to the turban with a blue cord, on the front of the turban, ³⁸ over Aharon’s forehead. Because Aharon bears the guilt for any errors committed by the people of Isra’el in consecrating their holy gifts, this ornament is always to be on his forehead, so that the gifts for יְהוַה will be accepted by him.

³⁹ “You are to weave the checkered tunic of fine linen, make a turban of fine linen, and make a belt, the work of a weaver in colors. ⁴⁰ Likewise for Aharon’s sons make tunics, sashes and headgear expressing dignity and splendor. ⁴¹ With them clothe your brother Aharon and his sons. Then anoint them, inaugurate them, and consecrate them, so that they will be able to serve me in the office of cohen. ⁴² Also make for them linen shorts reaching from waist to thigh, to cover their bare flesh. ⁴³ Aharon and his sons are to wear them when they go into the tent of meeting and when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they won’t incur guilt and die. This is to be a perpetual regulation, both for him and for his descendants.

Shemot/Exodus 29

¹(iv) “Here is what you are to do to consecrate them for ministry to me in the office of cohen. Take one young bull and two rams without defect, ² also matzah, matzah cakes mixed with olive oil, and matzah wafers spread with oil — all made from fine wheat flour; ³ put them together in a basket, and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams.

⁴ “Bring Aharon and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the garments, and put on Aharon the tunic, the robe for the ritual vest, the vest itself, and the breastplate. Fasten the vest on him with its belt. ⁶ Put the turban on his head and attach the holy ornament to the turban. ⁷ Then take the anointing oil, and anoint him by pouring it on his head. ⁸ Bring his sons; put tunics on them; ⁹ wrap sashes around them, Aharon and his sons; and put the headgear on their heads. The office of cohen is to be theirs by a permanent regulation. Thus you will consecrate Aharon and his sons.

¹⁰ “Bring the young bull to the front of the tent of meeting. Aharon and his sons are to lay their hands on the bull’s head, ¹¹ and you are to slaughter the bull in the presence of יְהוַה at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹² Take some of the bull’s blood, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹³ Take all the fat that covers the inner organs, the covering of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and offer them up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁴ But the bull’s flesh, skin and dung you are to destroy by fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “Take one of the rams: Aharon and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head; ¹⁶ and you are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and splash it on all sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Quarter the ram, wash the inner organs and the lower parts of the legs, and put them with the quarters and the head. ¹⁸ Then offer up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering for י יְהוַה, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to יְהוַה by fire.

(v) ¹⁹ “Take the other ram: Aharon and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head; ²⁰ and you are to slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the lobe of Aharon’s right ear, on the lobes of his sons’ right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Take the rest of the blood and splash it on all sides of the altar. ²¹ Then take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aharon and his clothing and on his sons and the clothing of his sons with him; so that he and his clothing will be consecrated, and with him his sons and his sons’ clothing. ²² Also take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the inner organs, the two kidneys, the fat covering them and the right thigh — for it is a ram of consecration — ²³ along with one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread and one wafer from the basket of matzah which is before יְהוַה — ²⁴ and put it all in the hands of Aharon and his sons. They are to wave them as a wave offering in the presence of יְהוַה. ²⁵ Then take them back; and burn them up in smoke on the altar, on top of the burnt offering, to be a pleasing aroma before יְהוַה; it is an offering made to יְהוַה by fire.

²⁶ “Take the breast of the ram for Aharon’s consecration, and wave it as a wave offering before יְהוַה; it will be your share. ²⁷ Consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of any contribution that has been waved and raised up, whether from the ram of consecration, or from anything else meant for Aharon or his sons; ²⁸ this will belong to Aharon and his sons as their share perpetually due from the people of Isra’el — it will be a contribution from the people of Isra’el from their peace offerings, their contribution to יְהוַה.

²⁹ “The holy garments of Aharon will be used by his sons after him; they will be anointed and consecrated in them. ³⁰ The son who becomes cohen in his place, who comes into the tent of meeting to serve in the Holy Place, is to wear them for seven days. ³¹ Take the ram of consecration, and boil its meat in a holy place. ³² Aharon and his sons will eat the ram’s meat and the bread in the basket at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ³³ They are to eat the things with which atonement was made for them, to inaugurate and consecrate them; no one else may eat this food, because it is holy. ³⁴ If any of the meat for the consecration or any of the bread remains until morning, burn up what remains; it is not to be eaten, because it is holy. ³⁵ Carry out all these orders I have given you concerning Aharon and his sons. You are to spend seven days consecrating them.

³⁶ “Each day, offer a young bull as a sin offering, besides the other offerings of atonement; offer the sin offering on the altar as your atonement for it; then anoint it to consecrate it. ³⁷ Seven days you will make atonement on the altar and consecrate it; thus the altar will be especially holy, and whatever touches the altar will become holy.

(vi) ³⁸ “Now this is what you are to offer on the altar: two lambs a year old, regularly, every day. ³⁹ The one lamb you are to offer in the morning and the other lamb at dusk. ⁴⁰ With the one lamb offer two quarts of finely ground flour mixed with one quart of oil from pressed olives; along with one quart of wine as a drink offering. ⁴¹ The other lamb you are to offer at dusk; do with it as with the morning grain and drink offerings — it will be a pleasing aroma, an offering made to י יְהוַה by fire. ⁴² Through all your generations this is to be the regular burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting before יְהוַה. There is where I will meet with you to speak with you. ⁴³ There I will meet with the people of Isra’el; and the place will be consecrated by my glory. ⁴⁴ I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar, likewise I will consecrate Aharon and his sons to serve me in the office of cohen. ⁴⁵ Then I will live with the people of Isra’el and be ELOHIM: ⁴⁶ they will know that I am יְהוַה their ELOHEIHEM, who brought them out of the land of Egypt in order to live with them. I am יְהוַה ELOHEIHIM.

Sh'mot/Exodus 30

¹ (vii) “You are to make an altar on which to burn incense; make it of acacia-wood. ² It is to be eighteen inches square and three feet high; its horns are to be of one piece with it. ³ Overlay it with pure gold — its top, all around its sides, and its horns; and put around it a molding of gold. ⁴ Make two gold rings for it under its molding at the two corners on both sides; this is where the carrying-poles will go. ⁵ Make the poles of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold.

⁶ “Place it in front of the curtain by the ark for the testimony, in front of the ark-cover that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ Aharon will burn fragrant incense on it as a pleasing aroma every morning; he is to burn it when he prepares the lamps. (Maftir) ⁸ Aharon is also to burn it when he lights the lamps at dusk; this is the regular burning of incense before יְהוַה through all your generations. ⁹ You are not to offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering or a grain offering; and you are not to pour a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ Aharon is to make atonement on its horns once a year — with the blood of the sin offering of atonement he is to make atonement for it once a year through all your generations; it is especially holy to יְהוַה.”

Haftarah Tetzaveh: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 43:10–27

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Tetzaveh: Philippians 4:10–20

Parashah 21: Ki Tissa (When you take) 30:11–34:35

¹¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, ¹² “When you take a census of the people of Isra’el and register them, each, upon registration, is to pay a ransom for his life to יְהוַה, to avoid any breakout of plague among them during the time of the census. ¹³ Everyone subject to the census is to pay as an offering to יְהוַה half a shekel [one-fifth of an ounce of silver]— by the standard of the sanctuary shekel (a shekel equals twenty gerahs). ¹⁴ Everyone over twenty years of age who is subject to the census is to give this offering to יְהוַה — ¹⁵ the rich is not to give more or the poor less than the half-shekel when giving יְהוַה’s offering to atone for your lives. ¹⁶ You are to take the atonement money from the people of Isra’el and use it for the service in the tent of meeting, so that it will be a reminder of the people of Isra’el before יְהוַה to atone for your lives.”

¹⁷ יְהוַה said to Moshe, ¹⁸ “You are to make a basin of bronze, with a base of bronze, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ¹⁹ Aharon and his sons will wash their hands and feet there ²⁰ when they enter the tent of meeting — they are to wash with water, so that they won’t die. Also when they approach the altar to minister by burning an offering for יְהוַה, ²¹ they are to wash their hands and feet, so that they won’t die. This is to be a perpetual law for them through all their generations.”

²² יְהוַה said to Moshe, ²³ “Take the best spices — 500 shekels of myrrh [12 1/2 pounds], half this amount (250 shekels) of aromatic cinnamon [6 1/4 pounds], 250 shekels of aromatic cane, ²⁴ 500 shekels of cassia (use the sanctuary standard), and one gallon of olive oil — ²⁵ and make them into a holy anointing oil; blend it and perfume it as would an expert perfume-maker; it will be a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ Use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, ²⁷ the table and all its utensils, the menorah and all its utensils, the incense altar, ²⁸ the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the basin with its base. ²⁹ You are to consecrate them — they will be especially holy, and whatever touches them will be holy. ³⁰ Then you are to anoint Aharon and his sons — you are to consecrate them to serve me in the office of cohen.

³¹ “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘This is to be a holy anointing oil for me through all your generations. ³² It is not to be used for anointing a person’s body; and you are not to make any like it, with the same composition of ingredients — it is holy, and you are to treat it as holy. ³³ Whoever makes any like it or uses it on any unauthorized person is to be cut off from his people.’”

³⁴ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Take aromatic plant substances — balsam resin, sweet onycha root and bitter galbanum gum — these spices along with frankincense, all in equal quantities; ³⁵ and make incense, blended and perfumed as would an expert perfume-maker, salted, pure and holy. ³⁶ You are to grind up some of it very finely and put it in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; you are to regard it as especially holy. ³⁷ You are not to make for your own use any incense like it, with the same composition of ingredients — you are to treat it as holy, for יְהוַה. ³⁸ Whoever makes up any like it to use as perfume is to be cut off from his people.”

Sh'mot/Exodus 31

¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, ² “I have singled out B’tzal’el the son of Uri the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y’hudah. ³ I have filled him with HaRUACHEI ELOHIM — with wisdom, understanding and knowledge concerning every kind of artisanry. ⁴ He is a master of design in gold, silver, bronze, ⁵ cutting precious stones to be set, woodcarving and every other craft.

⁶ “I have also appointed as his assistant Oholi’av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan. Moreover, I have endowed all the craftsmen with the wisdom to make everything I have ordered you — ⁷ the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the ark-cover above it, all the furnishings of the tent, ⁸ the table and its utensils, the pure menorah and all its utensils, the incense altar, ⁹ the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, the basin and its base, ¹⁰ the garments for officiating, the holy garments for Aharon the cohen and the garments for his sons, so that they can serve in the office of cohen, ¹¹ the anointing oil and the incense of aromatic spices for the Holy Place: they are to make everything just as I have ordered you.”

¹² יְהוַה said to Moshe, ¹³ “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘You are to observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you will know that I am יְהוַה, who sets you apart for me. ¹⁴ Therefore you are to keep my Shabbat, because it is set apart for you. Everyone who treats it as ordinary must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it is to be cut off from his people. ¹⁵ On six days work will get done; but the seventh day is Shabbat, for complete rest, set apart for יְהוַה. Whoever does any work on the day of Shabbat must be put to death. ¹⁶ The people of Isra’el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between me and the people of Isra’el forever; for in six days יְהוַה made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.’”

(ii) ¹⁸ When he had finished speaking with Moshe on Mount Sinai, יְהוַה gave him the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of ELOHIM.

Sh'mot/Exodus 32

¹ When the people saw that Moshe was taking a long time to come down from the mountain, they gathered around Aharon and said to him, “Get busy; and make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moshe, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has become of him.” ² Aharon said to them, “Have your wives, sons and daughters strip off their gold earrings; and bring them to me.” ³ The people stripped off their gold earrings and brought them to Aharon. ⁴ He received what they gave him, melted it down, and made it into the shape of a calf. They said, “Isra’el! Here is your elohim, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” ⁵ On seeing this, Aharon built an altar in front of it and proclaimed, “Tomorrow is to be a feast for יְהוַה.” ⁶ Early the next morning they got up and offered burnt offerings and presented peace offerings. Afterwards, the people sat down to eat and drink; then they got up to indulge in revelry.

⁷ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Go down! Hurry! Your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have become corrupt! ⁸ So quickly they have turned aside from the way I ordered them to follow! They have cast a metal statue of a calf, worshipped it, sacrificed to it and said, ‘Isra’el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” ⁹ יְהוַה continued speaking to Moshe: “I have been watching these people; and you can see how stiff-necked they are. ¹⁰ Now leave me alone, so that my anger can blaze against them, and I can put an end to them! I will make a great nation out of you instead.”

¹¹ Moshe pleaded with יְהוַה  his ELOHIM. He said, “יְהוַה, why must your anger blaze against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? ¹² Why let the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intentions that he led them out, to slaughter them in the hills and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger! Relent! Don’t bring such disaster on your people! ¹³ Remember Avraham, Yitz’chak and Isra’el, your servants, to whom you swore by your very self. You promised them, ‘I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky; and I will give all this land I have spoken about to your descendants; and they will possess it forever.’” ¹⁴ יְהוַה then changed his mind about the disaster he had planned for his people.

¹⁵ Moshe turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets inscribed on both sides, on the front and on the back. ¹⁶ The tablets were the work of ELOHIM; and the writing was the writing of ELOHIM, engraved on the tablets. ¹⁷ When Y’hoshua heard the noise of the people shouting he said to Moshe, “It sounds like war in the camp!” ¹⁸ He answered, “That is neither the clamor of victory nor the wailings of defeat; what I hear is the sound of people singing.”

¹⁹ But the moment Moshe got near the camp, when he saw the calf and the dancing, his own anger blazed up. He threw down the tablets he had been holding and shattered them at the base of the mountain. ²⁰ Seizing the calf they had made, he melted it in the fire and ground it to powder, which he scattered on the water. Then he made the people of Isra’el drink it.

²¹ Moshe said to Aharon, “What did these people do to you to make you lead them into such a terrible sin?” ²² Aharon replied, “My lord shouldn’t be so angry. You know what these people are like, that they are determined to do evil. ²³ So they said to me, ‘Make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moshe, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has become of him.’ ²⁴ I answered them, ‘Anyone with gold, strip it off!’ So they gave it to me. I threw it in the fire, and out came this calf!”

²⁵ When Moshe saw that the people had gotten out of control — because Aharon had allowed them to get out of control, to the derision of their enemies — ²⁶ Moshe stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “Whoever is for יְהוַה, come to me!” All the descendants of Levi rallied around him. ²⁷ He told them, “Here is what יְהוַה, the ELOHEI Yisra’el, says: ‘Each of you, put his sword on his side; and go up and down the camp, from gate to gate; and every man is to kill his own kinsman, his own friend and his own neighbor!” ²⁸ The sons of Levi did what Moshe said, and that day three thousand of the people died. ²⁹ Moshe said, “You have consecrated yourselves today to יְהוַה, because every one of you has been against his own son and against his own kinsman, in order to bring a blessing on yourselves today.”

³⁰ The next day Moshe said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. Now I will go up to יְהוַה; maybe I will be able to atone for your sin.” ³¹ Moshe went back to יְהוַה and said, “Please! These people have committed a terrible sin: they have made themselves a god out of gold. ³² Now, if you will just forgive their sin! But if you won’t, then, I beg you, blot me out of your book which you have written!” ³³  יְהוַהanswered Moshe, “Those who have sinned against me are the ones I will blot out of my book. ³⁴ Now go and lead the people to the place I told you about; my angel will go ahead of you. Nevertheless, the time for punishment will come; and then I will punish them for their sin.” ³⁵ יְהוַה struck the people with a plague because they had made the calf, the one Aharon made.

Sh'mot/Exodus 33

¹ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Leave, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt; and move on from here toward the land of which I swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ ² I will send an angel ahead of you; and I will drive out the Kena‘ani, Emori, Hitti, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi. ³ You will go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I myself will not go with you, because you are such a stiff-necked people that I might destroy you on the way.” ⁴ When the people heard this bad news, they went into mourning; and no one wore his ornaments. ⁵ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘You are a stiff-necked people! If I were to go up with you for even one moment, I would exterminate you! Now, keep your ornaments off; then I will decide what to do to you.’” ⁶ So from Mount Horev onward, the people of Yisra’el stripped themselves of their ornaments.

⁷ Moshe would take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp. He called it the tent of meeting. Everyone who wanted to consult יְהוַה would go out to the tent of meeting, outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moshe went out to the tent, all the people would get up and stand, each man at his tent door, and look at Moshe until he had gone into the tent. ⁹ Whenever Moshe entered the tent, the column of cloud would descend and station itself at the entrance to the tent; and יְהוַה would speak with Moshe. ¹⁰ When all the people saw the column of cloud stationed at the entrance to the tent, they would get up and prostrate themselves, each man at his tent door. ¹¹ יְהוַה would speak to Moshe face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then he would return to the camp; but the young man who was his assistant, Y’hoshua the son of Nun, never left the inside of the tent.

(iii) ¹² Moshe said to יְהוַה, “Look, you say to me, ‘Make these people move on!’ But you haven’t let me know whom you will be sending with me. Nevertheless you have said, ‘I know you by name,’ and also, ‘You have found favor in my sight.’ ¹³ Now, please, if it is really the case that I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways; so that I will understand you and continue finding favor in your sight. Moreover, keep on seeing this nation as your people.” ¹⁴ He answered, “Set your mind at rest — my presence will go with you, after all.” ¹⁵ Moshe replied, “If your presence doesn’t go with us, don’t make us go on from here. ¹⁶ For how else is it to be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, other than by your going with us? That is what distinguishes us, me and your people, from all the other peoples on earth.”

(iv) ¹⁷ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “I will also do what you have asked me to do, because you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” ¹⁸ But Moshe said, “I beg you to show me your glory!” ¹⁹ He replied, “I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce the name of יְהוַה. Moreover, I show favor to whomever I will, and I display mercy to whomever I will. ²⁰ But my face,” he continued, “you cannot see, because a human being cannot look at me and remain alive. ²¹ Here,” he said, “is a place near me; stand on the rock. ²² When my glory passes by, I will put you inside a crevice in the rock and cover you with my hand, until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand, and you will see my back, but my face is not to be seen.”

Sh'mot/Exodus 34

¹ (v) יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Cut yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones; and I will inscribe on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Be ready by morning; in the morning you are to ascend Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. ³ No one is to come up with you, and no one is to be seen anywhere on the mountain; don’t even let the flocks or herds feed in front of this mountain.” ⁴ Moshe cut two stone tablets like the first. Then he got up early in the morning and, with the two stone tablets in his hands, ascended Mount Sinai, as יְהוַה had ordered him to do.

⁵ יְהוַה descended in the cloud, stood with him there and pronounced the name of יְהוַה. ⁶ יְהוַה  passed before him and proclaimed, יְהוַה , יְהוַה is EL(OHIM), merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace and truth; ⁷ showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving offenses, crimes and sins; yet not exonerating the guilty, but causing the negative effects of the parents’ offenses to be experienced by their children and grandchildren, and even by the third and fourth generations.” ⁸ At once Moshe bowed his head to the ground, prostrated himself ⁹ and said, “If I have now found favor in your view, יְהוַה, then please let יְהוַה go with us, even though they are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our offenses and our sin; and take us as your possession.”

(vi) ¹⁰ He said, “Here, I am making a covenant; in front of all your people I will do wonders such as have not been created anywhere on earth or in any nation. All the people around you will see the work of יְהוַה. What I am going to do through you will be awesome! ¹¹ Observe what I am ordering you to do today. Here! I am driving out ahead of you the Emori, Kena‘ani, Hitti, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi. ¹² Be careful not to make a covenant with the people living in the land where you are going, so that they won’t become a snare within your own borders. ¹³ Rather, you are to demolish their altars, smash their standing-stones and cut down their sacred poles; ¹⁴ because you are not to bow down to any other god; since יְהוַה — whose very name is Jealous — is a jealous ELOHIM. ¹⁵ Do not make a covenant with the people living in the land. It will cause you go astray after their gods and sacrifice ke'eloheihem [to their elohim]. Then they will invite you to join them in eating their sacrifices, ¹⁶ and you will take their daughters as wives for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves to their own gods and make your sons do the same!

¹⁷ “Do not cast metal elohim for yourselves.

¹⁸ “Keep the festival of matzah by eating matzah, as I ordered you, for seven days during the month of Aviv; for it was in the month of Aviv that you came out from Egypt.

¹⁹ “Everything that is first from the womb is mine. Of all your livestock, you are to set aside for me the males, the firstborn of cattle and flock. ²⁰ The firstborn of a donkey you must redeem with a lamb; if you won’t redeem it, break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you are to redeem, and no one is to appear before me empty-handed.

²¹ “Six days you will work, but on the seventh day you are to rest — even in plowing time and harvest season you are to rest.

²² “Observe the festival of Shavu‘ot with the first-gathered produce of the wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year. ²³ Three times a year all your men are to appear before  The Sovereign, יְהוַה Ha'ELOHEI Isra’el. ²⁴ For I am going to expel nations ahead of you and expand your territory, and no one will even covet your land when you go up to appear before יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM [your ELOHIM] three times a year. ²⁵ You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, and the sacrifice of the feast of Pesach is not to be left until morning. ²⁶ You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of יְהוַה ELOHEIKEM.

“You are not to boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

(vii) ²⁷ יְהוַה said to Moshe, “Write these words down, because they are the terms of the covenant I have made with you and with Isra’el.” ²⁸ Moshe was there with יְהוַה forty days and forty nights, during which time he neither ate food nor drank water. [יְהוַה] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Words.

²⁹ When Moshe came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, he didn’t realize that the skin of his face was sending out rays of light as a result of his talking with [יְהוַה]. ³⁰ When Aharon and the people of Isra’el saw Moshe, the skin of his face was shining; and they were afraid to approach him. ³¹ But Moshe called to them; then Aharon and all the community leaders came back to him, and Moshe spoke to them. ³² Afterwards, all the people of Isra’el came near; and he passed on to them all the orders יְהוַה had told him on Mount Sinai.

(Maftir) ³³ Once Moshe had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. ³⁴ But when he went in before יְהוַה for him to speak, he would take the veil off until he came out; then, when he came out, he would tell the people of Yisra’el what he had been ordered. ³⁵ But when the people of Isra’el saw Moshe’s face, that the skin of Moshe’s face shone, he would put the veil back over his face until he went in again to speak with [יְהוַה].

Haftarah Ki Tissa: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 18:1–39 (A); 18:20–39 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Ki Tissa: Luke 11:14 –20; Acts 7:35–8:1; 1 Corinthians 10:1–13; 2 Corinthians 3:1–18

Sh'mot/Exodus 35
Parashah 22: Vayak’hel (He assembled) 35:1–38:20

[In regular years read with Parashah 23, in leap years read separately]

¹ Moshe assembled the whole community of the people of Isra’el and said to them, “These are the things which יְהוַה has ordered you to do. ² On six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is to be a holy day for you, a Shabbat of complete rest in honor of יְהוַה. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death. ³ You are not to kindle a fire in any of your homes on Shabbat.”

⁴ Moshe said to the whole community of the people of Isra’el, “Here is what יְהוַה has ordered: ⁵ ‘Take up a collection for יְהוַה from among yourselves — anyone whose heart makes him willing is to bring the offering for יְהוַה: gold, silver and bronze; ⁶ blue, purple and scarlet yarn; fine linen, goat’s hair, ⁷ tanned ram skins and fine leather; acacia-wood;
⁸ oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; ⁹ onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ritual vest and the breastplate.

¹⁰ “‘Then let all the craftsmen among you come and make everything יְהוַה has ordered: ¹¹ the tabernacle with its tent, covering, fasteners, planks, crossbars, posts and sockets; ¹² the ark with its poles, ark-cover and the curtain to screen it; ¹³ the table with its poles, all its utensils and the showbread; ¹⁴ the menorah for the light, with its utensils and lamps, and the oil for the light; ¹⁵ the incense altar with its poles; the anointing oil; the fragrant incense; the screen for the entranceway at the entrance to the tabernacle; ¹⁶ the altar for burnt offerings, with its poles and all its utensils; the basin with its base; ¹⁷ the tapestries for the courtyard, with their posts and sockets; the screen for the gateway of the courtyard; ¹⁸ the tent pegs for the tabernacle; the tent pegs for the courtyard, with their ropes; ¹⁹ the garments for officiating, for serving in the Holy Place; and the holy garments for Aharon the cohen and the garments for his sons, so that they can serve in the office of cohen.’”

²⁰ Then the whole community of the people of Isra’el withdrew from Moshe’s presence; (LY: ii) ²¹ and they came, everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit made him willing, and brought יְהוַה’s offering for the work on the tent of meeting, for the service in it and for the holy garments. ²² Both men and women came, as many as had willing hearts; they brought nose-rings, earrings, signet-rings, belts, all kinds of gold jewelry — everyone bringing an offering of gold to יְהוַה.
²³ Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn; fine linen; tanned ram skins or fine leather brought them. ²⁴ Everyone contributing silver or bronze brought his offering for יְהוַה, and everyone who had acacia-wood suitable for any of the work brought it. ²⁵ All the women who were skilled at spinning got to work and brought what they had spun, the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and the fine linen. ²⁶ Likewise the women whose heart stirred them to use their skill spun the goat’s hair. ²⁷ The leaders brought the onyx stones and the stones to be set, for the ritual vest and the breastplate; ²⁸ the spices; and the oil for the light, for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. ²⁹ Thus every man and woman of the people of Isra’el whose heart impelled him to contribute to any of the work יְהוַה had ordered through Moshe brought it to יְהוַה as a voluntary offering.

(RY: ii, LY: iii) ³⁰ Moshe said to the people of Isra’el, “See, יְהוַה has singled out B’tzal’el the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y’hudah. ³¹ He has filled him with HARUACH ELOHEI— with wisdom, understanding and knowledge concerning every kind of artisanry. ³² He is a master of design in gold, silver, bronze, ³³ cutting precious stones to be set, woodcarving and every other craft. ³⁴ [יְהוַה] has also given him and Oholi’av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. ³⁵ He has filled them with the skill needed for every kind of work, whether done by an artisan, a designer, an embroiderer using blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen, or a weaver — they have the skill for every kind of work and design.

 

 

Sh'mot/Exodus 36

¹ “B’tzal’el and Oholi’av, along with all the craftsmen whom יְהוַה has endowed with the wisdom and skill necessary to carry out the work needed for the sanctuary, are to do exactly according to everything יְהוַה has ordered.”

² Moshe summoned B’tzal’el, Oholi’av and every craftsman to whom יְהוַה had given wisdom, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come and take part in the work. ³ They received from Moshe all the offering which the people of Isra’el had brought for the work of building the sanctuary. But they still kept bringing voluntary offerings every morning, ⁴ until all the craftsmen doing the work for the sanctuary left the work they were involved with ⁵ to tell Moshe, “The people are bringing far more than is needed to do the work יְהוַה has ordered done.” ⁶ So Moshe gave an order which was proclaimed throughout the camp: “Neither men nor women are to make any further efforts for the sanctuary offering.” In this way, the people were restrained from making additional contributions. ⁷ For what they had already was not only sufficient for doing all the work, but too much!

(LY: iv) ⁸ All the skilled men among them who did the work made the tabernacle, using ten sheets of finely woven linen and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn. He made them with k’ruvim worked in that had been crafted by a skilled artisan. ⁹ Each sheet was forty-two feet long and six feet wide; all the sheets were the same size. ¹⁰ He joined five sheets one to another, and the other five sheets he joined one to another. ¹¹ He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and did the same on the edge of the outermost sheet in the second set.

Exodus 36:11-40:38

¹¹ He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and did the same on the edge of the outermost sheet in the second set. ¹² He made fifty loops on the one sheet, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the sheet in the second set; the loops were opposite one another. ¹³ He made fifty fasteners of gold and coupled the sheets to each other with the fasteners, so that the tabernacle formed a single unit.

¹⁴ He made sheets of goat’s hair to be used as a tent covering the tabernacle; he made eleven sheets. ¹⁵ Each sheet was forty-five feet long and six feet wide; all eleven sheets were the same size. ¹⁶ He joined five sheets together and six sheets together. ¹⁷ He made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and fifty loops on the outermost sheet in the second set. ¹⁸ He made fifty fasteners of bronze to join the tent together, so that it would be a single unit.

¹⁹ He made a covering for the tent of tanned ram skins and an outer covering of fine leather.

(LY: v) ²⁰ He made the upright planks of acacia-wood for the tabernacle. ²¹ Each plank was fifteen feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet wide. ²² There were two projections on each plank, and the planks were joined one to another. This is how he made all the planks for the tabernacle.

²³ He made the planks for the tabernacle as follows: twenty planks for the south side, facing southward. ²⁴ He made forty silver sockets under the twenty planks, two sockets under one plank for its two projections and two sockets under another plank for its two projections. ²⁵ For the second side of the tabernacle, to the north, he made twenty planks ²⁶ and their forty silver sockets, two sockets under one plank and two under another. ²⁷ For the rear part of the tabernacle, toward the west, he made six planks. ²⁸ For the corners of the tabernacle in the rear he made two planks, ²⁹ double from the bottom all the way to the top but joined at a single ring. He did the same with both of them at the two corners. ³⁰ Thus there were eight planks with their silver sockets, sixteen sockets, two sockets under each plank.

³¹ He made crossbars of acacia-wood, five for the planks of the one side of the tabernacle, ³² five crossbars for the planks of the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the planks at the side of the tabernacle at the rear toward the west. ³³ He made the middle crossbar so that it extended from one end of the planks to the other, halfway up. ³⁴ He overlaid the planks with gold, made gold rings for them through which the crossbars could pass and overlaid the crossbars with gold.

³⁵ He made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. He made them with k’ruvim worked in that had been crafted by a skilled artisan. ³⁶ He made for it four posts of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold, and gold hooks; and cast for them four silver sockets.

³⁷ For the entrance to the tent he made a screen of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen, in colors, the work of a weaver; ³⁸ with its five posts and their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their attached rings for hanging with gold, while their five sockets were of bronze.

Shemot/ Exodus 37

¹ B’tzal’el made the ark of acacia-wood three-and-three-quarters feet long, two-and-a-quarter feet wide and two-and-a-quarter feet high. ² He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside and put a molding of gold for it around the top. ³ He cast four gold rings for it at its four feet, two rings on each side. ⁴ He made poles of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ He put the carrying-poles for the ark in the rings on the sides of the ark.

⁶ He made a cover for the ark of pure gold, three-and-three-quarters feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet wide. ⁷ He made two k’ruvim of gold; he made them of hammered work for the two ends of the ark-cover — ⁸ one keruv for one end and one keruv for the other end; he made the k’ruvim of one piece with the ark-cover at its two ends. ⁹ The k’ruvim had their wings spread out above, so that their wings covered the ark; their faces were toward each other and toward the ark-cover.

¹⁰ He made the table of acacia-wood, three feet long, eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches high. ¹¹ He overlaid it with pure gold and put a molding of gold around the top of it. ¹² He made around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a molding of gold around the rim. ¹³ He cast for it four gold rings and attached the rings to the four corners, near its four legs. ¹⁴ The rings to hold the carrying-poles for the table were placed close to the rim. ¹⁵ He made the carrying-poles for the table of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold. ¹⁶ He made the utensils to be put on the table — its dishes, pans, bowls and pitchers — of pure gold.

(RY: iii, LY: vi) ¹⁷ He made the menorah of pure gold. He made it of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, rings of outer leaves and flowers were a single unit. ¹⁸ There were six branches extending from its sides, three branches of the menorah on one side of it and three on the other. ¹⁹ On one branch were three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a ring of outer leaves and petals; likewise on the opposite branch three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a ring of outer leaves and petals; and similarly for all six branches extending from the menorah. ²⁰ On the central shaft of the menorah were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its ring of outer leaves and petals. ²¹ Where each pair of branches joined the central shaft was a ring of outer leaves of one piece with the pair of branches — thus for all six branches. ²² Their rings of outer leaves and their branches were of one piece with the shaft. Thus the whole menorah was one piece of hammered work made of pure gold. ²³ He made its seven lamps, its tongs and its trays of pure gold. ²⁴ The menorah and its utensils were made of sixty-six pounds of pure gold.

²⁵ He made the altar on which to burn incense of acacia-wood, eighteen inches square and three feet high; its horns were a single unit. ²⁶ He overlaid it with pure gold — its top, all around its sides and its horns; and he put around it a molding of gold. ²⁷ He made two gold rings for it under its molding at the two corners on both sides, to hold the carrying-poles. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold.

²⁹ He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of aromatic plant substances as would an expert perfume-maker.

Sh'mot/Exodus 38

¹ (RY: iv, LY: vii) He made the altar for burnt offerings of acacia-wood, seven-and-a-half feet long and seven-and-a-half feet wide — it was square — and four-and-a-half feet high. ² He made horns for it on its four corners, the horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.

³ He made all the utensils for the altar — its pots, shovels, basins, meat-hooks and fire pans; all its utensils he made of bronze. ⁴ He made for the altar a grate of bronze netting, under its rim, reaching halfway up the altar. ⁵ He cast four rings for the four ends of the bronze grate to hold the poles. ⁶ He made the poles of acacia-wood and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷ He put the carrying-poles into the rings on the sides of the altar; he made it of planks and hollow inside.

⁸ He made the basin of bronze with its base of bronze from the mirrors of the women serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

⁹ He made the courtyard. On the south side, facing southward, the tapestries for the courtyard were made of finely woven linen, 150 feet long, ¹⁰ supported on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets; the hooks on the posts and the attached rings for hanging were of silver. ¹¹ On the north side they were 150 feet long, hung on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets, with the hooks on the posts and their rings of silver. ¹² On the west side were tapestries seventy-five feet long, hung on ten posts in ten sockets, with the hooks on the posts and their rings of silver. ¹³ On the east side were tapestries seventy-five feet long. ¹⁴ The tapestries for the one side [of the gateway] were twenty-two-and-a-half feet long, hung on three posts in three sockets; ¹⁵ likewise for the other side — on either side [of the gate] were tapestries twenty-two-and-a-half feet long on three posts in three sockets. ¹⁶ All the tapestries for the courtyard, all the way around, were of finely woven linen; ¹⁷ the sockets for the posts were of bronze; the hooks on the posts and their rings were of silver; the capitals of the posts were overlaid with silver; and all the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver.

(LY: Maftir) ¹⁸ The screen for the gateway to the courtyard was the work of a weaver in colors, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. Its length was thirty feet and its height seven-and-a-half feet all the way along, like the tapestries of the courtyard. ¹⁹ It had four posts in four bronze sockets, with silver hooks, capitals overlaid with silver and silver fasteners.

²⁰ The tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard around it were of bronze.

Haftarah Vayak’hel: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 7:40–50 (A); 7:13–26 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayak’hel: 2 Corinthians 9:1–15; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 9:1–14; Revelation 11:1–13

Parashah 23: P’kudei (Accounts) 38:21–40:38

[In regular years read with Parashah 22, in leap years read separately]

²¹ These are the accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, recorded, as Moshe ordered, by the L’vi’im under the direction of Itamar the son of Aharon, the cohen.

²² B’tzal’el the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y’hudah, made everything that יְהוַה ordered Moshe to make. ²³ Assisting him was Oholi’av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan, who was an engraver, a designer and a weaver in colors — in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and in fine linen.

²⁴ All the gold used for the work in everything needed for the sanctuary, the gold of the offering, weighed 29 talents 730 shekels [1,930 pounds], using the sanctuary shekel.

²⁵ The silver given by the community weighed 100 talents 1,775 shekels [6,650 pounds], using the sanctuary shekel. ²⁶ This was a beka per person, that is, half a shekel [one-fifth of an ounce], using the sanctuary shekel, for everyone twenty years old or older counted in the census, 603,550 men.
²⁷ The hundred talents of silver were used to cast the sockets for the sanctuary and the sockets for the curtain — one hundred sockets made from the hundred talents, one talent [sixty-six pounds] per socket. ²⁸ The 1,775 shekels [fifty pounds] he used to make hooks for the posts, to overlay their capitals and to make fasteners for them.

²⁹ The bronze in the offering came to 4,680 pounds. ³⁰ He used it to make the sockets for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, its bronze grate, all the utensils for the altar, ³¹ the sockets for the courtyard around it, the sockets for the gateway to the courtyard, all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and all the tent pegs for the courtyard around it.

Sh'mot/Exodus 39

¹ From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made the garments for officiating, for serving in the Holy Place; and they made the holy garments for Aharon, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe. (RY: v, LY: ii) ² He made the ritual vest of gold, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely woven linen. ³ They hammered the gold into thin plates and cut them into threads in order to work it into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and the fine linen crafted by the skilled artisan. ⁴ They made shoulder-pieces for it, joined together; they were joined together at the two ends. ⁵ The decorated belt on the vest, used to fasten it, was of the same workmanship and materials — gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely twined linen — as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe. ⁶ They worked the onyx stones, mounted in gold settings, engraving them with the names of the sons of Isra’el as they would be engraved on a seal. ⁷ Then he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the vest to be stones calling to mind the sons of Isra’el, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

⁸ He made the breastplate; it was crafted by a skilled artisan and made like the work of the ritual vest — of gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely woven linen. ⁹ When folded double, the breastplate was square — doubled, it was a hand-span by a hand-span. ¹⁰ They set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a carnelian, a topaz and an emerald; ¹¹ the second row a green feldspar, a sapphire and a diamond; ¹² the third row an orange zircon, an agate and an amethyst; ¹³ and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in settings of gold. ¹⁴ The stones corresponded to the names of the twelve sons of Yisra’el; they were engraved with their names as a seal would be engraved, each name representing one of the twelve tribes.

¹⁵ On the breastplate they made two pure gold chains, twisted like cords. ¹⁶ Also for the breastplate they made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and they put the two rings at the two ends of the breastplate. ¹⁷ They put the two twisted gold chains in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate ¹⁸ and attached the other two ends of the twisted chains to the front of the shoulder-pieces of the ritual vest. ¹⁹ They also made two gold rings and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, at its edge, on the side facing in toward the vest. ²⁰ Also they made two gold rings and attached them low on the front part of the vest’s shoulder-pieces, near the join, above the vest’s decorated belt. ²¹ Then they bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that it could be on the vest’s decorated belt, and so that the breastplate would not swing loose from the vest—as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

(RY: vi, LY: iii) ²² He made the robe for the ritual vest; it was woven entirely of blue, ²³ with its opening in the middle, like that of a coat of mail, and with a border around the opening, so that it wouldn’t tear. ²⁴ On the bottom hem they made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet, and woven linen; ²⁵ and they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all the way around the hem of the robe — between the pomegranates, ²⁶ that is, bell, pomegranate, bell, pomegranate, all the way around the hem of the robe for service — as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

²⁷ They made the tunics of finely woven linen for Aharon and his sons,
²⁸ the turban of fine linen, the splendid headgear of fine linen, the linen shorts, ²⁹ and the sash of finely woven linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, the work of a weaver in colors — as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

³⁰ They made the ornament for the holy turban of pure gold; wrote on it the words, “Set apart for יְהוַה,” like the engraving on a seal; ³¹ and tied a blue cord on it to fasten it to the front of the turban — as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

³² Thus all the work for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished, with the people of Isra’el doing everything exactly as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

(LY: iv) ³³ Then they brought the tabernacle to Moshe — the tent and all its furnishings, clasps, planks, crossbars, posts and sockets; ³⁴ the covering of tanned ram skins, the covering of fine leather and the curtain for the screen; ³⁵ the ark for the testimony, its poles and the ark-cover; ³⁶ the table, all its utensils and the showbread; ³⁷ the pure menorah, its lamps and their arrangement for display, its accessories and the oil for the light; ³⁸ the gold altar; the anointing oil; the fragrant incense; the screen for the entrance to the tent; ³⁹ the bronze altar with its bronze grate, poles and all its utensils; the basin with its base; ⁴⁰ the tapestries for the courtyard, with their posts and sockets; the screen for the entrance to the courtyard, with its ropes and tent pegs; all the utensils for the service in the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; ⁴¹ the garments for officiating, for serving in the Holy Place; the holy garments for Aharon the cohen; and the garments for his sons to serve in the office of cohen.

⁴² The people of Isra’el did all the work just as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe. ⁴³ Moshe saw all the work, and — there it was! — they had done it! Exactly as יְהוַה had ordered, they had done it. And Moshe blessed them.

Sh'mot/Exodus 40

¹ (RY: vii, LY: v) יְהוַה said to Moshe, ² “On the first day of the first month, you are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. ³ Put in it the ark for the testimony, and conceal the ark with the curtain. ⁴ Bring in the table, and arrange its display. Bring in the menorah, and light its lamps. ⁵ Set the gold altar for incense in front of the ark for the testimony, and set up the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle. ⁶ Place the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. ⁷ Set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ Set up the courtyard all the way around, and hang up the screen for the entrance to the courtyard.

⁹ “Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it — consecrate it with all its furnishings; then it will be holy. ¹⁰ Anoint the altar for burnt offerings with all its utensils — consecrate the altar; then the altar will be especially holy. ¹¹ Anoint the basin and its base, and consecrate it.

¹² “Then bring Aharon and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. ¹³ Put the holy garments on Aharon, anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he can serve me in the office of cohen. ¹⁴ Bring his sons, put tunics on them, ¹⁵ and anoint them as you anointed their father, so that they can serve me in the office of cohen. Their anointing will signify that the office of cohen is theirs through all their generations.”

¹⁶ Moshe did this — he acted in accordance with everything יְהוַה had ordered him to do.

(LY: vi) ¹⁷ On the first day of the first month of the second year, the tabernacle was set up. ¹⁸ Moshe erected the tabernacle, put its sockets in place, put up its planks, put in its crossbars and set up its posts. ¹⁹ He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent above it, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe. ²⁰ He took and put the testimony inside the ark, put the poles on the ark, and set the ark-cover above, on the ark. ²¹ Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, set up the curtain as a screen and concealed the ark for the testimony, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

²² He put the table in the tent of meeting on the side of the tabernacle facing north, outside the curtain. ²³ He arranged a row of bread on it before יְהוַה, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

²⁴ He put the menorah in the tent of meeting across from the table, on the side of the tabernacle facing south. ²⁵ Then he lit the lamps before יְהוַה, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

²⁶ He set the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain ²⁷ and burned on it incense made from aromatic spices, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

(LY: vii) ²⁸ He set up the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle. ²⁹ The altar for burnt offerings he placed at the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

³⁰ He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, ³¹ so that Moshe and Aharon and his sons could wash their hands and feet there — ³² so that they could wash when entering the tent of meeting and when approaching the altar, as יְהוַה had ordered Moshe.

³³ Finally, he erected the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar and set up the screen for the entrance to the courtyard.

(Maftir) ³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of יְהוַה filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ Moshe was unable to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of יְהוַה filled the tabernacle.

³⁶ Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Isra’el continued with all their travels. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not travel onward until the day when it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of יְהוַה was above the tabernacle during the day, and fire was in [the cloud] at night, so that all the house of Isra’el could see it throughout all their travels.

Haftarah P’kudei: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 7:51–8:21 (A); 7:40–50 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah P’kudei: Revelation 15:5–8

Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!

Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!