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Moshe’s Last Day

Moshe passed away on the seventh of Adar, which was also his birthday, alluding to him having had a complete life.

On the day of Moshe’s passing, his powers were just as strong as before, however his authority was taken away from him and his powers of transmission closed off from him.

Moshe told them on that day that he was 120 years old and not permitted to continue into the land with them.

He reassures them that G-d and Yehoshua will cross the Jordan river before them to lead them there and that G-d will destroy the nations they are to encounter in the land so the Israelites can take possession of it.

Choose Life

Moshe relays that he has today set before them “life and good” and “death and evil”. Juxtaposing these things is in order to illustrate that doing good grants one life, while doing evil grants one death. This works as follows:

The “good” refers to loving G-d, walking in His ways and observing His commandments, statues and ordinances. Doing so will cause them to “live and increase” and G-d will bless them in the land of Israel.

The “evil” refers to them not listening and bowing down to and serving other gods. If they do this, they will not live long in Israel.

Moshe says that he calls upon the heaven and earth that day as witnesses to all of this, as they are eternal and thus will bear witness when evil comes upon them. An alternate explanation to Moshe calling upon the heaven and earth as witnesses, is to demonstrate that the heaven and earth obediently act as G-d wills them to despite not receiving reward or punishment for this, so all the more so should the Israelites who do receive reward and punishment obey G-d.

Moshe beseeches them that in spite of the fact that they have free choice, they are to choose life. Rashi explains that this is like a man who tells his son to choose a nice portion of his estate and then shows him the best portion and tells him to choose that one.

Living in the land that G-d promised to their forefathers is their life, which they are choosing when they obey G-d.

Curses on Israel’s Enemies. Return to G-d.

Moshe prophecies that G-d will put all of the curses on the Israelites’ enemies and those who chase after them, that the Israelites will return to listening and obeying G-d’s commandments and that G-d will make their work produce abundance for them.

When they obey G-d and return to Him with their full heart and soul, G-d will celebrate over them the way he did over their ancestors, Moshe says.

Curses on Israel’s Enemies. Return to G-d.

Moshe prophecies that G-d will put all of the curses on the Israelites’ enemies and those who chase after them, that the Israelites will return to listening and obeying G-d’s commandments and that G-d will make their work produce abundance for them.

When they obey G-d and return to Him with their full heart and soul, G-d will celebrate over them the way he did over their ancestors, Moshe says.

Ingathering

Moshe prophecies to the Israelites that after the blessings and curses previously spoken of come to pass, and they contemplate it all and subsequently return to G-d fully in heart and soul and obey Him, G-d will have mercy on them and gather all of the Israelites who will have been scattered around the world, even from the “end of the heaven” and return them to their Land. This ingathering will be such a monumental and difficult procedure that it will be as though G-d is taking each individual Jew out of exile with His hands.

Once returned to the Land of Israel, this later generation of Israelites will re-possess the Land and G-d will make them more numerous than their ancestors.

And G-d will circumcise their and their progeny’s hearts so they may love G-d with all their heart and soul.

Reminders and Collective Responsibility

G-d says that they must vow not to practice idolatry since they may feel tempted to after living in Egypt and having seen other nations do so. Whether they were idols of wood and stone which they kept out in public as they did not fear that anyone would steal them, or of gold and silver which they kept hidden away for fear that these would be stolen.

Moshe now warns that if there is someone among them who practices idolatry or makes or adds evil, who upon hearing G-d’s vow to them, thinks to himself that he can still have peace even if continues to do what he wants and disregard G-d’s Will, such a person will not be forgiven by G-d. Rather G-d’s anger will cause his body to flame up and have fumes come out of his nose and will be subject to all of the curses mentioned earlier and G-d will delete his name from the world.

And in the future, their progeny as well as future converts will see the plagues in the land and diseases and liken it to the downfall of Sodom, Gemorrah, Admah and Zeboiim which G-d upended out of His anger. And this later generation will understand that this is an expression of G-d’s anger for abandoning their covenant with Him by serving other gods that G-d did not designate for them. And out of anger G-d threw them out from the Land.

These punishments that Moshe warns will be inflicted upon the entire nation is only for the sin of a few.

Rashi comments upon how this teaches that the entire nation is responsible for the sins of even a few people. However this only became so after they crossed the Jordan River after having accepted the oath at Mount Gerizin and Mount Ebal where they accepted this collective responsibility.

Exclusive Relationship

In exchange for G-d going to the trouble of being so exclusionary about Israel, vowing to the patriarchs that He would not exchange them with another nation, He expects them to be faithful to Him in kind.

Rashi explains here that this Parsha of Nitzavim comes right after that of Ki Tavo as when the Israelites heard the 98 curses written in Ki Tavo, they feared it would be too much for them to handle. Thus Moshe calmed them down with what is written here in Nitzavim that in spite of having angered G-d many times, He has not destroyed them and that in fact the curses and suffering are what allow them to stay standing before Him. The curses do so by deterring them from sinning and the suffering by cleansing them of sins.

Moshe tells them that G-d is saying that He is including all future generations of Jews in the covenant, not only those who were physically there that day.

Receiving the Covenant

On the day of his death, Moshe brought the entire nation together in the presence of G-d to enter them into a covenant with Him. The text details the various factions of the nation he gathered in descending order of importance: The leader of the tribes, the elders, the officers, the other men, the young children, the women, the converts and finally the woodcutters and water drawers. These woodcutters and water drawers are listed at the end and separately as these were the Canaanites who pretended that they wanted to convert to Judaism during Moshe’s time however Moshe was on to them so in failing to trust them, he made them into woodcutters and water drawers. The same thing happened later in Yehoshua ’s time with the Gibeonites who similarly pretended to want to convert to Judaism though Yehoshua didn’t trust them and similarly made them into woodcutters and water drawers.

Moshe made the nation stand in ranks, as a way to encourage them in transitioning from him to another leader (Yehoshua). Yehoshua acted similarly before his death as did Shmuel the prophet when his leadership was about to be passed to Saul.

The way covenants were set up is that there would be demarcations set up on two sides and those parties to the covenant would pass through it.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

2 Lambs. The Ohel Moed

Two lambs in their first year should be sacrificed daily - one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The Morning Lamb

Together with the first (morning)lamb, 1/10 of an ephah* of fine flour should be mixed with 1/4 of a hin of crushed olive oil and 1/4 of a hin** of wine***.

*Side note: This equals to the volume of 43 1/5 eggs. One ephah is equivalent to 72 logs or approx 22 liters (one log is approx 0.3 liters) so this would be about 2.2 liters.

**Side note: One hin is equivalent to 12 logs, or approx 3.6 liters, so 1/4 of one hin equals to 3 logs, or approx 0.9 liters

***Side note: This wine was poured as a libation into 2 silver basins which were hollow at their bottoms (like nostrils) which were situated on top of the altar and would flow from them to the roof of the altar and then through the holes in the altar to the foundations of the copper altar and then to the ground.

The Afternoon Lamb

The afternoon lamb, like the meal offering, should be burnt in its entirety, thus serving as a "pleasing fragrance (or spirit)" ( רֵ֣יחַ נִיחֹ֔חַ אִשֶּׁ֖ה לה׳) for G-d. It should also have a wine libation. This offering should be sacrificed at the entrance to the Ohel Moed.

Where G-d Dwells and Communicates

It is at this area of the entrance to the Ohel Moed that G-d communicated with the Israelites and Moshe (there are different opinions regarding where exactly in this area, i.e. from above the copper altar or above the ark cover). It is in this area that the Divine Presence would rest.

G-d then says that He will sanctify the Ohel Moed, the altar, Aaron and Aaron's sons, for the sake of the service to Him and that He will dwell amongst the Israelites and be their G-d and they will know that He is G-d who took them out of Egypt.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Incense Altar

G-d now gives instructions on making the altar for burning incense. He says that it should be made out of Shittim wood.

It should be square shaped, 1 cubit long x 1 cubit wide and 2 cubits high with horns emerging from it. It should be covered in gold and it should have a golden crown, symbolizing the crown of the priesthood (kehuna).

On either side of the altar, under the crown, at two opposing corners, they should make golden rings.

They should make two poles out of shittim wood and covered in gold. These poles should go through the above mentioned rings.

This altar should be placed right outside of the Holy of Holies, i.e. in front of the curtain that covers the Ohel Moed.

Aaron is to burn incense on this altar every morning, while cleaning the lamps from the ashes of the wicks that burnt the previous night as well as every afternoon while lighting the lamps.

Nothing should be burnt on this altar other than the designated incense for it. Not any donated incense nor any meal offering (i.e. of bread) or burnt offering (i.e. of animal).

Once per year, on Yom Kippur, Aaron is to sprinkle blood on the horns of this altar from the bull and kid of the Yom Kippur sacrifice which served to atone for ritual contamination (in relation to the Mishkan and it's objects).

This altar shall not be used for any other service other than what has been described here.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Inauguration of the Cohanim Continues

The 2nd Ram

In continuing the inauguration of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood, instructions are given for them to now take the second ram (they had been instructed to bring 2 rams as part of the inaugural sacrifice - see yesterday's post) and place their hands upon its head.

The ram should then be slaughtered, and some of its blood placed on the cartilage of Aaron and his sons' right ears, on the middle joint of the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet.

The blood should then be sprinkled all around the altar.

Moshe should then sanctify Aaron and his sons' and their clothing by sprinkling some of the blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil on Aaron and his sons' and on their clothing.

Then the following parts of the ram should be sacrificed:

* Its fat*

* The fat that lies below the kidneys**

* The fat that covers its innards

* Its diaphragm

* Its 2 kidneys and their fat

* Its right thigh***should then be removed from the ram and it's innards.

*Side note: Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva disagree as to whether this is the fat of the small intestines or the stomach.

**Side note: This area of fat below the kidneys, referred to as a the אליה is only burnt in sacrifices of lambs and rams but not with goats and bulls which don't have this type of fat (hence there was no mention of it when describing the bull in yesterday's post).

***Side note: This is the only sacrifice in which the animal's right thigh is burnt.

This sacrifice was considered a "peace offering" (Shlamim) and the ram was considered to be a "ram of perfection (lit. "wholeness", with the word שלום (peace) being related to the word שלם (whole)) in the sense that all the parties involved with it take part - i.e. the altar, the owners of that which was sacrificed (i.e. Aaron and his sons) and he who preformed the sacrifice (i.e. Moshe).

The Bread

Then one loaf from each of the 3 types of loaves of matza* (described in yesterday's post) should be placed into Aaron and his sons' palms. Moshe was then to place his hands under their palms** and they should all wave these loaves in 4 directions: Side to side to banish punishment from the four winds**** (east, west, north and south) and - up and down, acknowledging that the heavens and earth belong to G-d and as protection from harmful dew.

*Side note: This was the only sacrifice in which "bread" (i.e matza) was burnt on the altar. Usually it is given to the Cohanim together with the meat.

**Side note: Usually the Cohen would place his palms under the palms of the owner. In this case, Moshe acted as the Cohen.

****Side note: Possibly read as "from punishment and from harmful winds"

These loaves should then be taken and together with the first ram (see yesterday's post), burnt on the altar. This is to be considered a fire offering and brings G-d's satisfaction in having His will performed.

The Breast of the Ram

The breast of the 2nd ram mentioned above should then be waved from side to side and its thigh lifted up and down. This will sanctify these parts so that going forward, the breast and thighs will not be burnt on the altar with the rest of the parts of animals being sacrificed but rather given to the Cohanim to eat.

Aaron's Clothing

Aaron's clothing will be vested with a special sanctity of the Cohen Gadol.

Such that in the future, any of Aaron's descendants who are destined to be the Cohen Gadol shall wear these clothes for 7 consecutive days and this will sanctify him as Cohen Gadol.

Only the Cohen Gadol is allowed to enter the Ohel Moed on Yom Kippur.

If a Cohen Gadol has a son who is on the same level as him, he must be appointed as the next Cohen Gadol.

The Cooking of the 2nd Ram (of Perfection/Wholeness)

The remainder of this 2nd ram should be cooked and eaten by Aaron and his sons in the courtyard of the Ohel Moed*.

*Side note: Due to its higher level of holiness. Regular peace offerings by contrast were allowed to be eaten anywhere within the confines of the city of Jerusalem.

Through the eating of this sacrifice, Aaron and his sons are atoned and inaugurated into the priesthood. Thus no non-Cohen (i.e. anyone other than Aaron and his sons) is allowed to eat from this sacrifice.

If there is anything from the sacrifice left over overnight, it should be burnt on the altar and not eaten due to its sanctity.

7 Days

This whole procedure with the sacrifices should be done daily for seven consecutive days.

This 7 day ritual will consecrate the altar as the "holy of holies" whereby anything that touches it thereafter (even offerings which became invalid, so long as they originally appeared before the altar as valid*) will become sanctified.

*Side note: Examples of this which Rashi lists are: Parts of an animal sacrifice which were meant to be placed on the altar but were left off it overnight, or animals which were placed outside of the courtyard after being slaughtered, or sacrifices which became "impure" or which were slaughtered with the intention of eating or sacrificing it outside of its permitted time or place.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Inauguration of the Cohanim

G-d says that a sacrifice must be made in order to sanctify the Cohanim in their role.

The sacrifice should consist of the following: 1 young bull (to atone for the sin of the golden calf which was a young bull), 2 Rams, and 10 loaves each of 3 different types of matzah, all made from fine flour. The 3 varieties of matzah were:

1)Scalded matza bread: made by first cooking its dough in boiling water until it was edible, and then baked a little and then fried in oil, making it crispy. This had 1/2 a log* of oil in it. Which was double the amount used for the other two.*A log is equal to about 0.3 liters.

2)Matzah loaves: Made by mixing the dough with oil and then baking it. This had a 1/4 of a log of oil in it.

3)Matza wafers: baked without any oil (similar to matzos we eat nowadays), but anointed with (1/2 of a log of) oil after being baked. The anointing was made in the shape of the Greek letter "chi"*.

*Side note: There is a dispute as to what this letter was exactly. It is unclear as to what Rashi's opinion is in this regard. See further commentaries for the varied opinions.

On the day that the Mishkan is made, all of the items for this sacrifice should be brought to the courtyard.

The inauguration of the Cohanim would then begin and take place following these steps:

Immersion

Aaron and his sons should be brought to the entrance of the Ohel Moed and immerse their entire bodies in water.

The Clothing

Aaron should be clothed in all of the garments made for the Cohen Gadol, namely: 1)The Michnasaim (pants), 2)Kutonet (Tunic) 3)Me'il (Robe), 4)Ephod (Apron) 5)Choshen (Breastplate) 6)Avnet (sash) 7)Mitznevet (Turban) 8)Tzitz (Crown) (see earlier in this parsha for more details on these).

Moshe is to then to anoint Aaron by pouring oil on his head and between his eyebrows and bringing this oil together with his fingers.

Then Aaron's sons should be clothed in all of the garments which were made for them thus establishing their eternal priestly authority.

The Bull

Then the bull should be brought up in front of the Ohel Moed and Aaron and his sons should place their hands on its head.

Then, in the courtyard of the Mishkan, this bull should be slaughtered and using their fingers, some of its blood should be placed on the horns of the altar and the remaining blood spilled into the protruding band near the base of the altar that was situated one cubit above the ground.

The membrane of the bull's rumen (first stomach), the diaphragm, a part from the liver and the 2 kidneys with their fat shall be burnt on the altar.

Its flesh, hide and dung however should be burned on the outer altar outside of the camp as a sin offering*.

*Side note: Other than the sin offerings which were involved in this inauguration of the Cohenim (there was also a calf that was sacrificed by Aaron on the 8th day of this ceremony that was similarly burnt in its entirely on the outer altar outside the camp), no sin offerings were burnt outside the camp like this, they were usually eaten by the Cohanim.

**Another side note: Only sin offerings required that the blood be applied with a finger and sprinkled on the horn of the altar as it is the type of sacrifice whereby the Cohanim ascend the altar and sprinkle the blood from there. Other sacrifices required neither of these as the Cohanim sprinkled their blood from the ground, thus only on the lower part of the altar.

The Ram

Aaron and his sons should place their hands on the ram's head and then the ram should be slaughtered. Moshe would then take the blood in a vessel and sprinkle it on two diagonal sides of the altar, so it would be visible from any side.

The ram should be chopped up and its innards and feet should be washed. Then all of this together with its head should be placed together and burnt up on the altar as a burnt offering. This will satisfy G-d for He willed that this sacrifice be made.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Robe. The Showplate. The Regular Cohanim’s Clothing.

The Robe (The Me’il)

The Ephod was to be worn on top of a robe made completely out of blue wool.

The collar of this robe should be folded inwards, similar to a coat of arms which has a collar that is folded inwards.

It is forbidden to tear this robe.

The bottom hem of the robe was lined with a row of alternating pomegranates (made out of blue, purple and scarlet wool) and gold bells.

The Cohen Gadol must wear these garments. If he does not, he is worthy of death by the hands of heaven.

The Showplate (The Tzitz)

A showplate should be made out of pure gold with an engraving upon it it saying “Holy to G-d”. This showplate should be worn around the Cohen Gadol’s forehead.

The showplate had three holes in it – one on each end and one in the center. Through these holes were to be thread blue cords made out of blue wool so that 6 strands of this wool hung out (one on each side from being pulled through). The two side cords were tied together and then the middle cords tied from on top to the strands now in the back, creating a sort of cap that encircled the entire crown of the head, with the show plate on the forehead in front.

The Cohen Gadol was to wear this showplate as a way to appease G-d for Him to accept sacrifices that were offered from someone “unclean”.*

*Side note: It did not appease for the inequity of someone who intended to eat from the sacrifice outside of the designated area (termed פִּגּוּל, lit. “abominable thing”). Nor did it appease for someone who wished to eat from the sacrifice after its allotted time (termed נוֹתָר). Nor did it appease for the Cohen himself if he were to be unclean. It only served to appease for the sake of the person who brought the sacrifice.

According to most opinions, this showplate served to appease such sacrifices at all times, even if it wasn’t being worn by the Cohen Gadol at a specific time. There are some opinions however that say that it only served as an appeasement whilst the Cohen Gadol was wearing it, in which case he needed to touch it to remind himself of its significance for it to have that effect.

Both the Kutonet (inner checkered tunic), and the Mitznefes (cap) (both mentioned in the first Aliyah) should be made out of linen.

The Clothing of the Regular Cohanim.

While the Cohen Gadol (Aaron) needed to have all of the garments mentioned, his sons (i.e. regular Cohanim), were only to wear these four garments: The Kutonet (inner tunic), the Avnet (a sash), the Migba’at (cap) and Michnasaim (linen pants – reaching from the waist to the thighs).

Aaron and his sons are to wear their respective clothings and are then to be anointed as Cohanim with anointing oil.

Aaron and his sons must wear their appointed clothing whenever they are to enter the Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting), the Mishkan or approach the altar to serve G-d. If they do not wear these clothing when they are meant to, they will be liable to be put to death by the hands of heaven.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Choshen. How it attached to the Ephod. The Urim V'Tumim.

The Choshen should have two braided golden chains attached to rings that were at its outer edges. These attached the Choshen to the Ephod's straps above (see below).

The Choshen also had two chains hanging from its bottom two corners but from the inside. These attached the Choshen to the belt of the Ephod (see below).

The Choshen should be made out of the same 5 materials as the Ephod: Blue, purple and scarlet wool, gold and twisted linen and similarly made from an expert weaver.

The Choshen was called "Choshen Mishpat" (i.e "of judgement") as it:

* atoned for justice being perverted or

* clarified the words of justice and promised that these words would come true.

The choshen should be made from material that is 1 amah x 1/2 an amah. It is then to be folded over so that it is square shaped, 1/2 an amah x 1/2 an amah (1/2 an amah is also known as a "zereth").

Is should hang from settings in the straps of the Ephod by the golden chains described above and fall right on the Cohen Gadol's chest.

The Choshen should have four rows of different stones, placed into the golden settings. The stones varied in size and the settings were made to fit them exactly.

The stones in each row should be as such:

Row one stones: odem, pitdah, and bareketh.

Row two: nofech, sappir, and yahalom.

Row three: leshem, shevo, and achlamah.

Row four: tarshish, shoham, and yashpheh.

These 12 stones corresponded to the 12 tribes in order of their birth*.

*Side note: It was not in literal order of their birth but rather in order of the women who gave birth and then their respective birth orders. Leah was the first to give birth, so the first six stones correspond to her 6 sons, followed by Bilhah, hence the 7th stone, the "leshem" corresponds to Bilhah's first son Dan.

The reason for these tribes to be commemorated in this way is for them to serve as a constant rememberance to G-d.

While the settings of the Ephod's straps hit right above the Choshen and attached to it via the golden chains there, the straps continued behind the Choshen, falling right above the belt of the Ephod. The shoulder straps was attached to the front side of the Ephid via a blue string that was threaded though 2 rings that were at the bottom of the shoulder straps and then through the bottom 2 rings of the Choshen. This set the Choshen in place so it wouldn't move around.

Moshe placed an inscription of the ineffable name* of G-d into the folds of the Choshen. This was referred to as the Urim VeTumim.

*Side note: There is a dispute as to whether this was the Tetragrammaton, the 42 letter name or the 72 letter name.

Aaron (the Cohen Gadol/high priest) wore the Choshen and was in charge of judging the people. When there was a question concerning a certain judgement, the words to the answer would light up on the Urim V'Tumim.

During the 2nd Beis HaMikdash, while the Cohen Gadol did wear the Choshen, there was no name inside of it so it didn't work in this same way as it did in the Mishkan.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Lamp. The Priestly Inauguration. The Priestly Garments.

The Lamp

G-d tells Moshe to command the Israelites to set up a lamp inside of the Ohel Moed (tent of meeting), which was outside of the dividing curtain that was in front of the Aron.

This lamp should be lit by the Cohanim (Aaron and his sons) with clear olive oil every night.

What is meant by "clear olive oil" in this context?

According to Menachos 86a, olive tree are harvested 3x per year:

1st harvest - for the olives which ripen earliest at the top of the tree. 2nd - for the olives in the middle branches which ripen later, and 3rd - for the olives which are in the lowest branches and don't receive sufficient sunlight to ripen completely until after they are harvested. For this olive oil to have been considered "clear", this meant that it should never have had sediments in it.

At each harvest the olives go through 3 stages of oil extraction: being crushed with a mortar, pressed with a beam and ground with mill stones. Only the olive oil made from olives which only passed through the first stage of being crushed with a mortar but not the other two are considered "clear" enough to be used to kindle these lamps.

After extracting this "pure" oil for the lamps, the rest of the olives should be ground with mill stones, and this resulting oil was to be used for meal offerings.

The Cohen was to light these lamps by holding the flame to the wick until the wick would ignite on its own.

The amount of oil that was used in this lamp was "1/2 of a log" (6-10.6 fluid ounces). This was enough for the lamp to burn through the longest nights of the year, during the winter month of Teves. Although this would mean that in warmer months the lamp would burn somewhat into the morning, that was fine.

The Inauguration of the Cohanim

After the Mishkan has been set up, Moshe is to gather Aaron and his sons (Nadav, Avihu, Elazar and Itamar) and inaugurate them as Cohanim (priests).

Moshe is to speak to "wise hearted" men who are filled with the "spirit of wisdom" and have them make special clothes for Aaron as a way to officially inaugurate him into the (high) priestly service.

These wise hearted men are to receive donations of gold and turquoise wool and out of these consecrated offerings, together with purple and scarlet wool and twisted linen, the priestly garments should be woven. All of these five materials were twisted into one thread as such: The gold wool was made by flattening out the gold and cutting it into cords and then spinning these into threads. Then one thread of this gold was twisted into 6 threads of each of the other materials. Then all 4 of these gold laced threads were threaded into one thicker thread, which was now 28 strands thick.

The Priestly Garments

The Garments of the High Priest should be as follows:

An Ephod: Rashi cannot find a source that describes what the Ephod is, however his "heart" tells him that it was a type of apron which was tied to the Cohen from behind, at the height of the chest, below the elbows.

The Ephod's length reached to the Cohen's ankles. The Ephod had a belt with two shoulder straps attached from behind. The belt and shoulder straps were made out of the same material as the Ephod. The shoulder straps were folded in front of him reaching slightly below his shoulders.

Each shoulder strap had a stone set into it called a "shoham" stone which were set in golden enclosures . These shoham stones were to have the names of the twelve tribes engraved into them, written in order of their birth, with 6 on one stone and 6 on the other. The names of these tribes will serve as a memory of their righteousness for G-d.

The Ephod was attached to the Choshen (see below) by the Choshen's gold chains being attached to the shoham stones' golden settings.

A Choshen: A breastplate. There were rings in its upper two corners and two gold chains right at the edges of the Choshen. These chains went through the rings and then attached to the Ephod (see above) so that the Choshen was displayed on the front of the Cohen Gadol's chest. There were two more rings at the bottom of the Choshen. These rings attached to two rings which were on the belt part of the Ephod (which was attached to the Ephod's shoulder strap) with a blue cord. This kept everything in place.

A Me'il: An outer robe worn on top of the High Priests clothes. The ephod was worn as a belt on top of the me'il.

A Kutoness: A checkered tunic, checkered with boxes in which to set gems. This was the inner tunic, worn right on top of the Cohen's flesh.

A Mitznefes: A dome shaped hat.

An Aveneit: A belt worn on top of the Kutones.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Courtyard of the Mishkan

G-d now instructs how how to construct the courtyard of the Mishkan:

Both the southern and northern sides of the courtyard were to have 100 amos of curtains each, made out of twisted linen, loosely braided, rather than tightly weaved, so as to to be filled with holes.

Each side should have 20 pillars placed at a distance of 5 amos from one another (the width of each pillar is to be included in this distance). The pillars had silver hooks attached to them and silver threads wrapped around them, either only at their top, middle or all around them (Rashi isn't sure). These pillars were placed into 20 copper sockets.

Then poles were made (measuring 6 tefachim long and 3 tefachim wide) with a copper ring at the center of each. These rings were attached to the poles' hooks.

The edge of the above mentioned curtains were wrapped around these poles with cords and hung down - being the same height of the courtyard's partition.

On the west side, a similar structure should be made, but with only 50 amos of curtains and 10 pillars placed into 10 sockets.

For the eastern side, since this was the entrance, 15 amos of curtain was to be hung on either side, leaving 20 amos of empty space in the middle which was to be covered by a screen. As with the western side, there were to be 10 pillars wedged into 10 sockets, 5 amos apart (including the width of the pillars in this distance) (3 on either side for the curtains and then 4 in the middle, in the area of the screen).

The screen at the entrance (covering the middle 20 amos) was to be made out of turquoise, purple and scarlet wool and twisted linen. This screen had copper sockets as well.

As with the northern and southern sides, the pillars of the western and eastern courtyard similarly had silver rings around them, had silver hooks and were wedged into copper sockets.

The courtyard was 100 amos in length (from east to west).

The east side of the courtyard was 50x50 amos. Moving westward, then came the Mishkan which was 30 amos in length and 10 amos in width and then another 20 amos of the western outer area of the courtyard.

The courtyard was 50 amos in width (from north to south). The Mishkan was 10 amos in the middle of this, leaving 20 amos of courtyard on both the northern and southern sides.

The curtains which served as partitions to the courtyard were 5 amos high.

All of the pegs used in the construction of the Mishkan and its courtyard as well as all of the tools used to construct these (eg. hammers etc) were to be made out of copper.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Copper Altar

G-d instructs that a copper altar be made out of shittim wood. It should be square in shape, 5x5 amos. According to Rabbi Yehudah, it should be 3 amos tall. According to Rabbi Yosei, 3 amos should merely be its height from the edge of it's band and upwards, whereas its actual height should be double it's length, just like the interior altar (to be discussed later), i.e 10 amos.

This altar was filled with earth, which is why it is elsewhere referred to as the earthern altar.

The altar should have 4 horns carved into it. The altar should be covered with copper to atone for insolence. Copper is given as a metaphor for insolence in Isaiah 48:4.

All of the utensils of this altar should be made out of copper. These utensils are:

* Kettle pots and thin shovels (in the shape of a metal pot's lid) - used to remove ashes from the altar

* Sprinkling basins to catch the blood from sacrifices

* Prongs to dig into the meat on the altar and rotate it on the coals of the altar's fire and fire pans

* Fire pans - Convex pans to carry the coals for incense from the altar to the inner altar.

A copper grate should be made, to serve as a sieve for altar. This grate should have four copper rings placed on each of its four corners. The grating was 1 cubit wide and was situated at the halfway point of the altar from the ground, which was demarcated by a red line. This halfway point served as a designation point between the "upper and lower bloods" (some blood from the sacrifices was required to be sprinkled above the altar and some below).

The altar had two rounded grooves, one on top of the other. The top one was 3 cubits down from the top of the altar (this is according to the opinion that the altar was 10 cubits tall, not 3 cubits - see first paragraph above) and was to protect the Kohanim from slipping off the alter.

The one below that was 1 cubit wide and was for decorative purposes.

A hairsbreath away from the altar, to its south was a ramp. The base of this ramp reached till a cubit away from the hangings of the courtyard on the Mishkan's south side. According to the opinion that the altar was only 3 cubits tall, this ramp was 10 cubits long.

There should be poles made to carry the altar out of shittim wood, covered in copper. These poles were placed into and kept in the above mentioned rings so that there was one pole on either side.

The Partition/Paroches. What Was In Front and In Back of It. The Entrance Screen.

G-d instructs a partition to be made, referred to as a Paroches. The kind partition which separates between a king and his people. The Paroches should be woven out of turquoise, purple and scarlet wool as well as twisted linen. Each strand of this Paroches should be made out of 6 strands of each of these materials stranded together. The Paroches should be woven in such a way that each side has a different image woven into it - of the supernal creatures surrounding G-d's throne on High (see also earlier in Shmos 26:1).

Four pillars made out of shittim wood covered in gold were to be inserted into four silver foundation sockets. Golden hooks (shaped like the Hebrew letter vav) were to be fixed into the tops of these four pillars. Into these hooks were placed poles upon which the Paroches was hung .

The Paroches was 10 cubits long (i.e. as wide as the Mishkan) and 10 cubits wide (i.e the height of the walls).

It was hung 1/ 3 of the way into the Mishkan from the back (i.e. west) so that from the back to the Paroches was 10 cubits and the Paroches to the front was 20 cubits.

The Ark was then to be placed behind the Paroches (towards the back) and its lid placed upon it. This area was what we know of as the Kodesh Kedoshim (Holy of Holies) which from here we learn was 10x10 cubits.

The Table (Shulchan), Menorah and golden alter should all be placed in front of the Paroches (i.e. outside of the Kodesh Kedoshim) 10 cubits from the entrance (i.e halfway through the Mishkan without counting the Kodesh Kedoshim). The Shulchan would be on the northern side, 2.5 cubits away from the northern wall and the Menorah opposite it on the southern side, 2.5 cubits away from the southern wall.

The golden alter was to be placed slightly in front of the Shulchan and the Menorah (i.e. towards the east).

They should make a protective screen for the entrance of the Mishkan. This screen should be embroidered* out of turquoise, purple and scarlet wool and twisted linen. It should be the same size as the Paroches, i.e. 10x10 cubits.

*Side note: So unlike the Paroches and the cover of the Mishkan which were woven, since this screen was embroidered the designs were identical in the front and in back.

**Another side note: The word used for "embroiderer" in the text is רקם (i.e. Rokem). Rashi explains that this is not the typical word used to describe this profession, thus it is naming a specific embroidery artist.

This screen should be hung from 5 golden hooks attached to 5 pillars of shittim wood covered in gold, inserted into 5 copper foundation sockets.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Walls of the Mishkan

While Yaakov was in Egypt, he planted shittim (a variety of ceder) trees. On his deathbed, he told his sons that there would come a time when G-d would command the Israelites to build a Mishkan out of shittim wood in the desert so they should have this wood ready for this.

Rabbi Shlomo bar Yehudah (AKA Rabbi Shlomo HaBavli, a holy poet who lived in the 10th century) wrote a verse about the wood used to build the mishkan being the same wood from the trees that Yaakov planted in his poem Or Yesha, recited in some communities on the first day of Pesach during the morning prayers. The verse in Hebrew reads, "טס מטע מזרזים קורות בתינו ארזים".

At this point in the chumash is where G-d gives this command to the Israelites to build the beams of the Mishkan out of this shittim wood which should stand upright.

Each beam was to be 10 amos high and 1.5 amos wide. This meant that the Mishkan was 10 amos tall, and since the north and south walls were made up of 20 beams each, the Mishkan was 30 amos long.

Two tenons should be made in each beam. This was done by cutting out a section from the bottom of each beam. The cut should be 1 cubit deep and made from the center of the bottom of the beam, leaving 1/4 of the beam's width left on either side.

Additionally, 40 hollow silver sockets were made, next to one another, each 1 cubit deep.

The tenons were inserted into these sockets cutting the outer edges of the bottom of the beams so they would fit flat into the socket so the sockets (and thus the beams) could be flesh with one another.

The southern and northern walls of the Mishkan were made up of 20 beams each, under which there would be 40 tenons and 40 sockets (i.e. 2 of each per beam).

The western wall of the Mishkan (also called "end" or back of the Mishkan, with the east being the front) was made up of 6 beams, i.e. was 9 amos long.

Additionally, there were 2 more beams placed on either end for the corners. Only 1/2 an amah of each of these beams were visible from the inside, making the interior of the western wall 10 amos long, while the exterior was 12 amos long, with the remaining 1 amah of each corner serving as part of the northern and southern walls.

In addition to the tenons at the bottom, the top of each beam had two semi circular incisions for golden rings to be inserted into them to keep the beams touching one another. These rings may or may not have been removable - Rashi isn't sure.

There were to be 5 poles made out of shittim wood passing through rings lengthwise along the outer northern, southern and western walls respectively.

In actuality, there were only 3 such poles on each wall, placed equidistantly one atop the other (i.e. dividing the 10 cubit wall into 4 equal sections). However the top and bottom poles were made up of two pieces, one piece that extended from one end of the wall (passing through a ring there) to the middle (through another ring there), and the other from the middle to the other end (also passing through 2 rings), which is why the text describes them as being 5. The middle pole extended all the way from one end to the other without division.

The middle pole did not pass through rings but rather the wall beams were drilled into it.

Each of the upper and lower poles of the northern and southern walls were 15 cubits in length, making for 30 cubits in total in being placed one next to the other and the middle pole was 30 cubits in length.

Each of the upper and lower poles of the western wall was 6 cubits in length, making for 12 cubits in total in being placed one next to the other. The middle pole of the western wall was 12 cubits long.

Each ring was to have a mouth of gold on either side of it so that when the poles were put through it it gave them the appearance of being gold. The rings and poles were not visible on the inside of the mishkan.

They are to assemble all of the parts of the Mishkan and then put it together all at once.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Menorah and the Mishkan's Two Coverings

The Menorah

G-d now details how the Menorah should be constructed.

G-d says that the Menorah in all of its parts should be formed out of a single slab of gold - i.e. rather than having the pieces made separately and then assembled in such a way that they could be taken apart, and not even made separately and then melded together.

This slab should weigh a kikar*

*Side note: For secular purposes, a kikar was considered 60 manah. For holy purposes - 120 manah. 1 manah = 1 litra (how they would weigh silver in Koln, Germany) = 25 selas. 1 sela = 4 gold pieces. So 1 maneh = 25x4 = 100 gold pieces.

Moshe had a hard time understanding how it was meant to be constructed, so G-d showed him an image made out of fire of what the Menorah was meant to look like. When Moshe still didn't understand, G-d told Moshe to instruct Betzalel to throw the slab of gold into the fire and upon doing so, the golden Menorah formed on its own.

The Menorah was 18 tefachim high. The breakdown of its height was as follows (more details on each of these sections below) - from top down:

* 3 tefachim - top of each branch for the 3 top goblets, 1 knob and 1 flower.

* 2 tefachim - empty space

* 1 tefach - knob with 2 inner branches extending outwards

* 1 tefach - emtpy space

* 1 tefach - knob with 2 middle branches extending outwards

* 1 tefach - empty space

* 1 tefach - knob with 2 outer branches extending outwards

* 2 tefachim - empty space

* 1 tefach - 1 goblet, 1 knob and 1 flower of middle branch

* 2 tefachim - empty space

* 3 tefachim - Base and its legs (+ 1 flower)

A base: This was a box like structure at the bottom of the Menorah held up by three legs (of undefined dimension).

Branches: There were seven branches in total. A middle branch* that extended up out from the base and three branches extending out diagonally from either side of the middle branch, all reaching the same height (so the outermost branches were longest and the innermost branches shortest).

*Side note: When referring to the Menorah, the text sometimes means the entire Menorah and at other times, means the middle branch of the Menorah.

At the head of each branch was a bowl shaped lamp to pour oil and place a wick into.

Decorative goblets (i.e. they did not hold any liquid, serving purely to beautify the Menorah): Each of the six branch had three goblets and the middle branch had one extra (4 total).

Decorative Knobs: Shaped like apples, similar to knobs found on noblemen's candelabras*. There was one knob on each of the six branches. The middle branch had four extra (5 total).

*Side note: The old french word for these candelabra knobs is "pomel", related to the word "pomme", meaning "apple" in french. From here, the word pommel (meaning the knob at the top of a horses saddle) is derived.

Flowers: There was one flower on each branch of the six branches and then the middle branch had two extra (3 total).

There are different opinions regarding how the goblets, knobs and flowers were situated on the branches. According to all three opinions, the goblets, knob and flower either surrounded or were attached to the upper three tefachim of all of the branches (mentioned above in the measurements breakdown).

* The goblets were wedged into one another and the knob and flower were wedged into the top goblet, taking up three tefachim in total. The branch went all the way through all of these and protruded at the top.

* The branch went through the bottom two goblets which were placed one on top the other, each one taking up one tefach. The third (uppermost) tefach of the branch protruded out from there, to which were attached in different diretions: the top goblet, knob and flower.

* The three goblets surrounded the lowest of the three top tefachim upon which rested the knob and then the flower on top of that. The branch went through the knob and flower.

As mentioned, in addition to these top goblets, knobs and flowers, the middle branch of the Menorah had four additional knobs. Three of these were from which the six branches extended (two per knob, extending to either side) and then a fourth underneath the branch. This fourth knob was surrounded by an additional goblet and flower. And then there was one more flower right on top of the base on the middle branch (this extra flower is not mentioned in this section of the chumash but rather is written about later in Bamidbar 8:4).

* Total # of goblets: 3 per each of the six branches = 18 + 4 for middle branch = 22 total.

* Total # of knobs: 1 per each of the six branches = 6 + 5 for middle branch = 11 total.

* Total # of flowers: 1 per each of the six branches = 6 + 3 for middle branch = 9 total.

The bowl shaped lamps which were placed on top of each of the branches of the menorah were faced towards the center branch, so that when kindled, the light would shine towards the center.

Tongs used to move around the wicks and to take them out or put in to the lamps should be made out of pure gold.

So too should the scoopers used to scoop out the ash when cleaning the lamps be made from pure gold.

The Mishkan Cover

Some preliminary measurements of the Mishkan to understand how it was covered:

The Mishkan was made up of 40 beams in length on either side - 20 on the south side and 20 on the north. Each beam was 1.5 amos wide. So the entire Mishkan was 20x1.5 = 30 amos in total length.

It's width was made up of 8 beams on either side - 6 for each of the walls (east and west) and 2 for the corners. This made it 8x1.5= 12 amos wide. One amah of each of the two corner beams overlapped with the north and south walls. Thus the width of the inside of the Mishkan was 10 amos.

The eastern wall of the Mishkan is considered its front and the western wall its back.

---

The cover of the Mishkan should be made up of 10 panels. These panels should be woven out of twisted flax, turquoise wool, purple wool and scarlet wool.

Six strands of each of these materials were twisted together to form threads. Then each of these threads got twisted together to make a mixed thread consisting of all of these materials. So this final thread was made up of 6x4= 24 strands.

Woven into these panels were images of "Cherubim". This may or may not be the four animal images on G-d's supernal Chariot: Man, Lion, Ox and Eagle. These images were woven in such a way that one image appeared on one side and another on the other.

Each panel measured 28 amos in length and 4 amos in width.

These panels were attached in two sets of five, so each set was 4x5= 20 amos wide.

They were to make 50 loops made out of turquoise wool at the edge of each group of five panels. The loops should be equidistant from one another and face the loops of the other panel.

They should make 50 golden clasps and attach the two groups of panels together. When looped together, their total width was 20x2=40 amos.

As stated above, the total width of the Mishkan was 10 amos. These woven panels were to hung lengthwise over this width of the Mishkan (i.e. over its northern and southern walls). Being 28 amos long, the middle 10 amos covered the top of the Mishkan, then 1 extra amah on either side to cover the tops of the beams (which were 1 amah wide). This left 16 amos which draped down on either side (8 on each side). Each beam was 10 amos tall, so this draping covered most of their height, leaving the bottom 2 amos of the beams exposed.

As stated above, the total length of the Mishkan was 30 amos. The 40 amos of the combined panels' width covered this length, leaving 10 more amos. One of these amos covered the top of the western beams and one covered the top of the eastern pillars (as on the eastern side there were 4 pillars instead of beams (in some additions this is written as 5 pillars). This left 8 remaining amos, which were draped over the west side (back) of the Mishkan, leaving the lower 2 amos of those western beams exposed. Alternatively, according to the gemara in maseches Shabbos (98b), the eastern pillars were not covered, so 9 amos draped over the west side. These two opinions pertain to where the Paroches (curtain covering the Aron) was situated. With this in mind, the gemara's interpretation makes more sense as it would allow for the Paroches to be hung directly under the hooks which divided the panels' two groupings of 20 amos each (otherwise according to the first interpretation, the Paroches would have to be hung 1 amah west of the hooks).

They are to make panels out of goat hair to serve as a cover for the Mishkan cover, to cover the exposed lower panels. They should make 11 such panels.

Each panel should be 30 amos long and 4 cubits wide. This way, the 30 amos of its width will cover the 12 amos width of the Mishkan with 9 amos left to hang on either side (north and south). This would cover one additional amah that the first cover left exposed. And then the bottom amah would be drilled into the holes of the sockets which were 1 amah high (to be detailed forthcoming in 26:19).

Of these 11 panels, they should be divided and attached into groupings of 5 and 6. There should be 50 loops made at the end of each grouping and 50 copper clasps to attach these two groups so it is one long covering. These panels should be draped over the length of the Mishkan. The total length of this covering was 30 amos. This was 2 amos longer than the lower covering which was 28 amos.

Half of the additional 6th panel was draped at the entrance (the east) to the Mishkan, likened to a bride covering her face with a veil out of modesty. This half panel was 2 amos long. This left two additional amos which hung out of the back (west side) of the Mishkan, allowing all of the beams (including the 2 lower beams which had been left exposed by the top covering) to be covered by this top cover.

Rashi explains that the reason for the top cover of the Mishkan was to protect the bottom, beautifully weaved one. He says that this is the Torah's way of teaching us to protect beautiful things.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Cherubim and the Shulchan

G-d continues with giving instructions regarding the construction of the Mishkan and its vessels:

They are to make a lid for the ark with two "Churibim*" (i.e. images of children), one on either end of the lid.

*Side note: The word Cherub (i.e. כרוב) is related to the Aramaic word כרביא which means "like a chid".

These should both be made out of pure gold and from one slab (i.e the lid and the cherubim should not be made separately and then welded together). This should be done by taking a large enough gold slab for both of them and then beat it down in the middle so there are protrusions on either side to mold the cherubim out of.

The lid itself should be the same length and width as the ark (2.5x1.5 amos). This lid was made 1 tefach* thick.

*Side note: A tefach literally means a "handsbreath" and is variously measured to be between 3-4 inches. One Amah (usually translated as "cubit") is usually measured as 6 tefachim (though sometimes, 5).

The Cherubim should be made facing one another, with wings raised high and spread out, next to their heads, protecting their wings. The space between the wings and the lid was 10 tefachim*.

*Side note: How can we understand the reasoning behind these Churubim being 10 tefachim tall (when measured from their base on the lid to the top of their wings?) Although the Beis HaMikdash was significantly bigger than the Mishkan, the proportions were identical. We learn from Melachim 1 7:2 that the Beis HaMikdash was 30 amos tall and its Cherubim were 10 amos high off the ground, making them reach one third of the height of the building. By contrast, the Mishkan (see Shmos 26:16) was only 10 amos tall (i.e 60 tefachim). Thus we can conclude that the Cherubim of the Mishkan were at the height of 20 tefachim (1/3 the total height of the Mishkan). Seeing as the Aron was 1.5 amos tall (i.e. 9 tefachim) + the lid was another tefach, the actual Cherubim were 20-9-1= 10 tefachim tall.

The "Testimony" should be placed in the ark before closing the ark's lid. I.e. you should not close the lid and then re-open it to put in the Testimony.

G-d tells Moshe that He will communicate with Moshe regarding the Israelites from between the two Cherubim on top of the lid of the ark. G-d will call out to him from anywhere to arrange the meeting, and Moshe will go to the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed) to receive what is being communicated, however the communication itself will come from this space on top of the ark*.

*Side note: The Tent of Meeting was located in a part of the Mishkan that was on the outer side of the Paroches partition vs the Ark was on the inside of it.

G-d then instructs to make a table out of the shittim wood. The table should be two amos long, one amos wide and 1.5 amos high (this is referring to the total height of the table; from the bottom of the legs till the top of the table - not just the thickness of the tabletop as one might assume). It should be covered in gold.

A frame should be made to surround the table. Some commentators say that this frame was meant to be on top of the table, surrounding its edges. According to this view, the frame was attached to the tabletop. Some however understood it to be below it, connecting the table's legs to one another (so four parts in total). This seems to be Rashi's view based on his commentary about the attachment of the rings (below). According to this second view, the tabletop was not attached to the frame.

There should be a crown surrounding the table*, coming out from the frame**, symbolizing the regal wealth and greatness that the table was meant to express.

*Side note: Some commentaries thought that there were two crowns, one to surround the table and one to surround the frame. Rashi however understands that these were the same one crown.

**Side note: According to the opinion that the frame was below the tabletop, this crown protruded upwards high enough so that it came up around the tabletop as well.

G-d says that they should make four golden rings to be attached to legs of the table, at its four corners, at the height of the table's frame (assuming the frame was beneath the tabletop).

They should make four poles out of shittim wood, covered in gold. These four poles should be inserted into the rings that have been attached to the table, and it is with these four poles that the table will be carried.

There were four more things that needed to be made as accessories to the table:

1)Molding vessels for the showbread (there are different interpretations as to what the exact shape these molds and thus the bread actually were). Rashi says that they were shaped like a V shaped box of sorts, with two sides totally open. The other two sides could be bent upwards to form walls, which is why, according to Rashi, this bread was called "Showbread" or literally "bread of the face", because it had "walls that faced the sides of the temple in either direction. The bread was placed lengthwise across the width of the table.

Each loaf had two molds - one gold and one iron. It was baked in the iron one, and then on Friday, after taking it out of the oven, it would be placed in the gold one until Shabbos day.

These loaves were arranged into two stacks of six loaves each.

2)"Spoons" should be made to hold frankincense.

According to Rabbi Yehuda and Rashi, the loaves took up the entire table, these spoons were placed a top each stack of bread. According to Rabbi Meir there was a space of two tefachim between each stack and that is where the spoons were places. Either way, there were two spoons.

3)Tubes - These were like hollow half reeds split lengthwise, made from gold. Three tubes would be placed on top of each loaf of bread to allow for some air to pass between the loaves and preserve them from getting moldy.

4)Supports - These were tall golden rods that stood on the ground and rose to the height of the stacks of bread. Each branch had five notches (some editions of Rashi say they had six) into which the above mentioned tubes would be wedged into for support, thus there were six of these support rods in total (as each loaf had three tubes on top of it and there were two stacks of loaves). This was to ensure that the loaves did not weigh heavily one on top of the other.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Make a Sanctuary for G-d With Your Contributions.

G-d tells Moshe to tell the Israelites to set aside a portion of their money to contribute as an appeasement to G-d.

The word "portion" is written three times (in verses 2 and 3) in relation to three different contributions which were made:

* The contribution which was made towards the making of the sockets of the beams and pillars of the Mishkan. One beka per person was to be donated for this. A beka is a half a shekel.

* The contribution which went towards the building of the Mizbeach. This was also a beka per head. This contribution was placed into three boxes which were kept in a chamber in the temple. Communal sacrifices were bought using these funds.

* The contribution which went towards the Mishkan. This contribution consisted of 15 different items (although Rashi counts it as 13 as he counts the three types of wool as one item since they were made from the same material). Unlike the first two contributions, there was no fixed amount for it and everyone gave as much as they wanted, except for the silver, of which everyone had to give the same amount - a half a shekel worth of silver each. These 15 items were:

* Gold

* Silver - this silver got through the 1/2 shekel donations sufficed for the entire construction of the Mishkan. Any additional voluntary donations of silver were used to construct vessels for service in the mishkan, for example to carry the coals or the blood from the sacrifices.

* Copper

* Turquoise (sometimes translated as blue) wool. It derives its color from being dyed in the blood of a sea creature called a chilazon. It is unclear now what this creature was/is.

* Deep purple wool - Dyed with something called argaman.

* Scarlet wool.

* Linen

* Goats' hair.

* Rams' skins which were dyed red after being tanned.

* The skins of a Tachash - a mysterious, proud, muticolored animal which only existed in the desert while the Israelites traveled through it. Since it did not exist at any other time or place, there is no word for it in any other language.

* Shittah wood. This was one of the 10 different varieties of wood which are called by the term "Cedar". Yaakov brought these types of tree with him when he came to Egypt and planted them there. He instructed his sons to take them with when they would leave. That's how they had this wood in an unlikely place like the desert.

* Pure olive oil which was necessary to light the Menorah. Special skills were needed to prepare this oil.

* Spices to make anointing oil. This oil was used to anoint the Mishkan and its vessels. It was also used to have the incense which was burned each evening and morning and produced rising smoke.

* Shoham stones - these were for the Ephod (a garment worn by the Cohen Gadol). Shoham stones were also used to fill the Choshen (see next item), however the ones mentioned here were for the Ephod.

* Filling stones - These were used to fill in the golden indentations on the Choshen (breastplate) of the Cohen Gadol. Both the Ephod and the Choshen will be further detailed later on in Parshas Tetzaveh (Shmos 28:6-30)

G-d commands that the Israelites build a sanctuary in honor of His name.

This sanctuary and its vessels should be constructed exactly in accordance with how G-d shows Moshe. This commandment is eternal, such that if ever any of the vessels get lost, or in the future when the more permanent Beis HaMikdash is constructed (as opposed to the Mishkan/Tabernacle which was merely a temporary sanctuary), they should be reconstructed in accordance with these guidelines.

G-d says that they should make an Aron out of the shittim wood. This should be a kind of chest of drawers who's bottom rests straight on the ground (i.e. it does not have legs or on top of a pedestal). This Aron should be 2.5 amos long, 1.5 amos wide, and 1.5 amos high.

In addition to the wooden ark, Betzalel (the main person in charge of the construction of the Mishkan) made two additional arks, which were golden. All of these arks were open on top. One was slightly larger than the wooden one, and one slightly smaller. These arks were placed one inside of the other, with the smaller gold ark inside of the wooden ark, which was in turn inside of the bigger golden ark. This made it so that the wooden ark was "coated" by gold on the inside (by the outer part of the smaller gold ark) and the outside (by the inner part of the bigger gold ark).

The upper rim of the wooden ark was coated in gold so it was truly covered from all sides. A gold type of crown was made to go all around the top of the ark. This was symbolic of the crown of Torah, or more specifically of Torah scholars.

They are to make four rings out of gold to be molded into the four upper corners of the ark. Two poles were to be put through these rings so that four people could carry the ark on their shoulders (two on either side, holding the ark lengthwise so there is 2.5 amos between them). These poles should be constructed out of shittim wood as well and then coated in gold. These poles should never be removed from the rings, even while the ark is not being carried.

G-d says that "the testimony which I shall give to you" should be kept inside of the ark. There is a dispute as to whether this means the tablets or the Torah scroll which Moshe wrote. The obvious understanding is that it was the tablets since the Torah was not given in its entirety until the Israelites' 40th year in the desert. However this is why G-d says that it is the testimony which "He will give", alluding to this future time. According to the opinion that only the tablets were kept in there, the Torah scroll was kept on a shelf which came out from the ark.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Obey G-d. Moshe and Others Pre and Post the Giving of the Torah

If you carry out the will of G-d:

* No woman will miscarry nor lose a child who was born healthy and you will have a long life.

* Everyone who you encounter will be so scared of you that they run away from you.

* G-d will send a flying insect called a Tzirah to lethally attack the Israelites' enemies by injecting venom into these enemies' eyes from across the Jordan river. The specific enemies being referred to here are the Chittites and the Caanites who lived in the lad of Sichon and Og as well as the Chivites who lived westward, on the other side of the Jordan

* He will not get rid of these other nations all at once, rather slowly, they will be driven out, whilst the Israelites become more populous. This is because if G-d were to get rid of the other nations too quickly, there would be too few people in the land and animals would outnumber people.

* The Israelites' will conquer the land of Israel and drive their enemies out. The border of the Israelites' land will be from the Sea of Reeds until the Sea of the Philistines. From the desert until the Euphrates.

The Israelites are not to make a covenant with these other nations nor with their deities. These other nations should not reside in this land so as not to cause the Israelites to harm themselves by worshiping their deities.

--

On the 4th of Sivan (2 days before the giving of the Torah), G-d tells Moshe that he, Aaron, Nadav, Avihu and the seventy elders should ascend to G-d and bow to Him, but only Moshe should approach the fog. The others should prostrate themselves from afar.

Moshe tells all of the Israelites that the men and women need to separate from one another and set up a boundary between themselves and the mountain. He also instructs them in the seven laws of Noah, the laws of Shabbos, honoring one's parents, the laws concerning the red heifer and the civil laws that were given to them at Marah (Shmos 15:25). The Israelites say that they will obey everything that G-d has told them to do.

Moshe wakes up early on the 5th of Sivan and writes down the entire text of the Chumash from Breishis until the giving of the Torah and builds an altar at the base of the mountain and sets up 12 stones paralleling the 12 tribes.

Before Aaron and his progeny were delegated as Cohanim after the sin of the Golden Calf which occurred on the 17th of Tammuz, the firstborn sons held this special status. So Moshe sends these firstborn sons to sacrifice Olah and peace offerings (bulls) to G-d. Moshe divides the blood from the sacrifices in half and takes two basins and puts half of the Olah offering in one basin and half of the peace offering in the other. He then takes the second half of both of these offerings and puts them on the altar.

Moshe reads to the people everything he had written down (i.e. Breishis until the giving of the Torah + the laws which were given at Marah) and the Israelites say that they will do everything that G-d had commanded them to.

After the people had first immersed in a mikvah*, Moshe sprinkles the blood from the basins onto the people**.

*Side note: One cannot have blood sprinkled upon them until after they have first immersed in a mikvah.

**Side note: The covenant between G-d and the Israelites consisted of: Circumcision (performed in Egypt), Immersion in a Mivkah and having blood sprinkled on them.

Moshe, Aaron, Nadav, Avihu and the 70 elders ascend to G-d. They meditated upon G-dly ideas which were beyond their scope, thus making them liable for death, however G-d did not want to infringe upon the joy of the giving of the Torah so He delayed this sentence until the inauguration of the Mishkan when Nadav and Avihu did die. They perceived G-d having a sapphire brick, in commemoration of the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt. The image was clear and clean, indicating that once the Israelites were redeemed, He experienced light and joy. The way that the elders and Nadav and Avihu were was with inappropriate familiarity.

--

After the giving of the Torah, G-d tells Moshe to ascend to Him and stay there for 40 days and G-d will give him the tablets with the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments implicitly include all of the 613 commandments. G-d Himself only wrote down the 10 commandments. The Torah was written down by Moshe.

Yehoshua, Moshe's disciple, escorts Moshe to the foot of the mountain, and then camps out there, away from the rest of the people, for the full 40 days waiting for Moshe to descend.

Moshe tells the elders to not escort him as such but rather stay with the rest of the people to serve as judges for them. These judges included Aaron and his nephew Chur (Miriam and Calev's son).

Moshe ascends the mountain which was covered by a cloud. This cloud covered the mountain for six days* and on the seventh day, G-d called out to Moshe from within it.

*Side note: These six days were either from the first of Sivan until the giving of the Torah, or else they were six days after the giving of the 10 commandments. This section instructs us that prior to entering a sanctified area, one must seclude oneself for six days. For example, the Cohen Gadol had to seclude himself for six days before entering the Kodesh Kedoshim on Yom Kippur.

The Israelites perceived G-d's glory as a consuming fire on top of the mountain. G-d made a path for Moshe to travel upwards within the smoke like cloud on the mountain and there he remained for forty days and forty nights.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

G-d Will Send a Protective Angel

G-d says that He will send an angel* before them to protect them as they are fated to sin in constructing the golden calf.

*The angel G-d sent was the angel Metatron, who’s numerical value is the same as G-d’s name Sha-dai (314).

He continues and says that He will bring them to the place which He has prepared, alluding to the Land of Israel, or alternatively, according to the midrash, to the Temple. Saying that it is a place which G-d has already prepared is alluding to the earthly Temple mirroring the heavenly Temple.

G-d warns the Israelites to beware of the angel and not disobey him. Angels, being direct emissaries from G-d don’t have free will and thus no evil inclination (yetzer hara). They are thus not able to empathize with people who do sin, so this angel will not be forgiving.

G-d says that if they listen to the angel and do what he says, the angel will go before them and G-d will bring the Israelites to their enemies, namely the Amorites, the Chitites, the Perizites, the Cannanites, the Chivites and the Jesubites, and he will distress and ultimately eradicate them.

G-d warns the Israelites not to worship their idols but rather to destroy these.

Rather they should worship G-d and He will bless their food and water and take away sickness from them.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

How to Judge, The Sabbatical Year, Idolatry, Holidays and Kosher Laws.

Do not skew the judgement of someone in court on account of them being poor.

If a person is sentenced to death and upon leaving court someone says that they can prove their innocence, the court is to be resumed and the verdict reevaluated.

If however, such a person is acquitted and upon leaving court someone says that they can prove the person's guilt, we do not revisit the case and let the person go free. The final verdict was in G-d's hands so obviously G-d meant for the person to be seen as "righteous" by the court. And if the person was indeed guilty and worthy of being killed, G-d has other ways of killing them.

Do not take a bribe, even if the bribe is to coerce you to judge in a way that is truthful. For a bribe can confused even a Torah scholar from seeing correctly.

Do not treat a convert badly. Converts have a natural inclination to go back to their old ways, and if someone treats them badly, it makes it harder for them not to go in that direction.

Sow your land and gather in your crop for six years. And on the seventh, refrain from working the land (plowing and planting) and let it rest (do not fertilize or hoe it).

During the seventh year:

* Any species which is no longer available to animals in the seventh year and has been stored should be taken out from storage.

* The laws of tithing are put on hold

* Poor people can eat freely of any produce as it is considered ownerless.

* This agricultural sabbatical applies to vineyards, olive groves and fields of grains, legumes and vegetables, so called "fields of white" as they are not covered in trees like an orchard,

You shall work for six days and rest on the seventh. This is true even during the sabbatical year of "rest". Allow your animals (ox and donkey) to be at ease and eat freely from the ground*.

*Side note: Although we are forbidden from having our animals work on the Sabbath, they are allowed to pluck grass from the ground in order to eat it, something which a person is forbidden from doing, as this will make the day more comfortable for them.

Resting as such on the seventh day will allow your uncircumcised slave as well as the "Resident Alien", AKA Ger Toshav (a non jew who has committed to keeping the seven laws of Noah) to become refreshed.

"Take note of all I have said to you and be watchful" - i.e. for every positive commandment there is a corresponding negative commandment.

Do not use an idol as a demarcation point of where to meet or use an idolatrous holiday as a timeline around which you plan things.

Refraining from the prohibition against idolatry is on par with keeping all of the mitzvos combined.

Do not become a parter with an idolator as the idolator will swear in their deity's name and thus their idol will be mentioned on your account.

You shall celebrate three annual festivals for G-d. Every year, even during the Sabbatical year, all Israelite men should make a pilgrimage to G-d.

The three festivals are:

1)Passover:

* To be celebrated for seven days during which you shall eat matzah.

* To be celebrated during the month of the first ripened produce*.*Side note, the text writes that this festival should take place in the month of the אביב. אב can mean both "moisture", alluding to the fruits being the most moist at the start of their ripening and "father", alluding to these being the "firstborn" fruits.

* To commemorate leaving Egypt during this time.

* You shall bring an Olah offering for sacrifice.

* Do not slaughter the Pascal offering on the 14th of Nissan until after you have gotten rid of all your chametz

2)Shavuot:

* To be celebrated during the season of the first harvest.

* You must bring a meal offering in the form of two loaves of bread made from this first gathered crop.

3)Sukkot:

* This is the festival of "gathering"; so called because once the summer ends, we gather our crops inside in anticipation of the rain which is to come. This is why we recite the prayer for rain during the last days of Sukkot. In Israel, the rainy season begins fifteen days after Sukkot.

Any fat from a sacrifice* that is left off the alter overnight will be disqualified. If it is put on the alter even for part of the night, towards the end of the night, it will not be disqualified.

*Side note: The text is talking about festival sacrifices, however this applies to all sacrifices.

There are seven biblical species which are enumerated in the Torah: Wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. When these species begin to ripen, the owner must go to his land and tie a string around the first fruits that he notices* and these should be brought to G-d.

*Side note: The law of first fruits (Bikkurim) is not about the objectively first firsts but rather the first that he notices.

Any baby animal (some commentaries say this only refers to a young goat, i.e. a kid, but Rashi holds that it is any baby animal) shall not be cooked in its mother's milk*.

*Side note: Scripture includes this verse in three different locations in Torah (Shmos 23:19 (i.e here), Shmos 34:26 and Dvarim 14:21). This is to teach three different prohibitions related to law related to mixing milk with meat:

1)To not eat milk with meat.

2)To not benefit from such a mixture (by selling it for example).

3)To not cook milk and meat together.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Some Laws Related to Agriculture, Courts of Law and Helping Travelers

You shall not blaspheme G-d's name nor curse a judge.

You shall not change the order of the mitzvos related to the separation of your crops. The proper order is: Bikurim, Terumah, Maaser Rishon and Maaser Sheni. Here is a brief definition of each of these:

1 - Bikurim: The offering of the first fruits

2 - Terumah: The part of one's produce (grain, wine or olive oil - as distinguished from Bikkurim which is just fruit, Terumah includes liquids) that is to be given to a Cohen.

3 - Maaser Rishon: After Terumah has been taken, a tithe is separated from one's crop and given to a Levite on each of the six years of the seven year agricultural cycle.

4a. Maaser Sheni: A second tithe which is taken and then eaten by the owner and their guests in Jerusalem during the first, second and fifth years of the seven year cycle.

4b. Maaser Ani: A title that is taken and then given to the poor during the third and sixth years of the seven year cycle.

You must redeem your firstborn son from a Cohen for five Selaim after thirty days. Similarly, you must take care of your smaller cattle (i.e goats and sheep) for thirty days before giving them to a Cohen. This is in contrast to larger cattle like oxen or cows which must be taken care of for fifty days before giving them to a Cohen.

A Cohen may take the cattle before this thirty day period is over, however the earliest he can take it from the owner is when it is eight days old.

You shall not eat an animal who has died as a result of having suffered an injury which resulted in their death (even if they were ritually slaughtered before dying). If you follow this, you will be G-d's, but if you transgress this, you will not be G-d's. While such injuries are most common out in the wild, this stipulation applies to any such injury suffered anywhere and by any means.

However, you are allowed to derive benefit from such an animal by giving it to a dog* or to a non jew (idolator).

*Side note: A dog is mentioned before the idolator to teach that a dog is on a higher level than an idolator as merely by existing they have fulfilled their potential, while an idolator has not. And having thus fulfilled their potential, they are deserving of their reward, which you can grant to them in the form of this wounded animal.

You shall not believe slander told by one person without giving the other person the chance to tell their side of the story. You shall not agree to testify on account of this slander.

Capital cases are judged by a court of twenty three judges. To find someone innocent, it is enough to have a majority of one (i.e twelve who vote innocent and eleven who vote guilty). However to deem someone guilty, you must have a majority of at least two. So if the verdict comes out 12:11 guilty, two more judges are added to the panel to see if a majority of two will then result. If these two new judges are divided, two more judges are added and so forth until an acceptable verdict is reached. If 24 pairs of judges have been added (making for a total of 71 judges) and there is still no conclusion, the judge must think through their decisions until someone changes his mind, thus rendering an acceptable majority in either direction (innocent or guilty).

This is only the law with regards to capital cases. In cases that are not punishable by death, it is enough to convict someone with a majority of one.

One should not disagree with a more prominent judge out of respect. Thus the younger judges should issue their judgements first. You should not give your opinion just to be in line with the majority but rather you should judge truthfully.

You should not judge a poverty stricken person extra favorably to compensate for him being impoverished.

If you find your enemy's donkey or ox wandering, you shall return it to him.

If you see your enemy's donkey underneath its burden - will you abandon him? No you will surely help him unload. An elder, to whom unloading such a donkey would be beneath their dignity need not do so. Rashi brings down the opinion that if a non Jew is carrying his load or the load of a Jew, one need not help, however this is not the actual halacha which states that you must help in such a scenario regardless of whether the owner is a jew or a non jew.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Laws Concerning Damages Incurred to Others' Property and Possessions

If a person lets their cattle loose and as a result the cattle damages another's property via trampling on it or grazing from it, the owner of this cattle must pay the owner of the field for the damages. If they pay in land, the owner of the cattle must take from the best of his land.

If a person starts a fire in their field but it then spreads to another person's field and burns the thorns there to cause a bigger fire, this person must pay for the damages incurred.

If a person lends something to someone else and then the trustee claims that someone stole the goods from him, if the thief is caught - the thief must pay back both the owner of the goods and the trustee. If the thief is not caught, the trustee must go to court to testify that he did not steal the goods. If witnesses testify that the trustee was actually the one who stole the goods and the judges condemn him on this basis, he must pay double the value of the goods to the owner. However if these witnesses are found to be false, these witnesses must pay double the value of the goods to the trustee. The trustee is only forced to testify however if he admits to stealing part of (but not all of) the goods.

When a person gives someone an animal to guard and the trustee says that the animal had died or was injured or captured and there were no witnesses to the death, the trustee must testify to this, as well as to the fact that he did not put this animal to his personal use, in which case he would have breeched the contract he had regarding the loan. Once he testifies as such, he is not responsible to pay anything to the owner and the owner must let it go. However if the animal was stolen from him, he must pay the owner for it. If this animal was torn apart by wild beasts, the trustee should bring the torn animal to court as evidence. Wild beasts include such things like a wolf, lion, bear or serpent. If however the animal was torn by a milder animal such as a cat, fox or marten, the trustee is liable and must pay, as he could have protected the animal from these but didn't.

If a person borrows an animal from another and then the animal dies or is injured, the borrower must pay compensation to the owner. However if the owner of the animal had been working for the borrower at the time of this loan, even if it was a type of work that was unrelated to the work the animal was doing, and even if the owner was not present at the time of the animal's death, the borrower is exempt from paying. If the animal was hired and not borrowed, it is unclear as to whether the hirer would have to pay compensation and how much, and there are different opinions about it. Rabbi Meir says he would have to pay as if he were a Shomer Chinam, and Rabbi Yehudah says he would have to pay as a Shomer Sachar.

If a man coerces a virgin girl to sleep with him, he must pay for her appropriately (i.e. write a ketuba for her) and marry her. If her father does not want this man to marry his daughter, the man must pay the father in 50 shekels of silver.

A witch (male or female, though in those times it was more common for women to be witches) should be put to death by the court.

Anyone who is intimate with an animal must be put to death by stoning.

Anyone who performs any kind of act that could be considered a sacrifice to an idol (or is the same as the type of sacrificial acts that the Jews would perform in the Temple) shall be put to death. Acts that merely display good feelings towards an idol but aren't actually forms of worship (sweeping the floor in front of an idol, sprinkling water in front of it, or hugging or kissing it) are not liable for death.

Do not heckle or steal from a convert, for you were strangers* in Egypt. And you should never rebuke someone for a fault that you have.

*Side note: The word גר which translates as "convert" or "stranger" refers to anyone who was born in a different land than they live in.

Do not mistreat a widow or orphan. There is a difference of opinion as to whether this law of mistreating people applies to everyone or specifically to widows and orphans. Rashi is of the opinion that it applies to everyone but that widows and orphans are particularly mentioned as it is more common to mistreat people who are weaker in power (having no one to defend them) such as these. If you do mistreat them, G-d will punish you so that you die and your own wives shall be "widows" and your children will be "orphans*".

*Side note: This doesn't mean literal widows and orphans but rather "widows" in the sense that the man in question's body shall not be found so the wives will not be allowed to remarry which will lead to the children being considered "orphans" in so far that the courts will not let them take their father's property as it has not been determined if he is dead or just being held captive somewhere.

If you lend money to your fellow Jews, do not charge them interest*. If you have a choice to lend money to a Jew vs a non Jew (assuming you can only lend to one), lend to the Jew. A poor man vs a rich man, lend to the poor man first. Your poor relatives vs the poor of your city, your relatives come first. The poor of your city vs the poor of another city, your city comes first. If you do lend someone money, do not treat them dishonorably as a result.

*Side note: The word for "interest" given here is נשך which means to bite. Interest is likened to a snake bite which goes unnoticed at first but ends up having the whole body swell up as a result. So does interest go unnoticed at first but then builds up and ends up becoming a great loss to the borrower.

If you request to be paid back a loan from someone at the appointed time and they don't pay you back, and you take their clothing as collateral, you can do this, but only take it from them at night when they won't be wearing it and restore it to them during the day (and then you can take it from them again the following night and so forth). If you take his bed linen as collateral, if he calls out to G-d to have something to lie down in, G-d will listen to him.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Damages Relating to People and Animals

If a person hits their Canaanite slave or maidservant with an object* (like a rod or a stone) that can cause death when striking a certain part of a person’s body, and the slave or maidservant dies as a result, the master shall be put to death.

*Side note: This is the case for Hebrew slaves, that the death blow must have been with this type of object for the master to be culpable. So all the more so must this be the case with a Canaanite slave/maidservant for whom we tend to be more lenient towards the master, since the Canaanite slave is considered to be his master’s property forever, vs. the Hebrew slave must be set free after 6 years.

In the case of a Canaanite slave or maidservant, if they survive the blow for 24 hours, then the master is exempt from penalty of death (this is not the case with a Hebrew slave). If someone else other than the master hit this slave however, this person shall be held culpable even if 24 hours have passed before the slave dies.

If two men are fighting and one of them unintentionally hits a pregnant woman who is nearby, killing her unborn fetus, the court is to determine the value of the unborn fetus by calculating the value of the woman while she was pregnant (were she to be sold into slavery) minus what she would have been worth before she were pregnant. The man who struck her is then responsible to pay this amount in damages to the husband of the aborted woman.

If in this case not only the fetus is killed but the woman herself is, the culprit must pay with his life. Some people say that this is literal, meaning he shall be put to death. Others however say that it is monetary, and that he should pay the amount that he would be worth were he to be sold into slavery.

In the case of an eye, a tooth or any limb, if it is damaged, the one who did the damage is responsible to pay the victim the amount which compensates for the amount that has been lost to the person’s value (were they to be sold in the marketplace as a slave) due to their injury.

If a person is injured in such a way that it does not diminish their value in the marketplace but rather causes them significant pain such as a burn a wound or a bruise, the culprit must pay the victim an amount that would appease the victim enough to forgive the culprit. For a rich person who is more spoiled, this amount will most likely be higher.

In the case of a flesh wound which not only will decrease their value in the marketplace but also cause significant pain, the culprit is responsible to pay not only the amount that the person is worth, but for his medical expenses and anything to cover loss of incapacitation from work as a result of the wound.

If a person hits his Canaanite slave or slave woman and their eye or tooth gets knocked out, they are to be set free. This is true not only for eyes and teeth but for the loss of any of the 24 limbs (10 fingers, 10 toes, 2 ears, the nose and the tip of the male organ). The reason why the eye and tooth are both mentioned (instead of just mentioning one of them and having the other limbs insinuated including the other one), is because if only the eye were mentioned, we might assume it only meant those limbs which were present at birth, whereas teeth were not. And if it were to only mention teeth, we might assume it could apply to baby teeth which grow back after the come out, which it does not.

If a person's animal (the text says an "ox" as this was the most common animal at the time for this kind of thing to occur, however it is the same law for any animal) kills a person, that animal is to be put to death. People cannot receive any benefit from such an animal by eating it or otherwise benefitting from it before it is killed. If this animal is what is considered a tam (literally an "innocent"), meaning that it is not a wild animal and has not habitually harmed people, the owner is not liable to be put to death through stoning.

If however such an animal has habitually caused bloodshed to people (habitually is defined as having been done three consecutive days prior) and the owner was warned by the court to keep their animal locked up and then this animal kills someone (in any way, not specifically through goring), the animal shall be put to death, and the owner will be killed by G-d (not by man though). As far as the court, they calculate the sum that the owner of the animal must pay to redeem himself. According to Rabbi Yishmael, this value is calculated according to what the victim would have been worth had they been sold as a slave. According to Rabbi Akiva, the value calculated is that of the owner of the animal.

This law is the same whether the victim was an adult or a minor (one might have thought that the owner wouldn't be held responsible in the case of a minor since animals are not scared of children the way they are of adults, so the fact that an animal attacked a child does not prove that it is an inherently violent animal the way we might assume had they attacked an adult.

If a person's animal kills a Canaanite slave or slave woman, the owner of the animal must pay the slave's owner in silver in the amount of 30 shekels, regardless of the actual value of the slave and the animal is to be killed by stoning.

If any cattle or beast falls into a pit which a person exposed or dug deeper into an already exposed pit (this is because a pit 9 tephachs deep is not deadly whereas 10 tephachs is) and the animal dies, then the person who exposed or dug the pit must pay compensation to the owner of the animal in money or something equally valuable, equal to the amount that the animal was worth plus any further damages that occurred as a result.

If a person's animal hits another person's animal and that animal dies, assuming both animals are of equal value, the value of the living animal is divided in half and the carcass of the dead animal is divided in half, and each owner takes one half so they both suffer equally as a result of what happened. This is assuming that the animal which attacked was a tam, i.e. did not habitually attack. The reason the values are divided up as such only in the case of animals of equal value, is because if the animals were of different value, the owner of the animal which attacked might at times benefit from the attack which doesn't make sense (i.e. if the value of the dead animal was considerably higher than the value of the animal which attacked) and at times, the owner of the animal which attacked might get overcompensated over and above what he is due (i.e. if the value of the animal which attacked was considerably higher than his dead animal).

However if the attacking animal was a Nagach, i.e it habitually attacked (it is considered in this category if it attacks for three consecutive days), then the owner of the animal which attacked must pay full compensation of all damages incurred to the owner of the dead animal and the owner of dead animal keeps the carcass as well.

If a person steals an ox or a sheep or a goat and then slaughters or sells it, they must pay 5 cattle to replace the ox and 4 for the sheep. Two reasons for this difference in amount are as follows:

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai said that while an ox cannot be held on one's shoulders, a sheep can. So the humiliation of carrying the sheep on their shoulders in coming to their trial is part of their punishment and thus they don't need to pay as much for a sheep.

Rabbi Meir says that it's because an ox works harder than a sheep, thus stealing an ox is a bigger deal as it is preventing more work from being done than a sheep.

Unlike with the previous discussions about an "ox" which really meant any animal, in this case, the text is specifically referring to an ox and a sheep.

If you catch a thief tunneling underground and kill him in the process, this is not considered murder, as it is permissible to kill someone before they kill you as they are already considered like a dead person.

However if it is clear that the thief has no intention of killing, for example if is a father who is coming to steal from his son (and a father naturally has mercy on his son), you are not allowed to kill them, rather the thief will be liable to pay back whatever he stole. Alternatively, if a person is made aware that someone is coming in to steal from him by witnesses who saw the thief (and the thief is aware that people see him) and the owner of the house kills the thief, the owner of the house is liable for the death penalty. This is because once the thief was seen by people, we can assume that he would not kill anyone as he has been seen.

If a thief is caught with an animal that has the law of double payment associated with it (eg. an ox or a donkey) which he stole, if the animal is alive, he must return the animal. If it is dead or he sold it, he must compensate the rightful owner doubly with money or with an equivalent animal.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Laws Concerning Slavery, Murder, Parents, Kidnapping and Damages for Injuries

The Chumash now outlines a series of more specific laws. This Parsha directly follows the previous Parsha to educate us that just as the Ten Commandments were given directly from G-d at Mount Sinai, so were these laws.

Also, these more legalistic laws were placed adjacent to the laws concerning instructions involving the alter to teach the Israelites that the Sanhedrin should be next to the holy temple.

G-d instructs Moshe to really educate the Israelites in these laws not just so they can memorize them, but so that they really understand them so they are ready to keep.

G-d says that the Israelites should not bring legal matters to non jewish courts, but rather settle things in Jewish courts. Bringing legal matters to non jewish courts is a desecration of G-d's name in that it is giving higher importance to the testimony of non jewish deities.

The laws:

If a master buys a Hebrew slave, who has been sold into slavery by a court as a sentence for committing theft*, he shall work for the master for 6 years and on the 7th shall be set free.

*Side note: A Hebrew slave who sells himself into slavery due to his severe poverty is discussed later on in Vayikra 25:39.

If this Hebrew slave entered into servitude as a single man, so shall he leave; i.e. the master shall not give him a Canaanite maidservant from whom to father slaves. If he were married to a Hebrew woman upon entering servitude, his master shall be responsible to provide not only for him but for his wife and children as well up until the point that he is freed, at which time the master is no longer responsible for them anymore.

If the master does give this Hebrew slave a Canaanite maidservant from which to father slaves (which is only allowed if the man already had a Hebrew wife before becoming a slave), upon being freed, the Canaanite maidservant and her children are owned by the master. An Israelite maidservant would be set free together with the slave, or even earlier were she to show signs of puberty.

If the slave says that he loves his master and this Canaanite maidservant and the children that he bore from her and doesn't want to be set free, then the master shall bring the slave to court which sold him to the master to repay what he stole and they shall bring him to an upright door* and pierce his right ear to the door, and he shall be that master's slave "forever"**. The reason for this piercing of the ear is related to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. In the case of a slave who was sold into slavery by the court for not being able to repay his theft, this piercing is a sign that the same ear which heard "Thou Shalt Not Steal" from Mount Sinai went ahead and stole. And in the case of a slave who sold themselves into slavery due to being severely impoverished, this is in relation to his ear being the same one that heard on Mount Sinai about how the Israelites were only to be G-d's slaves now and no longer the Egyptians, yet he nevertheless sold himself to a human master. Rabbi Shimon says that the significance of the piercing being connected to a door and a mezuzah is in commemoration of G-d passing over the doors that had mezuzah's on them in Egypt to signify that we were slaves of G-d and not slaves of slaves (i.e of the Egyptians).

*Side note: Upright like a mezuzah.

**Side note: This doesn't literally mean forever, but rather just till the end of the jubilee, as 50 years is considered "forever". One does not have to serve a full 50 years however, rather even if this servitude starts in the middle or towards the end of the jubilee, it ends at the end of it.

If a man sells his minor aged daughter to be a handmaiden, she shall work for either 6 years, the end of the jubilee, or until she shows sign of puberty - whichever of these three comes first. If her master caused damage to her eye or to her tooth, he is to pay appropriate compensation to her upon release.

A Canaanite slave is released if the master knocks out his tooth, blinds his eye or mutilates the tips of any of his 24 limbs. Not so is a Hebrew maidservant, nor a Hebrew slave.

If this maidservant which was purchased is not pleasing for the master to marry (the money he used to purchase her was meant to be his payment to marry her), he must set her free and the cost of her redemption should not be the original amount that he purchased her for but rather he should calculate as if she were a hired worker for him and deduct that from what he original paid to calculate her price. Due to his "betrayal" of her in not following through with the intended marriage, as well as her father's betrayal in selling her off instead of raising her properly, she is not allowed to be sold to anyone else.

The master may designate his son to marry this maidservant in his stead, in which case he must give her food, clothing and marital relations in accordance with the law. If he then acquires a second wife, he shall not thus diminish the food, clothing and martial relations he had been providing to his first wife, the maidservant.

If he does not provide these three things for her, namely designate her for a wife for himself, or for his son, or deduct from her redemption fee the amount she would be due were she a hired laborer, she is to be set free at the first signs of puberty (or after 6 years if that comes first).

An adult who hits a person to the point of death is to be put to death.

A person who kills someone unintentionally will be sent to a safe haven to escape in the Levite camp. One might wonder why G-d would set up such a scenario where a person who has no intention to do evil ends up killing someone. Unintentional killing, while not intentional is a sign of criminal negligence. And since G-d runs the world, justice always wins over in the end. Rashi brings an example for this, such that if there was one person who committed a murder unintentionally and another one who committed an intentional murder and neither got caught and thus neither got punished, G-d could set up a scenario whereby they are both at the same inn and the intentional murder sits near the bottom of a ladder and the unintentional murderer climbs the ladder and then falls, falling on top of the person below and killing him, the unintentional murderer will now be caught for unintentional murder and be sent into exile where he should have been sent to before, and the intentional murderer died, which was his deserving sentence.

If a Jew schemes to intentionally* kill another Jew, this is punishable by death. If this killer is a Cohen, if he has begun his service in the temple, he should complete what he is doing before being brought to trial. If he has not yet started the service, he should be brought to trial first.

*Side note: Rashi includes a whole list of scenarios whereby someone might unintentionally kill someone, some of which wouldn't necessarily make them liable to be exiled and thus we might think they are liable for the death penalty. I didn't feel it necessary to list all of them here but if you'd like to read them, see Rashi for Breishis 21:14. Rashi explains in this verse that this is not the case and a murder is only punishable by death if it were premeditated and the victim was a fellow Jew.

A person who hits their mother or father, even if the blow doesn't kill them but rather causes a bruise or wound that draws blood should be put to death by strangulation.

A person who kidnaps another person and there were witnesses who saw the person who was kidnapped in the possession of the kidnapper before the kidnapper sold the victim, the kidnapper should be put to death (by strangulation*).

*Side note: When Chumash just states "put to death", by default this means by strangulation.

Anyone (excluding a minor) who curses their mother or father* shall be put to death by stoning.

*Side note: Liability for cursing one's parents only applies in the case where one's parents are Torah abiding. There is a dispute over whether this is similarly the case for the law concerning striking one's parents. Those who argue that they are similar, support their argument by pointing to the closeness of these two laws to one another in Chumash. Those who say that the prerogative that the parents must be Torah abiding only applies to cursing but not striking the parents find support in the break between these two laws with the law concerning kidnapping.

When a person hits another person and they don't die but they become incapacitated to the point of being unable to perform their work, the striker is imprisoned until the victim heals and the striker must pay damages to the victim to compensate for any financial loss they suffered as a result of the injury as well as any related medical fees.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Mount Sinai Experience Continues

The Talmud Yerushalmi teaches that one should not gaze at the Cohanim while they give the priestly blessing lest they be blinded by the revelation. The revelation at Mount Sinai was far more intense, yet no one was blinded by it and everyone saw it all.

Nor was anyone mute, as seen from earlier when the text stated that "all the people answered (Shmot 19:8)". Nor was anyone deaf, as seen from the upcoming text stating "We will do and we will listen. (Shmot 24:7)".

At Mount Sinai, the Israelites see what is usually only heard; they saw the sounds that came out of G-d, the flames, the sound of the shofar and the mountain smoking.

They stand back 12 mils which was the length of their camp so the angels can assist them from there, and they tremble from afar.

They tell Moshe to speak to them. They feared that if they heard G-d speak to them directly, they would be unable to handle it and would die.

Moshe tells them not to fear death, since G-d intends for them to feel fearful so that this fear of G-d will be instilled in them for eternity and so they will gain a reputation for being a G-d fearing nation.

The mountain burns with fire till the heavens creating a partition of darkness, cloud and fog. Moshe approaches the fog which was the thickest partition and the nation stands back.

G-d tells Moshe to speak to the Israelites in the holy language and tell them that they have seen for themselves (and seeing for oneself is much more powerful than just having someone else tell you what they saw) G-d's glory rebuking them from the heavens and G-d's fire on earth. Another way of understanding this is that G-d lowered the upper and lower heavens and spread them out over the earth.

G-d warns them to not make images of heavenly bodies, nor to make the Cherubim in the holy temple out of silver rather than the requisite gold, nor to make any more gold cherubim other than the two prescribed, nor shall they make gold cherubim for any other location other than the holy temple.

G-d instructs them to make an alter for which the intention is for His sake from the get go. This alter should be connected to the earth; i.e it should not have a base underneath it. Another reading of this is that the hollow copper alter was to be filled with earth while the Israelites camped in the desert.

G-d instructs them to bring Olah and Peace offerings on this alter. The sacrificial animals for these offerings should be slaughtered next to but not right on top of the alter. The flesh and blood should be then placed on the alter only after that.

G-d says that it is only in this holy temple in which His ineffable name is to be uttered explicitly by the Cohanim in the priestly blessing. Some Cohanim would utter the correct pronunciation of G-d's 4 letter name (the Tetragrammaton). Some would utter G-d's 12 letter name, and some would utter G-d's 42 letter name.

G-d says that this alter should be made of stones however these cannot be "cut stones" which are cut with iron. This is because the temple was made to lengthen man's life, and iron, which is used to make swords was made to shorten man's life. So that who's purpose is to shorten man's life should not be "waved" over that who's purpose is to lengthen man's life. Also, the temple makes peace between Israel and G-d, while iron cuts and injures. We learn a lesson from this that when we are so protective over the peace of stones which don't even feel anything, all the more so will one be protected from punishment for making peace with men who do feel.

G-d says that there should not be steps leading up to the alter but rather a ramp. As it would be immodest to have the Cohaim take wide strides up the steps and thus open their legs over the steps beneath them (even though they were wearing linen pants). Here too we learn a lesson that if we are to be so careful to protect the dignity of mere stones, all the more so should we act respectfully towards our fellow man.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Ten Commandments

G-d bends the upper and lower heavens and spread them across Mount Sinai. In this way, in "descending" to the mountain to speak with Moshe, He was able to remain in heaven whilst simultaneously being on the mountain.

Moshe ascends the mountain towards G-d.

G-d tells Moshe to descend back to the people and warn them not to disassemble and go up the mountain in their yearning to see G-d's revelation. Each person was so precious to G-d that if even one of them "fell" in this way, it would be to G-d as if many did.

He tells Moshe to specifically warn the Cohanim that they should not rely on their status of coming close to G-d by bringing sacrifices to think that this gives them the permission to go up the mountain. They should stay where they are or else G-d will kill some of them.

Moshe reassures G-d that the Israelites do not need to be warned of this as they are within a three day period which they have been warned as such already.

G-d reiterates that Moshe should nevertheless descend and warn the people a second time. It is wise to warn someone of something in anticipation of a certain action and then to remind them again just before the anticipated action would have taken place.

G-d tells Moshe to bring Aaron and the Cohanim back up the mountain with him. Only Moshe however is to ascend to the highest point on the mountain. Aaron will be a bit lower but nearby Moshe, and the other Cohanim lower down than him.

So Moshe goes down the mountain and speaks to the people.

G-d* speaks the 10 commandments first all in one utterance and then reiterates them in more detail. Every time G-d said a positive commandment, the Israelites would answer "Yes" in response, affirming that they would do it. Every time G-d said a negative commandment (i.e. prohibition), the Israelites would answer "No" in response, affirming that they would refrain from transgressing these.

*Side note: The name of G-d which is used here is Elokim, connoting "judgement". This is to teach us that it is important to proactively fulfill all 10 of the commandments. This is unlike certain other commandments which come up in Torah which while one is rewarded for performing them, one is not punished for neglect to do so.

The 10 commandments:

1. I am the Lord your G-d who took you out of Egypt*.

*G-d emphasizes the fact that He took them out of Egypt rather than the fact that He created the world so the Israelites know that the Exodus alone is enough of a reason for them to serve Him. ** While splitting the sea, G-d manifested as a strong warrior. Now that they were redeemed, He manifested as a merciful old man, holding the form of a sapphire brick beneath His feet in commemoration that He was with them during their sufferings with bricks in Egypt. G-d is instructing them here in this verse that they should not mistakenly think that these are two separate forces. Rather they are Him and One. Also, there were many sounds coming from all four directions at this time of the giving of the Torah. These too, they should know, are all manifestations of One G-d.

2. You shall have no other gods before Me. Do not make for yourselves a sculpted idol or image of anything which is in the heaven or on earth or in the waters beneath the earth. Do not bow before them or worship them. Because I am the Lord your G-d, a zealous G-d who inflicts punishments for one's sins upon their children for thee and four generations, such is what I do to those who hate Me. Yet for those who do kindness and keep My commandments, I will reward for 2000 generations.

*The second verse in this commandment warns them not to make any idols. The first verse warns that they are not allowed to posses any idols even if they were made by someone else. **These "other gods" are only termed "gods" as such people have deemed them, yet they are not actually divine. They are "other" since they are separate from their worshippers even, in so far as those who worship them pray to them but are not replied to. ***This commandment is pertinent "before Me", i.e. so long that G-d is present, i,e eternally (not just during that that they were at the mountain). ***G-d takes idolatry very seriously and does not hold back His judgement for this. When a person sins, He takes into account their forefather's sins and whether they are continuing in their forefathers' ways. When a person does an act of kindness however, G-d rewards them for 2,000 generations. This shows that G-d rewards kindness in a much greater manner than He punishes sin. 500x more.

3. Do not take G-d's name in vain, for G-d will not forgive anyone who takes His name in vain.*

*This is referring to lying in G-d's name out of foolishness, for example if someone swears that a pillar is made of gold when it is really made of stone.

4. Remember the Sabbath day and sanctify it.* You Should work for six days and do all of your work.** And the seventh day will be a Sabbath for the Lord your G-d, you should not perform any work on it, not you, nor your son, your daughter, your slave, your maidservant, your animal and your convert who is within your gate.*** Because G-d made the heavens and the earth in six days and everything in them, and then rested on the seventh day. This is why G-d blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.****

*While this verse just mentions "remembering" the Sabbath which alludes to keeping the positive aspects of the Sabbath, G-d simultaneously said that they should "Guard" the Sabbath, alluding to the prohibitions of the Sabbath. **This doesn't mean that you must complete all of your work by the Sabbath, but rather when the Sabbath arrives, one should feel as if they had completed everything so as not to be bothered by thoughts of work on the Sabbath. ***G-d is telling the adults that they are responsible for making sure that the minors do not perform work on the Sabbath. ****G-d does not tire from the work that He does. Yet He still rested on the seventh day. All the more so should man, who does tire from his work, rest on the Sabbath. G-d blessed and sanctified the Sabbath with the double portion of manna which He sent down on Friday for them to have for the Sabbath.

5. Respect your father and mother for your days which G-d gave you on earth will be lengthened.*

*This implies that if a person does not respect their parents then their days will be shortened. This is the general style of Torah to say things in a more abbreviated form from which one can imply the flip side of what is being said.

6. Do not kill.

7. Do not commit adultery.*

*Adultery is defined as specifically being as when a man is with a married woman. Both of the parties are culpable and liable for the death penalty.

8. Do not steal.*

*This is specifically referring to stealing people, i.e. kidnapping. We can deduce this from the fact that the previous two commandments of killing and adultery are capital sins, thus so is this one (whereas stealing money is not).

9. Do not serve as a false witness against your fellow.

10. Do not covet your fellow's house, his wife, his servant, his maidservant, his donkey, his ox nor anything that belongs to him.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Instructions on How to Prepare for the Giving of the Torah

Moshe gathers all of the Elders and relates to them everything that G-d commanded.

The people reply in unison that they will do everything that had been commanded. Although their reply was known to G-d, out of respect, on the following day, early in the morning on the third day of the month (of Sivan), Moshe ascends back up the mountain to relates it to Him.

G-d says that he will appear to the people through a thick cloud so they will be able to hear him and will forever believe in Moshe. The Israelites reply that they want to hear from G-d directly, not through a messenger. On the 4th day of the month, Moshe ascends to G-d to relay what they said.

G-d tells Moshe that if indeed this is what they want, to hear directly from G-d Himself, they must prepare* themselves that day (the 4th day) as well as the following day (the 5th day) accordingly by washing their garments.

*Side note: The word used here is וקידשתם which usually means "you shall sanctify", but in this instance means to prepare.

G-d continues and says that on the third day from then (which will be the 6th of the month), G-d will descend for all to see* on Mount Sinai**. He alludes to the fact that the men and women should separate, something which he says more explicitly a few verses later.

*Side note: This illustrates to us that there were no blind people there. Anyone who had been blind before was then healed.

**Side note: The details of what Moshe did on the 5th day, namely, his building of the alter and the 12 monuments at the foot of mountain are related in the subsequent parsha of Mishpatim. This is an example of how not everything is written chronologically in the Torah.

G-d tells Moshe to set up boundaries around the mountain so that the Israelites don't touch any part, even the edge of it.

They are forbidden from touching it and G-d warns that anyone who does so will be stoned* to death. When a ram's horn** is blown, it will be a sign that the Divine Presence has departed and they may they then ascend the mountain.

*Side note: The method of stoning someone to death was to first throw them down from a certain place reserved for such a stoning that was as high as the heights of two men combined. Sometimes, this fall itself would kill them, in which case they wouldn't have to go through the stoning process, although even with just this type of fall this death sentence was considered death by stoning.

**Side note: This ram's horn was taken from the ram that was sacrificed in lieu of Yitzchak in the story of the Binding of Yitzchak.

So Moshe descends and goes directly to the people (without attending to his personal needs first) and prepares them and they wash their garments.

Moshe tells them that for three days* the men should not be intimate with women.

*Side note: There is a difference of opinion regarding whether or not Moshe added on to what G-d said and added in an extra day. According to Rabbi Yossi, Moshe did, and meant this as that they should refrain from intimacy for three days and then on the fourth day (the 7th of Sivan) they would receive the Torah, which is when some speculate that they did. Others understand that Moshe did not add a day and he meant that they should refrain from intimacy up until the 3rd day (6th of Sivan) at which time they would receive the Torah.

The reason for this restriction regarding intimacy is because when a woman is intimate with a man, his semen has the potential to fertilize within her at any point during three days and she could be rendered impure if she were to discharge this semen. After three days, it would decay and no longer be capable of fertilization. So by staying separate for three days, the women could immerse in the mikvah and be sure that they were in a state of purity without potential for discharge of semen.

Whereas with humans, it is the norm to have students wait for their teacher to arrive and not vice versa, G-d, not being a human, waited for them at the mountain. This manifest itself when on the morning of the third day (i.e. on the 6th of Sivan, or the 7th according to R' Yossi's opinion) there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain. A great shofar sound was heard and all of the Israelites trembled.

Moshe brings the people to the foot* of the mountain and the Divine Presence approached them like a groom approaching his bride.

*Side note: There's a midrashic explanation that what this means is that the mountain was uprooted and hovered above their heads, having them accept G-d's Torah by force.

G-d descends upon the mountain and it smokes* and quakes violently.

*Side note: The smoking is described as being like a furnace. While it wasn't exactly like that, the text uses a relatable idea, since what actually occurred on the mountain is outside of the experiential understanding of anyone who wasn't actually there.

Usually when someone blows a horn, the sound diminishes the longer it goes on for. In this instance, the sound of the shofar strengthened as it went on. It started out weaker so as to accustom the Israelite's ears and not suddenly shock them.

The only words that they heard directly from G-d were the first two commandments. The rest were transmitted though Moshe. Moshe would speak to the Israelites and then G-d would respond to him in kind.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

G-d's Message to the Israelites

On the first day of the third month* since the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites arrive in the Sinai desert from Rephidim. They were in a state of repentance.

*Side note: The text includes the phrase "on this day" when describing when they arrived. This is to teach us that we should feel each day as of we are receiving the Torah anew the way the Israelites did when they first received it there (to be detailed soon).

The Israelites set up camp facing the east side of the mountain in the Sinai desert, united as one*.

* Side note: This is why the text writes about the camping here in the singular, "he set up camp ( ויחן)" instead of the plural, "they set up camp (ויחנו)". This was not the case at other campsites where they were more argumentative with one another.

Moshe ascends up to G-d and G-d calls to Moshe from the mountain, telling him to relay certain information exactly as G-d tells him to, without embellishment. This is to make sure that the Israelites will not only accept the Torah out of love, but out of fear as well, which was more appropriate for this occasion.

G-d tells Moshe to speak to the women (termed "The House of Jacob") in a more gentle manner, and to the men (termed "The House of Israel") in a more explicit, harsher manner.

Moshe is to tell the people that they have seen what G-d did to the Egyptians on their behalf* and for "carrying**" them and leading them to worship Him.

*Side note: The Egyptians were worthy of punishment even aside from how they treated the Israelites, due to their involvement in idolatry, immorality and murder. G-d chose to only punish them however once the Israelites were involved.

**Side note: When the time of the exodus arrived, the Israelites were scattered all throughout Goshen. G-d caused them all to gather in Goshen. Rashi likens this to an Eagle who uniquely carries its fledglings on its wings. Other birds carry their fledgling between their feet to protect them from other birds flying above. Eagles fly higher than all other birds so they are not afraid of other birds, only man below. So they carry their young on their wings so as to act as a barrier to any man shooting an arrow from below. Rashi says this is like what G-d did in placing the angel of G-d between the Israelites and the Egyptians to intercept any stones and catapults the Egyptians would throw with the cloud of glory (see Breishis 14:19-20). Onkelus does not like this analogy as he feels it is degrading to G-d to liken Him to something so physical, and makes it sound like Israel is above G-d, if G-d were to carry them as such.

Moshe is to then tell the people that if they listen and keep this covenant they are about to enter into of Torah, going forward, everything will be good for them, and G-d will single them out from amongst all of his other nations* (for the entire world is under G-d's dominion) and guard them like a treasure.

*Side note: G-d specifically mentions the fact that the Israelites are not alone amongst G-d's nations, lest they trivialize the fact that they are His treasure,

Moshe is to then tell them that they are to be a kingdom of ministers*.

*Side note: The word that is used here usually translates to mean priests (כהנים) but can sometimes, like here, mean "ministers" another example of this is in Shmuel 2, 8:18 where the sons of David are called כהנים. Priests can only be from the tribe of Levi, however David was from the tribe of Yehudah, thus signifying that this could not be the meaning of the word here.

G-d reiterates that Moshe should say the words He told him to exactly, without adding or subtracting.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Moshe Follows Yitro's Advice. Yitro Goes Home.

Moshe listens to Yitro's advice (see yesterday's post) and heeds it. He appoints judges as per the criteria Yitro laid out. They judge the more minor cases while Moshe judges the more major cases.

Moshe sends Yitro back home to convert his family. Indeed, we see later on (see Shoftim 1:16), Yitro's descendants did convert.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Yitro Advises Moshe to Appoint Judges

There is a dispute over whether or not the previous section dealing with Yitro joining the Israelites was placed in Chumash in chronological order. Some say that Yitro only joined the Israelites after the giving of the Torah, yet some say he joined before.

Rashi says that regardless of when that last part occurred, this next part concerning Yitro advising Moshe to appoint judges is definitely not chronologically what occurred next in the story. He comes to this conclusion based on the fact that in the last verse of this chapter (Shmos 18:27) Moshe sends Yitro away, yet in the second year of the Israelites' travels, Moshe insists that Yitro does not leave them to return home (Bamidbar 10:11). Since there is no mention of Yitro coming back after he leaves, he must have only left after the second year, i.e. after the giving of the Torah.

So we can assume that the occurrences in this section are all after the giving of the Torah.

To be precise, this section begins on the day after the first Yom Kippur post the giving of the Torah, i.e the day after Moshe descends from the mountain after receiving the second set of tablets.

The way Rashi knows the exact day here is because it begins with Moshe sitting and judging the people. Moshe would not have judged anyone before the giving of the Torah as they didn't have official laws to follow to be judged by. The first tablets were given on the 17th of Tammuz, at which time he broke them, and then the following day ascended back up to Mount Sinai where he remained for 80 days. So this section could not have occurred during those 80 days as Moshe was not present with the people. After those 80 days passed, Moshe returned with the second tablets which he received. This was on Yom Kippur. So it was only after this point that it would make sense that Moshe would sit in judgement over the people. The text reads that this section began on the "morrow", so it must have been on the day after that Yom Kippur when they received the second tablets.

So it was that Moshe is "sitting" in judgement, "all day long"*.

*Side note: Moshe was not actually judging all day long, but rather there is an idea that if a person is engaged in sincere judgement for even a short amount of time, it is as if they are studying Torah all day and are partners with G-d in creation, which happened by way of "it was evening, it was morning etc..", i.e. as if it were all day long.

Yitro observes this scene, of Moshe sitting like a king while he is judging and the Israelites who come to him all stand, and he is displeased. He feels that it is not honorable to Israel for Moshe to sit alone like this with everyone else standing.

Yitro asks Moshe why he is judging in this manner, and Moshe replies that it is because the people who are approaching him are seeking G-d. When they have an argument with one another, they come to Moshe and Moshe meditates between them by teaching them G-d's laws.

Yitro, referred here with the honorable title (by association) of "Moshe's father in law", says that the way that Moshe is acting is not good. Yitro says that it will eventually be too much for Moshe to bear alone and he will wear himself out. Even if he had the assistance of Aaron, Chur* and the seventy elders, this still would not be enough.

*Side note: We know that Yitro is speaking hypothetically about others being involved with the judgement and not that they actually were, by virtue of the fact that he included Chur, who had been killed in trying to prevent the Israelites from worshipping the golden calf - something which occurred before this time.

Yitro tells Moshe to check with G-d to make sure that the advice that he is about to give him is sound.

He says that Moshe should serve as an intermediary between the Israelites and G-d. Moshe is to teach everyone the laws and how they should and should not behave. Moshe should then use the Holy Spirit invested within him to pick out men with specific qualities to serve as judges over the people. These qualities are:

* Rich men - So that they should not feel the need to impress or flatter anyone.

* G-d fearing men

* Truthful men - Men who are trustworthy and people feel confident in.

* Men who despise money - i.e. who are willing to give up their money even if it is rightfully theirs rather than fight it out in court.

Yitro tells Moshe that he should appoint 600 such judges in proportion to the 600,000 adult Israelite men at that time.

These judges will take over judging all of the more minor matters, while Moshe will handle the more major matters.

Yitro says that if after consulting with G-d about this, G-d commands Moshe to follow this system of delegation, Moshe and the elders who had been helping him in judgment would be able to endure it all, and they would arrive at where they were going peacefully. If G-d would not agree to this system and command Moshe to follow it, Yitro says that Moshe and the elders would not endure it all and would wear themselves out.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Moshe Reunites With His Family. We Meet Yitro.

Yitro was Moshes's father in law. He was also the priest of Midian.

He was called by seven different names: Reu'el*, Yeter**, Yitro***, Chovav****, Chever, Keini and Putiel.

*Re'uel may have actually been Yitro's father, since in Bamidbar 10:29, Moshes's father in law is called "Chovav, the son of Reu'el". And although earlier in Chumash (Breishis 2:18-21) it seems to indicate that Re'uel and Yitro were the same person, in so far that Tziporah and her sisters call him "father" and then it says that Moshe married "Re'uel"'s daughter Tziporah, Rashi explains this by saying that young children sometimes call their father's father "Father".

**The same Yeter (יתר) literally means "extra", because Moshe explicitly included him in the Torah when he didn't have to, in reference to his methodology with choosing judges.

***Side note: The name Yitro יתרו is like the name Yeter יתר with an added ו'. He took on this name after he converted to Judaism as a sign of him taking on all of the Commandments.

****Literally means "lover", as he loved the Torah.

Yitro had great respect for Moshe and was honored to have him as a son in law. Moshe felt the same towards Yitro.

Yisro hears all about the miracles that have happened to the Israelites: the splitting of the sea, the war with Amalek, the manna, the well that traveled with them and of course the Exodus from Egypt, which was the greatest miracle of all.

Earlier in Chumash, before the Exodus, when Moshe meets Tziporah in Midian, G-d tells Moshe to return to Egypt. He does so, and Aaron goes out to greet him on the "Mountain of G-d". When he sees that Moshe is not alone, he asks him who the others are. Moshe replies that these are his wife and sons. Aaron exclaims, "We see already grieving over our people currently in Egypt and you want to bring more people there?!" Moshe concurs and tells his wife and sons to return to her father's home.

There was a certain stigma amongst the Israelites attached to the fact that Moshe married the daughter of Yitro, a formerly idolotrous priest.

Yitro was currently living very honorably, however he humbled himself to go out into the desert to hear words of Torah. He also wanted to remove the stigma attached to his family.

He sends a messenger to Moshe, trying to get Moshe to come out to greet Yitro, Tziporah and Moshes's two sons*.

*One of the sons is named Gershom, rooted in the word "ger", meaning "stranger", so named for Moshe being a "stranger" in a strange land. The other is named Eliezer, from the root "to help", in commemoration of G-d helping Moshe by saving him from Pharaoh's sword**.

** When the exocutioner hit Moshes's neck with his sword, Moshes's neck became as hard as marble, protecting the sword from cutting him.

In bringing with him Moshes's entire family, he is pleading with Moshe that if Moshe was indeed embarrassed about Yitro's past, at least he should come out on Tziporah's behalf, showing that he was not ashamed to be married to her in spite of her upbringing. And if even this was not something Moshe was comfortable with, hopefully he would at least come greet them on behalf of his sons, to remove any stigma people might have attached to their heritage.

After all of that, not only does Moshe make it a point to go out to greet Yitro for Yitro's sake, he brings a whole procession in his honor: First Aaron, Nadav, Avihu and then when everyone saw all of these leaders going, they joined as well.

Moshe bows and kisses Yitro and they ask one another how they are doing and then they go to Moshe's tent.

Although Yitro already knows about the exodus from Egypt, Moshe recaps the entire story of what G-d did to the Egyptians, how the Israelites has suffered, and how G-d saved them. Moshe was hoping thereby to bring Yitro closer to Torah.

Yitro became overjoyed from all of the goodness that G-d did for Israel, specifically the manna and the well and the Torah. All things that involved just good without destruction. There is an opinion that in hearing about the suffering of the Egyptians, he got goosebumps, not from joy, but rather out of sorrow. Rashi relates a teaching in this regard about how one should never speak negatively about a non Jew in the presence of a convert or from a family of converts from up to 10 years back.

Yitro blesses G-d for saving the Israelites from 3 "hands":

1- The hand of slavery, i.e having the status of slaves under Egypt, a harsh nation

2- The hand of slavery under Pharaoh, a harsh king, i.e. having to be subservient to Pharaoh.

3 -The hand* of tyranny in the form of labor

*Side note, whereas for the first two hands Yitro words his blessing such that G-d saved "you", for the third, he says "the people". This is because Moshe and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi who were exempt from performing labor in Egypt, however they still had the status of slaves and were under Pharaoh's dominion. Thus Yitro was acknowledging that all of the Israelites, Moshe and Aaron included, were rescued from the first two "hands", whereas the rescue from the third "hand" of the tyranny of labor did not apply to them, but rather to the "Israelites" as a group.

Yitro had studied all of the different religions of the world, and had already renounced idolatry at this point, however after hearing firsthand from Moshe about everything that had occurred, he deepened his appreciation of it all. He says that this deeper appreciation came about through seeing how the Egyptians "made their own beds" so to speak. They plotted to get rid of the Israelites with water, and water was the cause of their own destruction (in drowning in the sea).

Yitro makes two sacrifices to G-d:

1- An Olah offering - which is an offering which gets entirely consumed by fire on the alter

2- A Peace offering - which gets partially consumed and then partially given to the Cohanim to eat.

Yitro then sits down to eat a meal with Aaron and all of the elders. Moshe is at the meal but rather than eat with them, out of respect for Yitro, he serves them.

The text says that they ate this meal "before G-d". From here we learn that when a person attends a meal with Torah scholars (i.e. Aaron and the elders), it is as if one is basking in the delight of the Divine Presence itself.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Israelites Want Water. The Battle with Amalek

The Israelites Want Water

The Israelites travel from Sin to Rephidim. There is no water there, yet they set up camp.

Although they were not yet thirsty, the Israelites demand that Moshe give them water. Moshe retorts, "Why are you testing G-d like this? Can he give water in an arid land?"

The Israelites then do become thirsty and complain to Moshe, asking him why he took them out of Egypt just so they should die from thirst?

Moshe pleads with G-d, asking what he should do, and says that soon enough, they will stone him!

G-d tells Moshe to go, together with some of the Elders* and take the staff* that he had struck the Nile with, and pass in front of the Israelites. He will then see if they indeed stone him - G-d is upset that Moshe slandered the Israelites in this way.

*The Elders are to serve as witnesses when Moshe goes to get the water, to testify that there was no ancient water fountain set up there, but indeed Moshe will be the one to cause the water to come out of the rock.

**G-d wanted Moshe to use the staff to demonstrate that this staff was not restricted to only punishing acts as it had performed with the Nile, but rather it could do goodness as well, in drawing out water.

G-d tells Moshe that He will stand by a certain rock in Chorev, and Moshe is to strike the rock with the staff and water will come out of it and the Israelites will drink.

Moshe does all of this and so it is. The staff was made of sapphire and thus split the rock from which the water emerged.

Moshe named that area Masah* and Merivah**.

*Literally means "test" as it was there that the Israelites tested G-d

**Literally "argument", due to the Israelites arguing there.

The Battle with the Amalekites

The Amalekites comes to Rephidim and fight with the Israelites*.

*Side note: Rashi here gives an allegory to explain why the story of the battle of Amalek is written about here, after the story of the Israelites quarreling and complaining about the lack of water. He likens it to a father who carries his son on his shoulders. Several times the son asks his father to get him different things and the father always obliges. At some point, they come across another man and the boy asks the man if he has seen his father. The father says, "really? you don't know where I am?" and to teach him a lesson lifts him off his shoulders and puts him on the ground where he now becomes vulnerable and a dog bites him.

Moshe tells Yehoshua to pick out G-d fearing men (possibly men who knew how to fight witchcraft as the Amelikites were sorcerers). Moshe says that the following day, these men (together with Yehoshua) shall fight and Moshe will fast, and will stand with his staff during the battle on top of a hill.

So Yehoshua gathers men for battle and Moshe, Aaron and Chur* (Miriam and Calev (her husband)'s son) stand on top of the hill.

*Side note: From here we learn that on a fast day (Moshe was fasting on that day), three men are required to lead the prayers before the ark.

Whenever Moshe lifted his hands (as a sign that the Israelites hearts were directed towards the Heavens), the Israelites would triumph and whenever he would release his hands down (as a sign that they were no longer focused on G-d), the Amalekites would triumph.

In retribution for Moshe appointing Yehoshua to wage battle against Amelek instead of going to fight himself, his hands become heavy. So Aaron and Chur bring a stone for him to sit on. He refused to sit on something more comfortable like a mattress as he did not want to feel comfortable while the rest of his nation was in pain. Then Aaron and Chur each lift one of Moshe's arms upwards, in a gesture of sincere prayer.

He remains like this until "sunset", which arrived at a much later time than it was supposed to. The Amalekites had astrologically calculated the time they were supposed to be victorious, however Moshe caused the sun to stand still so it did not set at its normal time.

In accordance with the will of G-d, Yehoshua did not kill off all of the Amelikites but rather decapitated their strongest men, leaving behind the weakest.

G-d tells Moshe to write down what had happened as a memorandum, that the Amalekites had come to wage war against the Israelites first, when none of the other nations dared to. He says that Moshe should relay to Yehoshua, who will be the one to lead the Israelites into Israel, that G-d wishes for the memory of Amalek to be erased.

Moshe sets up an alter to G-d and calls the alter "G-d is My Miracle" in commemoration of the miracle that happened there.

Moshe declares that G-d has sworn by His Throne that He will forever be at war with Amaelek and that His throne will not be complete until Amalek is completely destroyed.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Manna from Heaven

G-d tells Moshe that He will heed the complaints of the Israelites and will send meat to them in the afternoon and bread in the morning and thus they will know that He is G-d.

So evening comes and a flock of quails come and cover their camp. And then in the morning, there was a layer of dew surrounding the camp. The dew evaporated, revealing a layer of a very fine substance underneath it, underneath which lied another layer of dew, so that it came down as if wrapped up in a box.

The Israelites call this substance "manna", etymologically related to the word "prepared", as in this was food which was "prepared" for them.

Moshe affirms that indeed this is the food which G-d has given them to eat, and that each person should take in accordance with the size of their household, such that each person would get one omer (a biblical unit of measurement) amount of the manna.

So the Israelites gathered the manna, and miraculously, even though some gathered too much for their household and some too little, when they arrived home, everyone saw that they had taken exactly enough for each person to have one omer amount.

Moshe tells them not to leave any manna over for the following day. Datan and Aviram disobey him however and did, and their leftover manna becomes spoiled and worm infested. Moshe gets angry at them.

So every morning they go to gather the manna for that day. Whatever manna was not gathered melted in the sun and turned into liquid that gazelles and deers would drink from. Then non Jews would hunt and eat these animals and taste some of the manna flavor in them, and thereby gained an appreciation of the Israelites' grandeur.

On the sixth day, upon measuring out the manna which they had gathered that morning, they see that it is a double portion. Some commentaries say that the manna that day had a different flavor and aroma as well.

Moshe had not yet told the Israelites about the Sabbath*, so they approached Moshe and asked him what the reason for this difference was.

*Side Note: Moshe is subsequently punished for his delay in teaching them about the Sabbath by being including in the general "you" of G-d's upcoming (keep reading) reproach, "How much longer will you disobey me?"

So Moshe tells them about the Sabbath and says that they should bake and cook on that day for both that day and the following day and put aside what they don't eat that day for the morrow.

So they did so, and indeed the leftover manna did not spoil the following day.

The Israelites were not totally clear as to what meal(s) the extra manna was for. They thought that perhaps the extra manna they had gathered was just for cooked food (insofar as Moshe told them to cook all of it), however perhaps they could still gather manna for any raw food that wouldn't need preparation. They also thought that the extra manna might only be for the meal on Shabbos day but that they might need to go out to get manna for Saturday evening's meal.

Moshe clarifies that no, they are not to go out on the Sabbath to look for manna as it will not descend that day, but he reassures them that it will resume the following day.

Moshe explains to them that they are to gather manna during the six weekdays, but not on the Sabbath, holidays or Yom Kippur.

So the seventh day came, and some people do go out to gather the manna in spite of Moshe's instructions, and come back empty handed.

Including all of the Israelites (including Moshe - see Side Note above) in His rebuke in spite of only some of them having gone out to gather manna on the Sabbath, G-d declares to Moshe, "How much longer will you refuse to obey me?!"

He continues, "You have witnessed with your own eyes the power of the Sabbath in that G-d brings you a double portion each week for it."

G-d then instructs Moshe in the laws of Techumim, i.e the distance and the limits* which one is allowed to walk on the Sabbath.

*Side note, the limit one is allowed to walk on the Sabbath is 4000 amah square, with the center of the square being the location s/he is spending Shabbos. If one does leave this limit, they must stay in place and cannot move more than 4 amos (3 for his/her body and one for stretching out his/her limbs). These laws are more explicitly elaborated upon in rabbinic writings, as this law, while alluded to here in Chumash, is technically a rabbinic one.

So after hearing Moshe's instructions on this, the Israelites rest on the Sabbath.

This manna, which was so named by the Israelites, was round like a coriander seed, white in color, and tasted like a type of wafer which in the language of the mishnah was called iskeritin, which was dough that was fried in honey.

Moshe says that one omer of the manna should be preserved for future generations to know what the Israelites were nourished from in the desert after G-d took them out of Egypt. This became relevant in the days of the prophet Yermiyahu. Yermiyahu rebuked the Jews of his generation asking them why they don't engage in Torah study. The Jews replied that if they were to study Torah, this would detract from their work/livelihood. Yermiyhu showed them the preserved manna and they saw with their own eyes how G-d is able to find ways to sustain people at all times.

So later on, when the Israelites build the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed), Moshe tells Aaron to set aside an omer of the manna and put it in a jug for preservation and store it in front of the Ark. Although this only happened later on after they had built the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed), since this section of the Chumash is all about the manna, it is mentioned here. And so Aaron did at that time.

Israelites were sustained by the manna for the entire 40 years they traveled in the desert.

To explain this calculation:

While the manna only began falling on the 15th of Iyar, the bread the Israelites ate from made out of the dough they had taken out of Egypt tasted like manna so this time is included in the 40 years of eating the manna.

And then the manna ceased falling on the 7th of Adar, when Moshe died and they reached the Plains of Moab, before they crossed the Jordan river. From that time until they finally entered into the land of Israel on the 16th of Nissan (the day after Pesach), they managed to sustain themselves from whatever manna had fallen up until the 7th of Adar.

Today's chumash concludes by telling us that the measurement of an omer is a 10th of an ephach.

To be more specific:

The smallest unit of measurement mentioned in Rashi here is a beitzah (i.e. an egg)*

*Side note: There are different opinions as to the modern day equivalent of these measurements. A beitzah is thought to be anywhere from 2.5-3 fluid ounces.

6 beitzahs = 1 log

4 logs = 1 kav

6 kavs = 1 se'ah

3 se'ah = 1 ephach

Thus one ephach = 2x6x4x6 = 432 beitzahs.

And then if one omer = 1/10 of an ephach, then one omer is 432x0.10 = 43.2 beitzahs.

This final measurement of 43.2 beitzahs is the amount which is required to take from the dough and give to the Cohanim as well as for meal offerings.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Manna and Pheasants

The Israelites arrive in an area called Elim where there are 12 springs of water (representing the 12 tribes) and 70 date palms (representing the 70 Elders) and set up camp.

On the 15th of Iyar, which was 31 days since they left Egypt, they journey out of Elim to Sin, which was on the way to Sinai.

It is at this point that they exhaust all of their food, haven eaten a total of 61* meals made from the dough they had used to bake the matzos.

*Side note, the first meal they have upon leaving Egypt was the Seder. Thereafter they ate two meals per day, made from the dough they had used to make the matza, making a total of 61 meals.

Although the Israelites were not hungry, as they only recently ate their last meal, they were concerned over not having any food for their next meal. They complain to Moshe and Aaron about this, saying that it would have been better had they remained in Egypt and died there rather than to be led into the desert by them* and die of hunger. At least in Egypt they had meat and bread, they say.

*Side note: Notice how the Israelites say that it is Moshe and Aaron (as opposed to G-d) who took them out of Egypt and into the desert. Moshe and Aaron will reference this shortly, keep reading.

G-d tells Moshe that he will rain bread for down for them daily*. This manna would serve as a test to see if the Israelites would have the necessary faith to follow G-d's Torah. Each day they would only get the exact amount that they would need that day and would have to trust that the following day would bring them what they needed then. They would pass the test by neither leaving over any manna on any given day nor would they go out on Shabbos (when the manna would not fall) to try to collect it.

*Side note: The first day that the Israelites received manna was the 16th of Iyar, on a Sunday.

G-d tells Moshe that the Friday portion will serve as a double portion, encapsulating the portion for Shabbos as well. This will not be apparent when they go to collect the manna on Friday - it will appear as a regular sized portion. When they go home and eat it however, they will see that it is in fact a double portion.

In the Israelites' complaint (see above), they specifically mentioned meat and bread. Bread was a reasonable request, as it was necessary for their survival. Meat on the other hand was not. Additionally, if they wanted meat so badly, they had plenty of cattle that they could have slaughtered. So complaining that they didn't have meat was a sign of gluttony.

So Moshe and Aaron tell the Israelites that come evening, the Israelites will see that it was G-d, and not Moshe and Aaron (as they Israelites had said) who took the Israelites out. Moshe and Aaron were alluding to the pheasants which G-d was going to send out to fly over them. G-d sends these pheasants in the evening, which is not the most convenient time for preparing and cooking food, to demonstrate that while he was heeding their request for meat, he wasn't happy about it as it was requested out of gluttony.

Moshe and Aaron say that come morning, the Israelites will see the glory of G-d. This is in reference to the manna that fell in the morning. It is referred to as G-d's "glory", since unlike the meat, the manna was given out of love, showing that G-d recognized that it was a legitimate request.

Moshe and Aaron say, who are they that the Israelites should complain to them and rally up others to complain to them. It is G-d they should be complaining to.

Moshe tells Aaron to tell the Israelites to approach the Cloud of Glory as G-d has heard their complaints. Aaron does so and amazingly, when the Israelites look at the Cloud of Glory, G-d's Glory is visible in it.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Song Of the Sea

G-d tells Moshe to stretch out his arm over the sea and the sea will go back to it's original shape and swallow up the Egyptians.

And so Moshe stretched out his arm over the sea, and early in the morning, the Egyptians, against their better judgement (for they were in such a confused state that they had lost all ability to reason) race into the water as the water begins to revert back to it's original state, and they are thrown about, like a pot of food which is turned upside down. G-d is keeps them alive at this point to further torture them.

And then the waters fully revert back and cover the Egyptians and kill the entire army. Not a single one of them survived.

The Israelites, the other hand, traversed the sea on dry land. The waters stood up on either side of them like walls.

Such is how G-d saved the Israelites from the Egyptians on that day.

The Egyptian corpses were washed ashore on the same side that the Israelites emerged, so that the Israelites could see that they were dead and not be concerned that perhaps the Egyptians had come out from a different side and were still chasing them.

The Israelites recognized how G-d had saved them from the Egyptians and they were awestruck and had faith in G-d and Moshe, His servant.

Moshe felt compelled to sing in recognition of the miracle that had just occurred. So he leads the Israelites in singing a song*, known as the Song of the Sea.

*Side note, the text uses the future tense regarding their singing, alluding to the Resurrection of the Dead, when we will sing this song again.

The song follows a pattern of repetition (refer to the Hebrew text to see this effect). The following is the full text of the song, verse by verse in italics based on the translation from chabad.org, with some modifications on my part to enhance the explanation of the deeper meaning of the text. My explanation (based on Rashi) follow underneath each verse:

I will sing to the Lord, for He is exalted above all exaltation*; a horse** and its rider He cast into the sea.

*The entire song, as you will see, follows this repetitive pattern (eg. "exalted above all exaltation). There are a few meanings given for this phraseology here:1. To relate how G-d exalted Himself over the arrogant Egyptians who saw themselves as being exalted. 2. G-d's exaltation was also over and above man's capacities. Usually in battle a person throws their opponent off from their horse in order to beat them. In this case, the Egyptians stayed upright on their horses in going into the sea. 3. Usually when a king is praised, his praise is an exaggeration of who the king is. In G-d's case, He is far more exalted than any praise given to Him.**The Egyptian horse and rider were bound to one another; the rider could not get off of the horse even as it was being thrown up and down.

The Eternal's strength and His vengeance* were my salvation; this is my God, and I will make Him a habitation, the God of my father, and I will ascribe to Him exaltation.

*In hebrew "strength and vengeance" is written as עזי וזמרת, following the repetitive pattern of the song.

Hashem is a Man* of war; **Hashem is His Name.

*i.e "master", איש, which is why it is an appropriate term to ascribe to G-d here.**His name is his weapon. Also, unlike earthly kings that when they fight in a battle, the neglect everything else in their kingdom, when G-d fights, his attribute of mercy (alluded to in the Tetragrammaton, represented by the word "Hashem") stays active, in continuing to vivify the rest of the world while He fights a particular battle.

Pharaoh's chariots and his army He cast into the sea, and the elite of his officers sank* in the Red Sea.

The word used for sank here is only used when referring to mud rather than water. From here we learn that the Egyptians drowned in the mud rather than water. This was G-d's way of avenging the Egyptians for having caused suffering to the Israelites with mud (i.e. having them labor in clay and bricks).

The depths covered them; they descended into the depths like a stone*.

Your right hand, O Lord, is most powerful; Your right hand*, O Lord, crushes the foe**.

*When the Israelites do the will of G-d, G-d's left hand (metaphorically associated with judgement) becomes like his right hand (metaphorically associated with mercy). Hence G-d's right hand is mentioned twice in this verse, instead of mentioning his right and his left. Alternatively, G-d used his mighty right hand of mercy to both save the Israelites and also crush the Egyptians, a feat which would be impossible for a mortal king to do. **Continuously crushes the foe, not just in this instance. This is the beginning of the song's description of how G-d displays His wrath, in progressing intensity. "Crushing the foe" is the lowest level

And with Your great pride You tear down those who rise up against You*; You send forth Your burning wrath; it devours them like straw.

*If G-d's hand alone crushes the foe as indicated in the preceding verse, all the more powerfully will G-d tear down those who actively rise up against Him. Those who rise up against G-d means those who rise up against Israel.

And with the breath of Your nostrils* the waters were heaped up**; the running water stood erect like a wall; the depths congealed*** in the heart**** of the sea.

*When a person gets angry, their nostrils flare up and they emit steam. Chumash uses this imagery to illustrate G-d's wrath to make it palatable to us, though of course G-d does not have nostrils the way that a man does. **The heat from G-d's nostrils dried up the water and the water heaped up like piles of grain.***The walls of water became hard like stone and the waters threw the Egyptians against these walls****The strongest part of the sea.

[Because] the enemy* said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will share the booty; my desire will be filled from them; I will draw my sword, my hand will impoverish them.

*Alluding to Pharaoh promising his nation that this is what he would do.

You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the powerful waters.

Who is like You among the powerful, O Lord? Who is like You, powerful in the holy place? Too awesome for praises*, performing wonders!

*People are scared to give praises to G-d, lest they not be enough.

You inclined Your right hand*; the earth swallowed them up**.

*Just like when a person holds a glass dish, if they slightly tilt their hand, the glass may fall and break, so G-d can destroy His creations merely by "inclining His hand", as everything is in His hands/power. **We see from here that the Egyptians did merit to be buried. This was due to their admitting earlier on that "G-d is the Righteous One" (see Breishis 9:27)

With Your loving kindness You led the people You redeemed; You led [them] with Your might to Your holy abode.

Peoples heard, they trembled*; a shudder seized the inhabitants of Philistia**.

*It's written in the past but the meaning is present - that they are currently trembling **The children of Ephraim tried to leave Egypt and hasten the redemption forcefully, earlier than was preordained. The men of the Philistia town of Gath killed the them in their attempt. This is why they are mentioned here, even though they were not amongst the nations that the Israelites set out to conquer.

Then the chieftains of Edom were startled; [as for] the powerful men of Moab*, trembling seized them; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted**.

*Edom were the descendants of Esav and Moab the descendants of Lavan. If not for Esav hating Yaakov and Lavan instilling his hatred of Avraham into his children, both of these nations could have had a portion of Israel's honor. Thus they were now especially frazzled by the Israelite's rise. **The Canaanites knew that the Israelites were coming to attack them and posses their land, thus they "melted".

May dread* and fright** fall upon them; with the arm of Your greatness may they become as still as a stone, until Your people cross over***, O Lord, until this nation that You have acquired**** crosses over.

*Those who are far away will feel dread.**Those who are close by will feel fear.***Cross over the Jordan River according to Targum Onkelos.****As one acquires an expensive object that is very precious to a person.

You shall bring them* and plant them on the mount of Your heritage, directed toward Your habitation, which You made**, O Lord; the sanctuary, O Lord, [which] Your hands founded.

*Not "us". Moshe is foreseeing here that he will not enter the land of Israel with the rest of the Israelites. **The holy temple ("Your heritage") will parallels G-d's heavenly throne ("Your habitation") which "You made" (vs. the holy temple which the Israelites will make).

The Lord will reign to all eternity

When Pharaoh's horses came with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought the waters of the sea back upon them, and the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea,

At this point, Miriam, Aaron's sister* takes out a tambourine and all of the women follow her with their tambourines**.

*Side note: The verse makes reference to Miriam being Aaron's sister (and not Moshe) to indicate that she became a prophetess before Moshe was born, when she was just Aaron's sister. Alternatively it is because Aaron sacrificed his life for her sake when Miriam was sick with Tzarraas later on.

**The righteous women of that generation were so certain that G-d would redeem them that they took timbrels (tambourines) out with them from Egypt.

While Moshe was leading the men in song (in call and response style), Miriam was leading the women, as such:

Sing to the Lord, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea

The song ends and Moshe forcefully leads the Israelites from the sea to the Desert of Shor. They needed to be led with force, since they were busy collecting many jewels which the Egyptians had traveled with and had drowned at the sea. The booty that the Israelites gathered from the sea in such a way far outweighed that which they took from the Egyptians in Egypt.

They journey for three days but do not find water.

They journey to a place where the water is too bitter to drink and thus they name that place "Marah" (literally "bitter" in Hebrew).

The people complain to Moshe asking "What shall we drink?". This was a test that G-d put them in, to see how they would deal with not having water. They could have asked Moshe nicely to pray on their behalf however instead they complained to him.

Moshe prays to G-d and G-d shows Moshe a tree which he throws into the water, causing the water to become sweet.

Moshe begins teaching the Israelites some laws, namely Shabbos, the Red Heifer and laws involving finances.

Moshe tells the Israelites that if they not only accept but also do the will of G-d, and try to be meticulous in their performance of the commandments, even those that don't make any rational sense, like not wearing Kilaim, eating pork or the Red Heifer, then these things will serve as protections against ills. This is like a human doctor warning a patient what not to eat in order to prevent physical illness.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Splitting of the Sea

Moshe had been praying to G-d on the Israelite's behalf.

G-d tells Moshe that now is not the time to pray at length but rather to act, as the Israelites are in immediate danger. Alternatively, G-d is telling Moshe not to tell Him how to treat His children, as they are G-d's responsibility, not Moshes's.

G-d tells Moshe to tell the Israelites to just keep travelling. The sea will split for them in the merit of their forefathers, as well as their own, and the faith that they had leaving Egypt.

G-d tells Moshe to lift up his staff and reach out his arm over the sea and thus split the sea.

G-d foretells that the Israelites will enter into the sea, but be on dry land.

He will then strengthen the hearts of the Egyptians who will in turn chase after the Israelites and G-d will be subsequently glorified, through Pharaoh and his army. And all of the Egyptians will thus recognize who G-d is.

Now the angel of G-d* that had been traveling in front of the Israelites now went behind them, to separate between the Israelites and the Egyptians, and to serve as a shield for the arrows and stones that the Egyptians were shooting.

*Side note, the name of G-d used here is Elokim, which is usually reserved for times when G-d is acting out of judgement. This teaches us that at this time, the Israelites were being judged as to whether or not they should die together with the Egyptians.

The Pillar of Cloud which had also been traveling in front of the Israelites would usually depart completely after giving way to the Pillar of Fire (as nighttime would fall). On this evening, instead of departing completely, the Pillar of Cloud moves to the back of the Israelites, to make it dark for the Egyptian army.

So Moshe stretches out his arm over the sea and a great Eastern* wind blows all night long, pushing aside the water of the sea and exposing the damp land - the sea, as well as all of the other waters in the world at that time split.

*Side note: The winds from the East are considered to be the strongest winds and the winds from which G-d punishes evildoers.

The Egyptian army - together with all of their chariots and horses* - chase the Israelites into the water.

*Side note: The Egyptian horses appeared to G-d as one horse

Morning breaks and G-d gazes down at the Egyptians and uses the Pillars of Cloud and Fire to destroy them. The Pillar of Cloud makes the ground of the sea muddy and the Pillar of Fire boils the mud and the horse's hooves fall off. G-d causes the Egyptians to become confused and lose all reason.

The fire burns off the wheels of the chariots. This causes the chariots to be dragged along, with their passengers so shaken about that their limbs become dislocated.

As retribution for Pharaoh hardening his and his servants hearts (see Shmos 9:34), G-d brings a "heavy and harsh" suffering upon the Egyptians here.

The Egyptians cry out that they wish to flee from the Israelites as G-d is fighting a war* on the Israelites' behalf against Egypt.

*Side note: Rashi gives two possible interpretations as to which war this is referring to. 1)According to Targum Yonatan this is the more obvious war that is being fought by the Egyptians trying to chase after the Israelites in the sea. 2)According to Targum Onkelos, it is referring to a war that Egypt was simultaneously fighting in Egypt.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Israelites Get Scared

The Egyptians catch up to the Israelites where they are camping by the sea near Pi HaChirot, opposite Baal Tsafon.

Wanting to fulfill his promises to his troops about staying in front of them, Pharaoh attempts to move ahead, closer to the Israelites.

The Israelites see that the Egyptians were unified in heart, like one man. They also see that the ministering angel of Egypt had come down to help them.

The Israelites become very scared and start praying to G-d, in line with the tradition of their forefathers (Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov).

They cry out to Moshe, "Are there no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the desert?? Why did you take us out from there? We told you to leave us alone and let us serve in Egypt. We should have stayed there rather than to die in the desert!"

Moshe tells the nation not to fear. He says that they need be patient and they will see how G-d saves them. He says that after today they will no longer see the Egyptians.

He says that G-d will fight for them and they will stay silent.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Israelites Leave Egypt and the Egyptians Chase Them

In now finally leaving Egypt and journeying towards Israel, G-d does not lead the Israelites by way of the Philistines, which would be the more direct route, as he feared that in coming to head with war, they would regret leaving along the way and try to return back to Egypt. This is actually what ended up happening later on in any event (see Bamidbar 14:4), even though they took the circuitous route, so all the more so would they have tried this had they taken a more direct route.

So they are led by way of the Sea of Reeds (in Hebrew it's ים סוף. "A סוף is literally a "marsh", where reeds grow) .

G-d had made sure that the Israelites left Egypt sufficiently armed for such a circuitous journey that would not lead directly through civilization to acquire provisions and would rather lead to fighting battles with other nations.

Moshe* had taken the bones of Yosef with him out from Egypt.

*Side note: Immediately upon Yaakov's death, Yosef had taken Yaakov's body out of Egypt to be buried in his homeland. Yosef was only granted this special permission to do so due to his royal stature in Egypt. This did not extend to his brothers. Thus when Yosef died, they were unable to leave Egypt to bury him right away. This is why upon his deathbed, Yosef made his brothers swear that they would make their sons swear that they would take out Yosef's bones. Moshe was now fulfilling this promise.

In leaving Egypt, the Israelites had taken out all of the bones of the heads of the other tribes as well.

On the second day of their travels (the first day they traveled from Ramses to Sukkoth), the Israelites travel from Sukkoth to Etham, which was at the edge of the desert and there they camped.

G-d set up a pillar of cloud to protect them during the day and a pillar of fire so they could see at night. Thus they were able to travel by day and night. The pillar of the cloud's light would overlap with that of the pillar of fire's, such that they were never left without a pillar protecting them.

On the third day, G-d tells Moshe to tell the Israelites to turn around and set up camp in an area closer to Egypt. G-d tells Moshe that this was in order to mislead Pharaoh into thinking that they were lost and trapped in the desert. G-d says that they are to travel in front of an area called Pi HaChiroth, (otherwise known as Pitom, one of the cities which the Israelites built in Egypt but was now referred to as "The Mouth of Freedom ("Chirot") due to the Israelites be free. In that area, between Migdol and the sea, they should camp opposite the Egyptian deity of Baal Tzephon. This was the only Egyptian deity that was left standing. G-d left this lone structure in order to mislead the Egyptians into thinking that they were still powerful.

G-d then tells Moshe that he will harden Pharaoh's heart so that Pharaoh and the Egyptians will pursue the Israelites, and G-d will then exact revenge upon them and G-d will be glorified and known to all of the Egyptians.

The Israelites had faith in Moshe and Aaron and thus went along with this plan, in spite of it leading them back closer to their former captors.

Pharaoh had sent officers to travel with the Israelites. After the allotted three days pass (see previous posts regarding how Pharaoh had eventually allowed the Israelites to leave for three days) the officers see that the Israelites were not returning, and they go back to inform Pharaoh (on the forth day). Although in finally letting them out, Pharaoh wanted them to leave, both he and the Egyptians had a change of heart. The Egyptians wanted the gold and silver that they had lent back.

So on the fifth day, Pharaoh sets out in pursuit of them, personally harnessing his own chariot for the occasion.

Pharaoh coerced his people to join him by telling them that unlike other kings who make their subjects precede them in battle to protect the king, here Pharaoh will travel in front of everyone else. Also, unlike other kings who give themselves first choice of the booty and only then give the rest to their subjects, Pharaoh will split the booty evenly with everyone.

Pharaoh takes with him 600 hand selected chariots as well as all of the remaining chariots that were left* in Egypt and appointed military commanders over them.

*Side note: Although most of the animals were killed during the various plagues, the animals of those few Egyptians who feared G-d remained unaffected by the plagues and those survived. These were the animals Pharaoh took for his chariots.

G-d hardened the heart of Pharaoh (as he was initially somewhat wavering as to whether or not to actually pursue the Israelites but once G-d hardened his heart he was all in) and on the fifth and sixth day* of the Israelite's departure, Pharaoh chases after them. Yet the Israelites marched onwards, victoriously.

*Side note: The sixth night is when the Egyptians will go into the Sea of Reeds (coming up a bit later on in chumash). The following (seventh) day, the Israelites recite the "Song of the Sea" in rejoicement. To this day, we Jews recite this song on the seventh day of Passover in commemoration of this.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Jews Are Kicked Out of Egypt

At midnight, G-d and His court kill all of the firstborns in Egypt. Even if a firstborn wasn't a part of the Egyptian nation but was in Egypt at the time, he was killed. Even the first born slaves and captives were killed as well as the animals. The captives were hit with this plague as they rejoiced in the Israelites' misfortune. Also this way they would not mistakenly think that an Egyptian deity was avenging the Egyptians with this plague.

The one exception was Pharaoh who himself was a firstborn. G-d keeps him alive however so that he would witness the forthcoming miracles of G-d.

It is a king's way to sleep in until well into the morning, however Pharaoh rises on this occasion in the middle of the night and wakes up his servants as well. All of the Egyptians were awake and there was a great outcry in the land. Every Egyptian home had been stricken with this plague. If there was no firstborn there, the person who was of highest importance died. And in some homes, multiple people died as the women had not been faithful to their husbands and thus gave birth to many "firstborns" through the men they were with.

Pharaoh goes out door to door, searching for Moshe and Aaron and said that all the Israelites should leave, this time with no stipulations - meaning this time it would include the children as well as the animals for sacrifice. One thing however he demands, is that Moshe and Aaron pray for Pharaoh as he is a firstborn.

The Egyptians are now also all on board with the idea of getting rid of the Israelites. They do not realize that the reason why multiple people were dying in their homes was as a result of illicit relationships and just thought that everyone was dying.

The Egyptians kick the Israelites out before their bread has a chance to leaven (i.e it became matza), so the Israelites left like this. And although they had many animals with them, they carried any leftover matzah and bitter herbs they had on their own shoulders out of love for this mitzvah.

In accordance with Moshe's instructions, the Israelites borrow gold and silver vessels from the Egyptians, as well as garments (which they liked even more than the vessels). The Egyptians saw the Israelites in a favorable light and gave them even more vessels than they asked for. The Israelites emptied out the homes of the Egyptians.

The total number of Israelite men over the age of 20 leaving Egypt was 600,000. This is not counting the women, children and a mix of nations who chose to convert to Judaism (the "mixed multitude"). Additionally, they had many animals (livestock, cattle and flock). They traveled from Ramses to Sukkot at a distance of 120 mil*. Miraculously, the journey was instantaneous.

*Side note, a mil is considered to be 2000 amos. An amah is approximately 18-24 inches. So a mil is 3,000-4,000 feet. So this distance was about 6.8-8.7 miles in modern day measurements.

The Israelites bake the unleavened bread they had left with in their hurry. In not taking provisions with them for the way, they demonstrated strong faith in G-d that He would take care of them.

The total time the Israelites spent living in Egypt was 430 years:

On the 15 of Nissan, Avraham made the "covenant between the parts" (Breishis 15:10) and then 30 years later, on the 15th of Nissan, Yitzchak was born and then 400 years later, exactly on the 15th of Nissan, G-d released the Israelites from Egypt.

G-d had foretold to Avraham that this would be the night that the Israelites would be redeemed, and G-d had been anticipating this night the whole time and for future generations to come, this night shall always be a night when the Israelites will be guarded from harmful spirits.

On the 14th of Nissan, G-d instructed Moshe and Aaron regarding the Paschal sacrifice and who is and is not allowed to eat from it as well as other stipulations around it:

* A non Jew who is estranged from G-d may not eat from it.

* A wayward Jew may eat from it.

* If a Jew has a slave and the slave is circumcised, then the slave may eat from it.

* If a Jew has a slave and does not circumcise his slave, the Jew may still eat from it but the slave may not

* A righteous gentile may not eat from it.

* Even a gentile who is circumcised (i.e. a muslim) may not eat from it.

* It must be eaten together with the original group which sacrificed it.

* One must eat meat off of any bones that has a substantial (i.e olive sized) amount of meat on it

* Although in this first circumstance of the Paschal sacrifice the groups were made up of families, this won't necessarily be the case in the future, however there will still be groups which eat it.

* A covert to Judaism must eat it at the next occasion (i.e the first Passover that they are Jewish) - a convert has all the same obligations as a native born Jew.

* A Jew who did not get circumcised even if it was for health reasons (i.e. he had two brothers who previously died as a result of getting circumcised and thus he is not circumcised as long as it might be a danger to his life), even though he has a legitimate excuse for not being circumcised, may not eat of the sacrifice.

So the Israelites did everything that G-d had commanded Moshe and Aaron. And so it was that that day G-d took all of the Israelites and their troops out from Egypt.

Moshe Gives the Israelites Instructions

G-d tells Moshe to sanctify every firstborn Israelite man and animal to Him, as G-d has acquired the firstborns through the plague of firstborns in Egypt.

Moshe tells the Israelites that they should remember the exodus from Egypt daily, and points out to them the kindness of G-d having taken them out during the spring, when the weather is pleasant.

Moshe then foretells that the Israelites will enter into the land of the Canaanites (scripture enumerates five sub-nations which were included under the category of "Canaanites", though there were actually seven in total. The five included here are: Canaanites, Chitites, Amorites, Chivites and Yevusites) as was promised to their forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Moshe says that this land will be with "milk" (from goats) and "honey" (from dates and figs)." He says that the Israelites should observe this Passover holiday annually, and educate their children who "don't know how to ask"* about it.

*This is a reference to 4th son mentioned at the seder who "doesn't know how to ask"

Moshe says that the Israelites must eat matzah for six days and then the seventh will be a holiday for G-d and they are not to eat or possess any leavened bread during those seven days. They should tell their children the story behind the holiday, how G-d rescued them as a result of their keeping the commandments*.

*Side note, this is a reference to the "wicked son", to whom the parents shall relate that were he around during that time, he would not have been redeemed.

Moshe now instructs the Israelites to keep a sign on one's arms and forehead of the exodus. This is referring to the mitzvah of Tfillin, in which a person binds parchment with the scripture concerning remembering the exodus to their forehead and (weaker left) arm.

He says that this Passover holiday should be kept annually.

Moshe says that in entering into the land of Israel, although it was promised to their forefathers, it will feel as if it is coming to them in their own right.

He then elaborates upon the commandment of the sanctification of the firstborn. Some commentaries say that this commandment only began once they entered Israel (and thus was not performed in the desert). Others say that they did keep the commandment in the desert, and in that merit, they were able to continue to keep it in Israel. Moshe says that every firstborn of man or clean animal, even if a miscarriage, should be given to G-d.

The only unclean animal which should also be redeemed is a donkey, since the Egyptian firstborns were likened to donkeys and the donkeys assisted the Israelites in leaving Egypt and carried the silver and gold that they took.

The way a donkey is to be redeemed is by giving a lamb to a Cohen to be sacrificed. If one fails to redeem a donkey, they must decapitate the donkey. For in failing to redeem the donkey, they have caused a loss to the Cohen (who does not receive a lamb), thus the owner of the donkey must lose out as well.

The price of redeeming a firstborn of a man is delineated in Bamidbar 18:16 as being 5 selas.

The Chumash now makes reference to the "Simple Son" who just asks "What is this?" and does not know how to ask more in depth. The text says that in the future when you have such a son who asks this question, you are to reply that "G-d took us out of Egypt with a mighty hand" and that we sanctify our firstborns of man and beast in commemoration of the slaying of the firstborn Egyptian men and beasts as a result of Pharaoh's stubbornness. Later on, in Devraim 6:20, the Chumash will allude to the Wise son, who asks more in depth questions about the exodus.

Moshe then makes more explicit allusion to the mitzvah of tfillin, hinted at above which will be the signs on ones hand and forehead to commemorate the exodus. These tfillin are made up for four boxes, each containing different passages concerning the exodus. Scripture refers to them with the word Totafot. Tat means two in the Kaspi language, and Pas means two in the Afriki language. 2+2=4 housings. Menachem ibn Saruk, a grammarian, gave another interpretation - saying the word totatfot is related to the word speech, meaning that the Tfillin will serve as a remembrance to the exodus and cause people to speak about it.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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Passover

Moshe tells all the Israelite elders to take one of their sheep (or if they don’t have a sheep, they should buy) and slaughter it as the Paschal sacrifice.

He also tells them to take three stalks of hyssop (i.e a bunch) and dip them in the blood that is in the basin. They should then smear this blood onto the lintel. And then they should dip the hyssop in the blood again and smear blood onto one side of the doorpost. And then dip once more and then smear the blood from that onto the other side of the doorpost. And then they should not leave their homes until morning.

Moshe explains that when G-d comes to smite the Egyptians, this blood will serve as a protector against the destroyer whom G-d will not permit to enter such homes that have this sign as G-d will pity such homes and pass over them.

Moshe says that the Israelites should uphold this idea and pass it down to future generations. He says that when they enter the land of Israel they will be obligated to observe this ritual as well. In all of their years wandering in the desert however, the Israelites were only obligated to bring one Passover sacrifice (during their second year).

Moshe then tells the Elders that if in the future their children will ask them about what this ceremony is to them, they should tell them that the sacrifice is in commemoration of G-d passing over the houses of the Israelites when G-d struck the Egyptians.

The elders bowed down and prostrated themselves in gratitude for their redemption, for their eventual entry into to the land of Israel and for their future children.

And all of the Israelites* resolved to do as Moshe and Aaron commanded them and went to do so**.

*Side note: Including Moshe and Aaron who technically were exempt from bringing the Paschal sacrifice due to their pre-occupation with everything involved with getting the Israelites out of Egypt. When a person is involved with performing a mitzvah, they are exempt from other mitzvah obligations at that time.

**Although scripture already told us that the Israelites performed the sacrifice, the reiteration here focuses on their 1)commitment to fulfilling the commandment as well as 2)how they went to perform it. They were granted merit for each of these things (doing the commandment, committing to doing it and taking the steps to go perform it).

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Plague of the Firstborn. The Paschal Sacrifice. The Holiday of Passover.

The Plague of the Firstborn

Moshe says that G-d said that he will go out into Egypt at approximately* midnight and at that time, all firstborn Egyptians will die, including the firstborn of Pharaoh, the slave women, the animals as well as the captives.

The slave women were smitten as they too participated in the suffering of the Israelites. The animals were smitten as these were the false gods of the Egyptians, and whenever G-d punishes a nation, he punishes their deities along with it.

The captives were smitten, although they had no part in afflicting the Israelites. This was so that the Egyptians would not mistakenly assume that it was their own deity that was punishing them for their poor treatment of the Israelites.

*Side note - He said approximately just in case the Egyptian astrologers would err in their calculation of when midnight would be and if nothing happened at their calculation of midnight, they could doubt Moshe's words.

Moshe predicts that a cry will be heard throughout all of Egypt that was unlike any before or since, yet the cry will not issue forth against the Israelites, so that the separation between the Egyptians and the Israelites will be obvious.

Moshe then predicts that Pharaoh's servants will prostrate themselves before Moshe and tell him to leave with all the Israelites. In reality, Moshe was prophesying that Pharaoh would be the one to prostrate himself before Moshe, however out of respect for the crown, Moshe said that it would be "Pharaoh's servants".

Moshe leaves Pharaoh in an angry state.

G-d tells Moshe that Pharaoh will not heed to Moshe, so that G-d will have the opportunity to perform three more wonders: The plague of the firstborn, the spitting of the red sea, and the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea.

In spite of all of the wonders Moshe and Aaron performed before Pharaoh, his heart hardened and he did not let the Israelites out.

G-d now gives instructions to Moshe and Aaron regarding His very first commandment to the Israelites. Aaron is honored with being present at this moment due to his hard work up until this point. These instructions are given outside of the city of Egypt, as the city was rampant with idols.

Right before sunset, just as it became dark (as G-d only spoke to Moshe during the day), G-d shows Moshe the moon renewing itself and says that the new month shall be declared at such a moment of the moon's renewal. He says that Nissan (the month they were in) shall be considered the first in the order of months.

The Paschal Sacrifice

G-d then says that they* should tell the Israelites that day that on the 10th of that month, each household should take one lamb. Or if a household is too small to eat an entire lamb within the requisite time frame, a few smaller households should band together and get one lamb for all of them combined. The sick and elderly were exempt from this commandment as it would be too difficult for them to eat the lamb.

*Side note - Moshe and Aaron had such tremendous respect for one another that whenever they would leave G-d's presence, they would ask the other one to teach them what G-d said, so that when they ended up giving it over to the Israelites, they spoke in what sounded like unison.

The lambs they should take must be either from the sheep or goats, be unblemished and within its first year.

G-d says that although the lamb is to be taken on the 10th day of the month, it is to be held and inspected for blemishes until the 14th day, at which time it will be slaughtered, in three successive groups, as the day starts to become dark.

Due to living in Egypt, the Israelites were steeped in idolatry. Giving them a commandment involving first taking a lamb (which was an Egyptian deity) on the 10th day and then having 4 days in between before they slaughtered it was a way of removing them from that. In subsequent generations, there was no time gap, and the Pascal lamb was both taken and slaughtered on the 14th of Nissan.

After slaughtering the lamb, they are to drop some of it's blood from it's neck into a vessel and then put that blood on either side of the inner doorposts and the lintel of their homes. But they do not have to do this for storage houses where they stored straw or cattle.

And then that night, they are to eat the roasted lamb flesh (but not the bones or sinews), together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, in commemoration of the bitterness they experienced in Egypt.

The lamb is to be eaten roasted in its entirety. Not boiled or rare. After washing its innards in preparation for cooking, they are to be returned inside of the lamb and the entire lamb roasted.

The meat is to be consumed that night. Any leftover meat at dawn must be burnt the following day (once Yom Tov is over).

Just as G-d "skipped over" (hence the name of the holiday being Pesach, which literally means to "skip over") the Israelite homes, the Israelites are to eat the meat in this same manner of "skipping and hopping", i.e in haste - with their loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand.

G-d declares that he will act out his judgement by killing all the firstborn Egyptian men, animals and gods (the wooden gods will rot, the metal ones will melt) that night. The men will be killed first as they were the first to sin (before the animals). Even Egyptian men who were not present at the time in Egypt were hit with this plague.

G-d assures the Israelites that the blood they put on their doorposts will serve as a sign to G-d that they are engaged in performing His commandments, and He will pass over their homes and not smite them. Since the blood was only on the inner (and not outer) doorposts, it was not visible to the Egyptians. He also assures them that even if an Israelite is in an Egyptian home, the Israelite will not be hit with the plague.

The Holiday of Passover

G-d says that the day after this passing over occurs, which will be the 15th of the month of Nissan, will be a day that is declared an eternal annual holiday for future generations. It was on that night of the 15th that they ate the Pascal sacrifice, and then the following morning they left Egypt.

G-d decrees that they should get rid of all leaven food from their homes on the 14th of the month and then for seven days thereafter, they should refrain from eating any leavened food*. Anyone who does not do this shall be cut off from the nation of Israel and from anywhere else (that is part of G-d's domain).

*Side note, later on in Dvarim 16:8 it says that one need only eat unleavened food for six days. This teaches us that we are only required to eat matza for the first six days and not on the seventh. However even on the seventh we are not allowed to eat leavened food just like the other six.

G-d declares that the first and last of the seven days shall be Holy days when no work is to be performed unless it pertains to food you or your animals will eat during the holiday (but not food for gentiles to consume). I.e. there shall be special food, drink and clothing on those days.

G-d says that the Israelites should watch the cakes to make sure that they do not leaven. There are two ideas that we learn from this: 1) If a woman is kneading dough and notices that it is beginning to swell, she should add cold water to it to prevent it from rising. And 2) Just as we do not wait for the matzos to rise, we should not let the mitzvos rise, i.e. if a mitzvah comes your way to perform, you should do it immediately, and not wait for it to "leaven" (From Rabbi Yeshaya).

G-d specifies that the time span for this holiday of eating unleavened bread is from the night of the 14th of Nissan until the 21st day of Nissan.

G-d clarifies that for 7 days the Israelites should not own any leaven (either leaven that is ready to be eaten or leavening agents that can be used to bake leavened bread) in their homes and that anyone who does will be cut off. However if there is any leaven that is in their home that belongs to a gentile, this is OK. A convert to Judaism (i.e. who was not born Jewish) is bound by these laws however.

G-d says that they may not eat any leavening even if it is mixed with other food and that the unleavened food must be permissible in their homes (i.e to exclude the second tithe and the matzah loaves that accompany a thanksgiving offering which were only permissible to be eaten in Jerusalem).

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Moshe Negotiates with Pharaoh

Pharaoh summons Moshe and says that the Israelites can leave, and can even take their children with them (which is more than what he offered them before -see previous parsha). He says that their cattle and flock must remain in Egypt however.

Moshe rejects this deal and says that not only does he insist that they take their own flock and cattle, but he demands that Pharaoh give him his own animals the Israelites can use for sacrifices.

Moshe rationalizes that this is because the Israelites won’t know ahead of time how much will be required of them to sacrifice and perhaps their own animals won’t suffice.

G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart and did not want to let them out. Pharaoh tells Moshe to leave his presence, to no longer “see his face, for when (Moshe) shall see his face, he shall die”.

Moshe responds that indeed, Pharaoh spoke the truth. Moshe will never see Pharaoh’s face again.

G-d tells Moshe that he will send one last plague, after which Pharaoh will not only let you out, but will expel you.

G-d asks Moshe to please tell all of the Israelites (both men and women) if they would ask their Egyptian neighbors to give them their gold and silver vessels.

This was a request and not a demand. G-d was asking Moshe to please ask the Israelites to request the vessels so that Avraham would not accuse G-d of only fulfilling the first part of his prophecy of the Israelites bring enslaved and afflicted (Breishis 15:13) but not the second part of them ultimately departing with great possessions (Breishis 15:14).

G-d made it so that the Israelites find favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and Moshe was regarded very highly by them.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Moshe Negotiates with Pharaoh

Pharaoh summons Moshe and says that the Israelites can leave, and can even take their children with them (which is more than what he offered them before -see previous parsha). He says that their cattle and flock must remain in Egypt however.

Moshe rejects this deal and says that not only does he insist that they take their own flock and cattle, but he demands that Pharaoh give him his own animals the Israelites can use for sacrifices.

Moshe rationalizes that this is because the Israelites won't know ahead of time how much will be required of them to sacrifice and perhaps their own animals won't suffice.

G-d hardened Pharaoh's heart and did not want to let them out. Pharaoh tells Moshe to leave his presence, to no longer "see his face, for when (Moshe) shall see his face, he shall die".

Moshe responds that indeed, Pharaoh spoke the truth. Moshe will never see Pharaoh's face again.

G-d tells Moshe that he will send one last plague, after which Pharaoh will not only let you out, but will expel you.

G-d asks Moshe to please tell all of the Israelites (both men and women) if they would ask their Egyptian neighbors to give them their gold and silver vessels.

This was a request and not a demand. G-d was asking Moshe to please ask the Israelites to request the vessels so that Avraham would not accuse G-d of only fulfilling the first part of his prophecy of the Israelites bring enslaved and afflicted (Breishis 15:13) but not the second part of them ultimately departing with great possessions (Breishis 15:14).

G-d made it so that the Israelites find favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and Moshe was regarded very highly by them.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The Plagues of Locust and Darkness

G-d tells Moshe to stretch his hand over Egypt and this will bring about a swarm of locusts which will eat all of the grass which survived the hail.

So Moshe stretched out his staff over Egypt and a great wind blew from the east (from the direction of the land of Israel) and continuously blew all day and all night and the following morning there was a swarm of locusts which rose over all Egypt, resting all around its borders. The species of locusts were more varied than at any time since or would ever been in the future*.

*In the future times of Yoel the prophet, there was a swarm of locusts that in total quantity exceeded the number of locusts here in Moshe’s time, however there was a bigger variety of locust species in the time of Moshe.

The locusts covered the entire land, so much so that the land appeared to have darkened. The locusts ate the grass and fruit that had survived the hail. There was no more greenery left in Egypt.

Pharaoh summons Moshe and Aaron and says that he has sinned to their G-d and to them and pleads with them to pray to G-d on his behalf to be forgiven just this once and saved from just this death.

Moshe and Aaron leave Pharaoh and plead with G-d. G-d sends a powerful west wind which blows all of the locusts (even the ones which the Egyptians had salted to eat) into the Sea of Reeds.

However G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and once again he did not send the Israelites out.

G-d tells Moshe to stretch his hand upwards and it it will become darker during the day than it usually does at night, and at night it will become darker still. This darker darkness which resulted was so dark that it was tangibly palatable.

So Moshe stretches his hand upward and this great darkness came upon the Egyptians and lasted for six days total, divided into two three day periods, each serving it’s own function. During the first three days of darkness, all of those Israelites who were not on board with wanting to leave Egypt died, so that the Egyptians would not witness their death and conclude that the Israelites were being equally affected by this plague. During the second three days, the darkness was so thick that the Egyptians became physically immobilized. The remaining Israelites however remained unaffected by this plague and thus secretly entered into the Egyptian homes during this time and saw all of the Egyptians’ vessels. This was useful later on, when the Israelites asked their Egyptian neighbors for vessels to take with them upon leaving and the neighbors claimed they didn’t have any, the Israelites were able to retort that they knew that they did and were able to even say where the Egyptians kept them.