This week's parsha
Unless otherwise noted, "This week's Parsha" comprises articles taken from contributors to the Chabad.org website. We show the original author's name here, so that proper attribution is given. For the sake of brevity, footnotes cited in the original author's writings are omitted from this website. If you need to see the citations, please refer to the original articles on the Chabad.org website.
The Ten Commandments - All of Them
If it can be said that the Torah has a climax, it would surely be in this week's Torah portion -- the Giving of the Torah at Sinai, the Ten Commandments. Here is a code everyone subscribes to, possibly without even reading it. "Thou shalt not kill," and "Thou shalt not steal" are for many people all the Ten Commandments, all of morality in fact. I have heard self-styled skeptics question the Divinity of the Torah, and readily affirm G-d's authorship and their personal acceptance of the Ten Commandments.
We aren't apt to worship graven images; we will honor father and mother; we will make earnest if occasionally imperfect attempts not to take His Name in vain; we will concede the wisdom and necessity of the Thou-shalt-nots.
We aren't apt to worship graven images; we will honor father and mother; we will make earnest if occasionally imperfect attempts not to take His Name in vain; we will concede the wisdom and necessity of the Thou-shalt-nots.
The Name's the Same
How is it possible that, after 210 years of enslavement in an alien environment, the Jews left Egypt as Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, and not as "Rameses" or "Potiphar"? The secret lies in the way they first entered Egypt: "These are the names of the Children of Israel who came to Egypt... Reuben, Simeon, Levi, etc...."
When Jews enter Egypt, a land whose way of life and general outlook is the very opposite of their own, the first vital step is to ensure that the children do not forget who they are and who their parents were. They must always know and ever remember that they are the Children of Israel, Jewish children, descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. They must cling to their Jewish names with pride; their daily conduct must immediately identify them as Jewish children, as a Reuben, a Simeon, a Levi, and a Judah.
When Jews enter Egypt, a land whose way of life and general outlook is the very opposite of their own, the first vital step is to ensure that the children do not forget who they are and who their parents were. They must always know and ever remember that they are the Children of Israel, Jewish children, descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. They must cling to their Jewish names with pride; their daily conduct must immediately identify them as Jewish children, as a Reuben, a Simeon, a Levi, and a Judah.
Did Darkness Prevail?
The ten plagues have a message for us today. Let us take the Ninth plague, Darkness, which is in our Torah reading.
There were three days of "thick darkness." According to the Midrash, the Egyptians could not see, nor even move. However, for the Jewish people it was different: they had light wherever they lived.
The Sages discuss this idea. Does it mean that the darkness did not affect the specific area where the Jewish people dwelt, the Land of Goshen? Or does it mean, more mysteriously, that for a Jew, even in the Egyptian areas, there was light in the darkness?
There were three days of "thick darkness." According to the Midrash, the Egyptians could not see, nor even move. However, for the Jewish people it was different: they had light wherever they lived.
The Sages discuss this idea. Does it mean that the darkness did not affect the specific area where the Jewish people dwelt, the Land of Goshen? Or does it mean, more mysteriously, that for a Jew, even in the Egyptian areas, there was light in the darkness?
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