Beha’alotekha (“When You Raise”) opens with God instructing Moses to inaugurate the Levites for service in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). It also recounts the stories of people who request a second […]

Shelach (“Send”) tells the story of Israelite spies journeying into Canaan, the negative report they bring back, and the resulting punishment decreed upon the Israelites: to wander and die in […]

Shemot (“Names”) is the first Torah reading in the Book of Exodus. It opens describing the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt. Moses is born, placed in a basket on […]

Vaera (“I Appeared”) opens as God promises to redeem the enslaved Israelites and bring them to the Promised Land. When Pharaoh repeatedly refuses to let the Israelites go, God sends […]

Bo (“Come”) recounts the last three plagues that God inflicts on the Egyptians: locusts, darkness, and death of firstborns. God commands the Israelites to offer a Passover lamb sacrifice. After […]

Beshalach (“When He Let Go”) describes the splitting of the Red Sea and the song the Israelites sing upon crossing through. In the desert, God sweetens bitter water and provides […]

Yitro (“Jethro”) begins as Moses reunites with his father-in-law Yitro and accepts his advice to appoint judges who will help govern the Israelites. The Israelites prepare to encounter God at […]