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Parashat Shemot

Exodus 1:1-6:1

The book opens with Israel multiplying in Egypt and becoming a threat in the eyes of a fearful Pharaoh, leading to harsh enslavement. Amid this suffering, Moshe is born, rescued, and shaped by both Egyptian and Hebrew worlds, preparing him for an unexpected destiny. The parashah introduces the central tension of the book: God hears the cry of the oppressed and begins to move history toward liberation.

  • Cruelty and Numbers

    In Parashat Shemot

    The Torah and the Midrash describe the Israelites enslavement in Egypt in harrowing detail. Yet many modern scholars insist that it must be exaggerated. It is said to be historically implausible, unsupported by archaeology, psychologically impossible. No society, they argue, could sustain such systematic barbarity. But we have learned, in our own time, how dangerously naïve such arguments are. Both the enslavement in Egypt and the Holocaust are “unbelievable” in exactly the same way: not because they did not happen, but because we desperately wish they had not.

  • The Tragedy of Moshe Rabbenu’s Fight for Justice

    By Calev Ben-Dor

    Moshe was a warrior for justice. On three separate occasions, he fought for justice for others. He was simply unable stand idly by when he saw suffering. But this very inability to countenance injustice was also the source of Moshe's greatest tragedy.

  • The Unorthodox Education of Moshe Rabbenu

    In Defense of Heresy

    In Converting to Judaism, Education, Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Shemot

    Judaism was born out of opposition, rebellion and protest. It overthrew and outlived mighty empires and gave the world a radically new understanding of itself. Judaism has nothing to fear. It has prevailed over all those who criticized it but has also learned much about itself by listening to opposing voices. Through these voices, it has been able to sharpen its own claims and if necessary change its mind when the inadequacy of these claims has become clear. Only in this way will it continue to play a central role in the future of mankind.