1. “THEY SHALL MAKE FOR ME A TEMPLE … MAKE AN ARK (FOR THE TABLETS OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS) … TWO AND A HALF BY ONE AND A HALF BY ONE AND A HALF … (25:8-10)

It was after the Exodus. The Jews are traveling through the desert.

And they build a Temple. With a menorah. An altar.

And the Ark. Containing the Ten Commandments.

The Torah tells us the exact size of each one.

And Jewish tradition sees a lesson in these details.

… Because it seems a little strange. (more…)

“IF A PERSON GIVES SOMEONE ELSE MONEY OR ARTICLES TO WATCH … (22:6)

Responsibility for things entrusted in our care.

Say I borrow someone’s car. Or maybe he asks me to watch his pet.

I have to take care of them. And I can be responsible if something happens.

… But responsibility for things with which we’re entrusted goes a lot further.

Because it’s really about life. (more…)

1. IF YOU OBEY G-D YOUR LORD, AND DO WHAT IS UPRIGHT IN HIS EYES … (15:26)

Obeying G-d.

… Sometimes it’s easy to know exactly what that means.

Because certain things in life are pretty much black and white.

Theft. Murder. And so on.

We know they’re bad. So we don’t do them.

… But sometimes it doesn’t seem so simple. (more…)

Remembering our history. That we were once slaves in Egypt.

In Judaism it’s an obligation.

Something we should never forget. (more…)

1. JOSEPH WAS PLACED IN THE DUNGEON WHERE THE KING’S PRISONERS WERE KEPT. SOON AFTER THAT, PHARAOH WAS ANGRY AT TWO OF HIS SERVANTS … THEY WERE PLACED IN THE SAME DUNGEON WHERE JOSEPH WAS IMPRISONED. WHEN JOSEPH CAME TO THEM IN THE MORNING, HE SAW THEY WERE UPSET. “WHY DO YOU LOOK SO WORRIED TODAY?” HE ASKED. (39:20 – 40:4)

Joseph. One of the most famous people in the Bible.

His story is one that we can relate to. (more…)

1. AND A MAN FOUGHT WITH JACOB UNTIL THE MORNING … (32:25)

According to Jewish mystical tradition, this was not an ordinary fight.

Jacob’s battle with the stranger is symbolic of an eternal struggle.

It’s about the forces that would destroy us. And our battle for survival. (more…)

1. AND JACOB SAID TO THEM, ‘MY BROTHERS. FROM WHERE DO YOU COME?’ … AND HE SAID, ‘IT IS STILL THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. IT’S NOT YET TIME TO BRING IN THE SHEEP. WHY NOT WATER THEM, AND GO ON GRAZING …’ (29:4-7)

It was just a small incident.

Jacob sees some workers ‘goofing off’. Standing around, instead of doing their job.

It would have been easy to ignore it. (more…)

1. AND ESAU SAID, I AM GOING TO DIE … (25:32)

Isaac and Rebecca are married and have no children.
Finally, Rebecca gives birth to twins. Esau and Jacob.
As the older brother, Esau had the “birthright”. (more…)

1. ISAAC … MARRIED REBECCA …’ (24:67)

Rebecca. One of the founding mothers of the Jewish People.

Married to Isaac. Abraham’s son. The first Jewish child.

What do we know about her? What made her the right person?

The Torah stresses one thing. (more…)

1. AND G-D SAID TO ABRAHAM …’ (12:1).

Abraham. Possibly the most influential person in history.

He taught the world about G-d.

That there’s a G-d Who demands morality. And ethics.

And Abraham also taught the world (more…)