בס״ד

Shmot / Exodus

  • What it Means to be “Am Kadosh”

    by Ilana Pomeranz, guest contributer Parashat Kdoshim begins with the statement: “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy.” Leviticus/Vayikra 19:2, and ends with “You shall be holy ” Leviticus/Vayikra 20:26. What is the meaning of this ? Is there a Torah basis…

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  • Gathering Wheat, Leaving Gleanings

    The admonition to leave food for the poor and resident alien appears in both Parashet Kedoshim and the parsha immediately following, Emor: Parashat Kedoshim: Leviticus / Vayikra 19:9 When you reap the harvest of your land, do not cut all the way to the edges of your field, and do not gather the gleanings of…

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  • Marshmallow He-Goat

    Cut a marshmallow as shown: Put the small piece on your working surface cut side up. Dipping your scissors in powdered sugar between each poke, poke four holes in the cut side of the large marshmallow to attach legs, and one in the front of the smaller side for the neck. Snap pretzels to form…

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  • Passover/Pesach

    Given that Passover is basically ALL symbolic food, I do not (currently) plan to post a ParshaNosh for Shabbat of Passover. I highly recommend a Hillel sandwich! However, I may change my mind…

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  • Carrying the Torah through the Desert

    I want to share what I realized at last week’s Shabbat service. When the Torah service began, we sang, as usual, It happened upon the journeying of the Ark, Moses said, “Rise, Eternal,” and Your enemies were dispersed, and Your foes were put to flight from before You. וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרֹן וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה קוּמָה  יְהֹוָה…

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  • Cured Leper Bathing

    Leviticus / Vayikra 14:1 And G-d said to Moshe: וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר׃   14:2 These are the rules for purification from Leprosy.  The Kohen comes… זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְּצֹרָע בְּיוֹם טׇהֳרָתוֹ וְהוּבָא אֶל־הַכֹּהֵן׃   14:3 … [to the afflicted person] outside the camp.  And [if the Kohen] sees the leper has been cured from…

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  • Struggling to find Meaning when learning about Animal Sacrifice

    I love studying Torah. I love the layers of meaning in every word, phrase, and sentence. I love that it is a way to try to understand how G-d thinks, to the extent that any human can understand such a thing. Even “boring” parts of the Torah can be meaningful. I don’t really have to…

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  • Menorah

    Torah Pekudei/  פְקוּדֵי   Exodus  38:21-40:38 The Mishkan and all of its parts are finally completed! Time to put everything in place and light the Menorah! The Shabbos Stash and Nature’s Nosh this week are almost identical, so I am only making a single post. Exodus 39:32 And all of the work of building the Tent…

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  • We are All in it Together

    Torah Vayakhel / וַיַּקְהֵל* Exodus  35:1-38:20 *merged with Pekudei when not a Jewish leap year Parashat Vayakhel tells the story of donating to and building the Mishkan.   I have no brilliant insights this week, just a sort of secondary nostalgia.  It was a time when everyone felt they had something to contribute, and everyone was…

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  • Mishkan (Shabbos Stash)

    Parashat Vayakhel describes the building of the Mishkan, illustrated in this Shabbos Stash Parsha Nosh. The description is too long to copy, but reading is worthwhile! This project used quite a bit of my Shabbos Stash ingredients, but please feel free to mix and match! Ingredients as shown: Tools: Instructions as shown: 2. Cut one…

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