Weekly D'Var Torah
Weekly D'var Torah
D'var Torah Beshalach
by Liam Connolly, Bar Mitzvah
My Torah portion is from the book of Exodus and is called Beshalach which means “when he sent forth” and refers to when Pharoah sent the Israelites out of Egypt. The Israelites flee but Pharoah pursues them, and they complain to Moses that he has only brought them to the wilderness to die. The Red Sea parts before them and they walk through on dry land and watch as the Egyptians drown in the sea. In celebration, Moses and the Israelites sing out in praise and Miriam leads all the women in song and dance. Despite this great miracle, the Israelites continue to complain to Moses about not having food and water to drink so God sends them manna from heaven. While the Israelites are camped in the wilderness, they are attacked by the nation of Amalek. The Israelites, led by Joshua, successfully defeat the Amalekites.
What I find most interesting about this portion is how the Israelites continue to complain even after they experience the miracle of the sea parting. I think this shows that we so often fall back to our original nature; we go back to what we know. It might not be good for us, but it is what feels most natural. After so many years of being enslaved the Israelites didn’t know how to be happy with their lot in life, they didn’t know how to enjoy their freedom. They naturally fell back into the pattern of complaining and wanting more.
I can relate to this idea, because I think it is only human nature to want what someone else has, and to long for more even though logically I know I don’t need more, I still want more. I know I don’t need my Play station 5, but of course I want it, and my life would not be as fun without it. However, I think if I saw something as divine as the sea parting like the Israelites did, I would be more trusting and have more faith.
Having faith has always been important to me and helped sustain me through hard times. Losing special people in my life like my grandmother and my dad has helped me believe in God and in the afterlife. Believing that my loved ones are in a better place feels so much better than believing they are nowhere. I like to pray to God when I am in need. When I need help, I pray and sometimes it makes me feel better.
I have had things happen in my life that feel like miracles. Maybe not as big as the sea parting for the Israelites, but I count them as miracles, nonetheless. For instance, finding my father’s ring when I was sure it was lost. My father passed away when I was 8 years old, but I was given his ring, and I wore it on a necklace around my neck; it was very special to me. A few years ago when I was on a camping trip the ring fell off a chain into a raven of rocks and it was impossible to see. No one thought it would ever be found but my family didn’t give up hope. My grandfather and stepdad searched for it with a metal detector. Miraculously after hours and hours of searching they finally found it. I prayed so much to find the ring and was so grateful to have found it.
Studying this portion of Beshalach makes me realize how important it is to be part of a community. This past year I really enjoyed being part of the madrichim program and volunteering in Darchei Noam’s shul school on Sundays. I assist the mini mensch program and love seeing my cousin Ab who is in the class. I like helping the class and the fun things we get to do like art projects, playtime, and snack time. I am a kid at heart and love being silly and having fun. It feels great when I go, and I love being there, although, I don’t particularly like getting up early, but it is a very special thing to be involved with the school and help kids connect to being Jewish.
This process of becoming a bar mitzvah has not been easy but it is one hundred percent worth it! I did not always like studying every day when I came home from school, but I still did it, so I could reach this special day. I most enjoyed listening to the melody of the prayers as I studied. I also enjoyed working with all my teachers like my tutor Lea, Rabbi Danielle and Hazzan Unger. I also enjoyed listening to my grandfather go on and on about the joys of becoming a man in the Jewish community. While he may have wanted me to learn more prayers and more EVERYTHING, I am still proud of what I accomplished. Through this process I learned that I can even tackle another language if I put my mind to it. It was not easy but with a lot of effort I was able to do it. Now that I am a bar mitzvah I am excited to celebrate with my family and friends. I am also excited to be counted as a Jewish adult which means I can now have an argument with my mom and actually win! I am also excited to see what unfolds from here and how I can get more involved in my synagogue community and be a leader and role model.
Shabbat Shalom!
Parashat Yitro
by Emerson Finkle
February 15, 2025
This week in Torah, we arrive at a pivotal moment in the story of the Jewish people - the giving of the ten commandments at Mt. Sinai. After escaping from Egypt through the parted sea and wandering through the desert, the Israelites find themselves grumpy, exhausted, and hungry for connection with the divine. G-d instructs Moses to convene everyone at the foot of the mountain where G-d then descends in a cloud of thunder and lighting to deliver the quintessential set of instructions for living a Jewish life, the ten commandments. G-d wants to ensure that the Israelites receive these instructions, so rather than offer them on tablets to read later, G-d speaks to the assembled group directly. This proximity to the divine is so intense, it leaves the Israelites physically trembling and begging Moses to be their intermediary.
This is a role Moses is used to. Earlier in this Parsha, we find him sitting among the people from sunrise to sunset, a line forming around him. His father-in-law Yitro, for whom this portion is named, is in town. Yitro had heard that the Israelites had been blessed with miracles from G-d, and he wasted no time coming by to check things out, bringing Zipporah, Gershom, and Eliezer - Moses’ wife and sons - with him. Yitro is confused by Moses and the line of Israelites he’s speaking to all day, so Yitro asks what Moses is doing. Moses shares that he is settling disputes among his people using the laws and teachings of G-d. Rather than praise his excellent leadership, Yitro admonishes him, “The thing you are doing is not right. You will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.”
The past few weeks have brought a long line of significant heaviness before us - devastating fires in California, plane crashes in DC and Philly, and the human rights of so many hanging in the political balance in our country. Perhaps we’ve felt like Moses, sitting in the midst of it all, parsing out where to pay attention and where to lend our energy. And perhaps someone we love has offered us a gentle and generous reminder - that the task of tikkun olam, of repairing the world, is too heavy, and we cannot do it alone.
Once he has identified the problem, Yitro offers a solution: Moses should choose for himself a set of trustworthy individuals to delegate the task of resolving smaller disputes and reporting back. Yitro sagely instructs Moses, “Make it easier for yourself by letting them share the burden with you.” Yitro sees his son-in-law, someone he cares deeply about, struggling under the weight of a monumental burden, and gives him permission to create for himself a community to share that weight. May we all create for ourselves a set of individuals we trust to offer what’s on our hearts. To say, “I’ve been feeling the heaviness of the world lately. Shall we hold it tenderly together?”
This week, we also marked Tu B’shvat, the new year of the trees. One of the customs of Tu B’shvat is a seder, much like the seders we participate in on Passover. The Tu B’shvat seder includes eating a series of fruits and nuts: one with a hard outer shell and a soft inside, one with a seed or pit at the center, one completely soft and edible, and one with an inedible outer layer. This spiritual technology provides another tool for navigating this moment of heaviness.
It offers us an opportunity to:
- Crack open the hard outer shells we construct around ourselves.
- Remember the values that provide the seed or kernel of what’s most important to us.
- Enjoy that which brings us nourishment and contentment without condition.
- Peel away the things that do not serve us anymore.
As we hold the heaviness of the world together, may its fruits and sweetness carry us through.
Ken yhi ratzon, may it be so.
Sun, February 9 2025
11 Shevat 5785
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Sunday ,
FebFebruary 9 , 2025Sunday Shul School (5785)
Sunday, Feb 9th 9:00a to 12:30p
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Tuesday ,
FebFebruary 11 , 2025Tuesday Hebrew School 5785
Tuesday, Feb 11th 4:30p to 6:00p
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Tuesday ,
FebFebruary 11 , 2025Teen Chayim 5785
Tuesday, Feb 11th 6:30p to 8:00p
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Thursday ,
FebFebruary 13 , 2025KA - Tu Bishvat Seder
Thursday, Feb 13th 6:00p to 8:00p
Register - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfggdZ_EY05aOM0NE5_rDP38nOj5Nx3MUzQmn2wjqeWRYT61A/viewform • $10 per person contribution to cover event costs---free if you bring food to be shared ---Free for children under 10 • Registration required. RSVP with number of adults and children, by Feb 9th. • Bring your own reusable or bio-compostable place settings: dinner and dessert plates, and spoon, fork, drinking cup, wine glass, and napkin. Plates can be scraped before packing to take home at the end of the evening. • Bring to share with your table – both white and red are needed for the Seder, or bring grape juice as a non-alcoholic alternative. • Doors open at 5:30pm. Dinner/ Seder starts promptly at 6:00pm. • If you’d like to bring a prepared dish (kugel, salad, or dessert), add to RSVP. • Set-up begins at 5 pm. Please let us know if you can assist. • Any item prepared must be accompanied by a serving utensil and ingredient list -
Friday ,
FebFebruary 14 , 2025"Taste of Shabbat" (Zoom ONLY)
Friday, Feb 14th 6:00p to 6:30p
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Sunday ,
FebFebruary 16 , 2025NO SHUL SCHOOL
Sunday, Feb 16th (All day)
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Tuesday ,
FebFebruary 18 , 2025Coffee & Conversations (Series)
Tuesday, Feb 18th 11:00a to 12:30p
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Tuesday ,
FebFebruary 18 , 2025Tuesday Hebrew School 5785
Tuesday, Feb 18th 4:30p to 6:00p
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Tuesday ,
FebFebruary 18 , 2025Teen Chayim 5785
Tuesday, Feb 18th 6:30p to 8:00p
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Thursday ,
FebFebruary 20 , 2025Adult Choir Snow Date (if needed)
Thursday, Feb 20th 7:00p to 8:00p
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