Where Sh'mot / Exodus Will Take Us

Parashat Sh'mot                                                                                                 Torah Reading:  Exodus  1:1-6:1

This Shabbat our weekly Torah reading brings us to the very beginning of the second book of the Torah:  Sh'mot/Exodus.

We are going to witness and relive some of the greatest moments in our history as we read our way, parasha by parasha, portion by portion, through this second book of Torah. 

Right at the beginning of the parasha we see the Israelites referred to, for the very first time, as "am," "nation".  This is in contrast to the Israelites at the end of the book of Breishit/Genesis who were little more than an extended family.  Now, in Sh'mot, the Israelites are a confederation of twelve tribes and are considered by their Egyptian neighbors to be a force to be reckoned with.

We will quickly become engaged in the quagmire and heartbreak of the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt, the evolution of Moses from foundling to prince, from prince to refuge, from refuge to shepherd and from shepherd to national leader and God's collaborator.  The sea will part.  The Torah will be revealed at Sinai.  The Golden Calf will emerge and enrage.  The Tabernacle/Mishkan will be constructed in the wilderness and preparations will be made for the establishment of the first stage of Israelite religion: the sacrificial cult.

We will emerge at the end of the book of Sh'mot/Exodus, as a people bound to God through the salvation of Israel from Egypt and through the brit, the covenant forged between Israel and God at Sinai.  Our lives will be informed by ethical, ritual, spiritual and moral mitzvot/commandments . . . through this second book of Torah we revisit our roots and our core values.  By examining our beginnings as a people our appreciation for the wisdom and the richness of our tradition deepens. 

Twice a day our liturgy provides us with the opportunity to recite the following verse (part of the compilation from the Psalms we call "ashrei").  As I contemplate the spiritual journey that awaits us in the book of Sh'mot/Exodus, this verse comes to mind:

Ashrei ha'am she'Adonay elohav
Blessed are the people whose God is Adonay. 
Psalms 144:15