Mechon Hadar Online Learning

At the beginning of the book of Exodus, God's people are enslaved to a false god; by the book's end, they have been liberated to serve the real One. While Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites with forced labor, God demanded dignified work and voluntary contributions to make the mishkan (tabernacle). While Pharaoh denied the possibility of rest, God mandates the Shabbat. Rav Shai explores what freedom truly means according to Exodus.

At the beginning of the book of Exodus, God's people are enslaved to a false god; by the book's end, they have been liberated to serve the real One. While Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites with forced labor, God demanded dignified work and voluntary contributions to make the mishkan (tabernacle). While Pharaoh denied the possibility of rest, God mandates the Shabbat. Rav Shai explores what freedom truly means according to Exodus.

God's response to the sin of the golden calf in this week's parashah is perplexing. God is so angry with the Israelites' unfaithfulness that God wants to wipe them out. And yet, the Israelites commit the crime of idolatry, and God wants to punish them... for their stubbornness!? With the help of Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel (the Alter of Slabodka), Rav Shai gets to the depth of what this could mean: that Judaism, at its core, cares not just about actions but also about character.

God's response to the sin of the golden calf in this week's parashah is perplexing. God is so angry with the Israelites' unfaithfulness that God wants to wipe them out. And yet, the Israelites commit the crime of idolatry, and God wants to punish them... for their stubbornness!? With the help of Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel (the Alter of Slabodka), Rav Shai gets to the depth of what this could mean: that Judaism, at its core, cares not just about actions but also about character.

The hunger to be close to God can be one of the most powerful human desires, but it can also be among the most dangerous. The Torah is concerned with making God present but at the same time not tamed by human beings. Rav Shai argues that the construction of the mishkan in this week's parashah is the Torah's solution to this problem.

The hunger to be close to God can be one of the most powerful human desires, but it can also be among the most dangerous. The Torah is concerned with making God present but at the same time not tamed by human beings. Rav Shai argues that the construction of the mishkan in this week's parashah is the Torah's solution to this problem.

Discussing the kabbalistic notion of tzimtzum (God's self-contraction so that the world can exist), and its rabbinic antecedent (God descending into the mishkan, based in this week's parashah), Rav Shai goes into the depths of what it means to be in relationship with another, whether human or divine.

Discussing the kabbalistic notion of tzimtzum (God's self-contraction so that the world can exist), and its rabbinic antecedent (God descending into the mishkan, based in this week's parashah), Rav Shai goes into the depths of what it means to be in relationship with another, whether human or divine.

One of the Torah's central projects is to turn memory into empathy and moral responsibility. Appealing to our experience of defenselessness in Egypt, the Torah seeks to transform us into people who see those who are vulnerable and exposed rather than looking past them.

One of the Torah's central projects is to turn memory into empathy and moral responsibility. Appealing to our experience of defenselessness in Egypt, the Torah seeks to transform us into people who see those who are vulnerable and exposed rather than looking past them.

Why are sections in this week's parashah out of order? Why did the parashah specifically begin with the story of Yitro even though, chronologically, it comes after the next section? The Torah is preemptively answer two deep questions: is there wisdom outside of the Torah? and does everyone hate the Jews?

Why are sections in this week's parashah out of order? Why did the parashah specifically begin with the story of Yitro even though, chronologically, it comes after the next section? The Torah is preemptively answer two deep questions: is there wisdom outside of the Torah? and does everyone hate the Jews?

You can't leave Egypt - not really - until you discover that you can take responsibility for your life and affect your own fate. The Israelites, slaves for so long, trained to be passive in their interactions with the world, need to learn in this week's parashah to be active and take their fate into their own hands.

You can't leave Egypt - not really - until you discover that you can take responsibility for your life and affect your own fate. The Israelites, slaves for so long, trained to be passive in their interactions with the world, need to learn in this week's parashah to be active and take their fate into their own hands.

The first parashiot of Sefer Shemot set up two sides to a cosmic conflict: Pharaoh, the side of chaos and death; and God, the side of order and life. Rav Shai will read the plague narrative through this lens and see if there is a deeper meaning to these signs and portents than merely revenge.