Torah Schmooze - Shemot Here We Come

Friends,

This week we begin the Book of Exodus! A* lot* happens in the first portion, *shemot *(“Names”): the Israelites are enslaved, Pharaoh decrees all newborn Israelite males are to be killed, Moses floats down the Nile in a basket and is rescued by the Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses grows up in Egypt, kills an Egyptian who was beating his Israelite slave, flees to Midian and marries Tzipporah, sees God in a burning bush who commands him to free the Israelites from slavery, returns to Egypt with his brother to demand Pharaoh free the slaves…phew! (And that’s not even *mentioning* what has to be one of the strangest episodes in the entire Torah, involving Moses’s wife, Tziporah, who stops God from killing Moses!! You can’t make this stuff up!!)

For those who have never come, now is a great time to jump into the fray and get in on the ground floor as we begin a new book of Torah! It’s the opening act to the Passover Drama, but you can eat all the *chametz* you want as we discuss it.

Two minor notes: First, I highly recommend taking a peek at the chapter on *Shemot* in Rabbi Elyse Goldstein’s book (see link below). There’s a lot of interesting feminist material here, so don’t miss it. Second, just to avoid any confusion: with each of the five Books of the Torah, the entire Book and the first portion in the Book have the same name (taken from the first substantive word in the Book/portion.). So Exodus/*Shemot* is the name of both the Book and the first portion in the Book. We’re reading only the portion *Shemot*, which is from 1:1 to 6:1. I hope that makes sense…

I look forward to seeing you next Thursday, December 23.

Shabbat Shalom,

Aaron


************************************************************

*Where: The communal table at **Le Pain
Quotidien<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=550+Hudson+Street,+at+the+corner+of+Perry+St.,+New+York,+NY+10014&sll=40.736177,-74.005054&sspn=0.003561,0.006877&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=550+Hudson+St,+New+York,+10014&z=16>
** (550 Hudson Street at Perry Street)*

*When: Thursday, December 23, at 6:00 pm*

*What: Schmooze about this week’s portion, Shemot*

*Who: Any and all comers!*


*You’ll find below two sets of links…*

The first set is to different English translations, in case you don’t already own a *chumash*. It doesn’t matter which one you read…whichever one suits you best will be fine.

The second set points to various commentaries on the portion. It’s certainly not an exhaustive list, and it isn’t expected that participants will look at any of these. They’re simply here if you’re interested.

**********************************************************

*Parshat Shemot: Book of Exodus (Shemot), Chapters 1:1 - 6:1*


*The portion itself*:


· English translation #1 (with Hebrew) from *Chabad* is here<http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?AID=15559&p=complete>(entire
*portion* on one page)

· English translation #2 (with Hebrew) from *Mechon-Mamre* (the “old JPS
translation”) starts here <http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0201.htm>(each
*chapter* is on one page)

· English translation #3 (*without* Hebrew) from *Aish* is here<http://www.tachash.org/metsudah/s01t.html> (entire *portion* on one page each)

· English translation #4 (with Hebrew, “interpolated” text in addition to that in #1 above, and even some commentary), also from Chabad is here<http://www.chabad.org/media/pdf/262/lkjj2629846.pdf>(entire
*portion* in one PDF document)

· *NEW!!* English translation #5 (*without* Hebrew) from JTS (the “new
JPS translation”) is here<http://www.jtsa.edu/PreBuilt/ParashahArchives/jpstext/shemot.shtml>(entire
*portion* on one page)

*Commentaries*:


· *Reform* views can be found
here<http://urj.org/learning/torah/archives/exodus/>(see links under
“Sh’mot”)

· *Reconstructionist* views can be found
here<http://www4.jrf.org/recon-dt#Shemot>

· *NEW!!* *Conservative* views can found
here<http://www.uscj.org/Shemot_57718513.html>and
here <http://www.jtsa.edu/x1941.xml#ex> (see links under “Sh’mot”)

· *Orthodox* (Chabad) views can found
here<http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/66224/jewish/Parshah-Columnists.htm>

· *MyJewishLearning.com* provides a collection of articles from across
the ideological spectrum
here<http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Weekly_Torah_Portion/shmot_index.shtml>

· for a *feminist* perspectives, see Rabbi Elyse Goldstein’s edited
volume, “The Women’s Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the
54 Weekly Torah Portions,” which can be found
here<http://books.google.com/books?id=0Z1TeANpQ4wC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Women's+Torah+Commentary:+New+Insights&hl=en&ei=dkpxTNCROYPGlQeKqcCUDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false>(see page 121)

·for a “unique” perspectives from the “Brick Testament” can be found
here<http://www.bricktestament.com/exodus/too_many_hebrews/ex01_06.html>