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Questions for an Unfinished Revolution

The Israelites bring so many materials for the construction of the Tabernacle that Moses tells them to stop; Bezalel and Oholiab, gifted craftspeople, construct the elements of the Tabernacle.

God continues describing the Tabernacle to Moses; the people worship the Golden Calf, Moses pleads on their behalf, and God forgives them.

Moses informs the people of numerous ethical and ritual laws and seals the covenant between the Children of Israel and God.

Unlike the first tablets, the second tablets, which were hewn by human hands, endured.

We are often blind to the dimension that lacks physical substance, and that can lead to enslavement to things.

Jethro, Moses' father-in-law suggests a system for establishing lower courts to settle disputes; God speaks the Ten Commandments to the Children of Israel amidst fire, smoke, and the sound of the shofar.

God brings the final three plagues on the Egyptians; the Israelites leave Egypt and receive the commandment to observe Passover.

Through Moses and Aaron, God brings plagues on the Egyptians, and Pharaoh repeatedly refuses to allow the Israelites to leave.

A new Pharaoh rises.

Hasidism spread mystical ideas to the masses of East-European Jewry.

The Rabbis regulated the giving and receiving of tzedakah even while recognizing that how one gives may be as important as how much one gives.