Parashat Shemot

Test your knowledge of this Torah portion.

The Torah was given early on--available to anyone who seeks it.

Our names are our essence.

The name Gershom, and the word for Hebrew, Ivri, carry a message about what it means to be Jewish.

Before God calls on Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery, Moses develops his leadership skills and his ability to see beyond narrow struggles and his role as liberator.

A new Pharaoh rises.

The differences between the midwives' encounter with Pharaoh and the officers' and taskmasters' encounter teach us to appreciate the context of biblical narratives.

The reference to forgetting Joseph raises questions about how oppression is linked to a group's commitment to the larger society.

The antidote to the terror of living in a dangerous world is to participate in the liberation of others.

The complicated beginnings of the Exodus from Egypt establish the expectation that redemption is often not a smooth process.