Sh’mot (Exodus 1:1−6:1)

Sh’mot Summary:

The new king of Egypt makes slaves of the Hebrews and orders their male children to be drowned in the Nile River. (1:1-22)
A Levite woman places her son, Moses, in a basket on the Nile, where he is found by the daughter of Pharaoh and raised in Pharaoh’s house. (2:1-10)
Moses flees to Midian after killing an Egyptian. (2:11-15)
Moses marries Zipporah, the daughter of Midian’s priest. They have a son named Gershom. (2:16-22)
God calls Moses from a burning bush and commissions him to free the Israelites from Egypt. (3:1-4:17)
Moses and Aaron request permission from Pharaoh for the Israelites to celebrate a festival in the wilderness. Pharaoh refuses and makes life even harder for the Israelites. (5:1-23)

This Week’s Torah Portion: Sh’mot (Exodus 1:1−6:1)

“We are family (Hey, y’all)
I got all my siblings with me …”

In Genesis, we were a family. In Exodus, we are called for the first time a People. No longer just a family, we became a Nation.
From the beginning of our story, with God’s promise to Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation” to the first time we are called a People, being Jewish is much more than a faith and a religion. Being Jewish is being part of a people, part of the people of Israel.

The new king of Egypt makes slaves of the Hebrews and orders their male children to be drowned in the Nile River. (1:1-22)
A Levite woman places her son, Moses, in a basket on the Nile, where he is found by the daughter of Pharaoh and raised in Pharaoh’s house. (2:1-10)
Moses flees to Midian after killing an Egyptian. (2:11-15)
Moses marries Zipporah, the daughter of Midian’s priest. They have a son named Gershom. (2:16-22)
God calls Moses from a burning bush and commissions him to free the Israelites from Egypt. (3:1-4:17)
Moses and Aaron request permission from Pharaoh for the Israelites to celebrate a festival in the wilderness. Pharaoh refuses and makes life even harder for the Israelites. (5:1-23)