B'shalach

Hi,

This week's portion is B'Shalach.

The Jews flee Egypt. They are too timid to face military opposition, and so Gd doesn’t take them directly to Israel through Philistine territory; instead, He decides to take them around the Philistine area.

Pharaoh decides to pursue the Jews, and he follows them to the Red Sea. When the Jews arrive at the sea, Moshe turns to Gd for help. Gd tells Moshe it’s up to the people to create a miracle, by marching into the sea. The Jews, led by Nachshon ben Aminadav according to the midrash, walk into the sea, and the sea splits. The Egyptians pursue the Jews into the sea. After the Jews pass through on dry land, the sea returns to its former bed and drowns the Egyptian soldiers. The Jewish people sing songs of thanks to Gd after being saved.

The Jews travel for three days, and in that time the only water they find is a pool of bitter water. They complain of a lack of fresh, potable water. Gd instructs Moshe to put a piece of wood into the bitter water, miraculously sweetening it. The Jews camp there, and they learn some of Judaism’s laws.

A month after the Jews leave Egypt, they run out of bread. They turn to Gd, and He responds by sending Mun from the heavens. The Mun was ready to eat, but could also be baked and processed. The Jews receive a daily portion each morning, carefully preserved with upper and lower layers of dew. They receive a double portion on Friday, and they are told not to go out to collect the Mun on Shabbat. Some of the people disobey and try to collect on Shabbat.

Moving along, the Jews arrive at a place called Rephidim and complain again of a lack of water. Gd tells Moshe to strike a rock, to cause water to emerge. Moshe does this, and the nation drinks.

The Jews are then attacked by the nation of Amalek. Amalek himself was a grandson of Esav, Yaakov’s twin brother. Amalek attacks the weak stragglers, unprovoked, from behind. The Jews, with Moshe praying to Gd and with Moshe's student Yehoshua as general, defeat Amalek. Gd instructs the Jews to remember this battle, and the evil of Amalek, eternally. He also instructs the Jews to fight to destroy the evil of Amalek, across the generations.

Have a great day,
Mordechai