Dvar Torah
Every person is important
(שמות יג:יז) וַיְהִי בְּשַׁלַּח פַּרְעֹה אֶת־הָעָם וְלֹא־נָחָם אֱלֹהִים דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים כִּי קָרוֹב הוּא כִּי אָמַר אֱלֹקים פֶּן־יִנָּחֵם הָעָם בִּרְאֹתָם מִלְחָמָה וְשָׁבוּ מִצְרָיְמָה:
The Torah tells us that when Hashem took the Jewish people out of Egypt, instead of taking them on a direct route, He took them in a roundabout way. The Pasuk tells us that Hashem did this because, “Perhaps the people will reconsider (being free) if they see war, and they will return to Egypt” (13:17)
Hashem did not want them to see a war??? We find that right after the Jewish nation crossed the sea, the Plishtim attacked them, so they did see a war!
The Medrash tells us that many years before the Jewish people were to be taken out of Egypt, some of the children of Ephraim decided that the time had already come for them to leave slavery. They set out on their own to go up to the land of Israel. Since it was not yet time for this, Hashem did not protect them and they were attacked and killed by the Plishtim. Hashem did not want to take the Jewish people in the same way as the children of Ephraim had gone since their bodies and bones were still there. For if some of the Jews would see their remains, they might be scared and want to go back to Egypt.
For some of the Jews! How many Jews would recognize the bones of people that they barely knew?! They went the long and roundabout way because MAYBE SOMEONE MIGHT recognize them!?!?
The Torah is teaching us a very important lesson about how careful we need to be about everyone’s feeling, even people who are over-sensitive. For a group of ten or so Jews, Hashem had an entire nation of around three million people travel out of their way.
With this in mind, how careful should we be when dealing with other people in school, at home or anywhere.
Shabbat Shalom and Tu BiShvat Sameach!
Shabbat Shalom!
Parsha Questions
1) Why did Hashem lead the בני ישראל out of מצרים in a roundabout way? Explain.
(רש"י שמות יג:יז)
2) What did משה take with him when he left מצרים? Why? ([רש"י] שמות יג:יט)
3) What went in front of the בני ישראל by day and by night? (שמות יג:כא-כב)
4) Why did the מצרים think that they could pursue the בני ישראל after all that they had been through? (רש"י שמות יד:ב)
5) If all of the animals of the Egyptians had been killed in דבר, where did the מצרים get animals to pull their chariots? (רש"י שמות יד:ז)
6) What did the בני ישראל say to משה when they saw the מצרים behind them? ([רש"י] שמות יד:יא)
7) How did משה respond to them? (שמות יד:יג)
8) Using your own words, but based on the words of the פסוק, how did the בני ישראל get to the other side of the water? (שמות יד:כב)
9) How did the בני ישראל know that they would not be chased again by the מצרים and that they were now free? (רש"י שמות יד:ל)
10) Upon seeing what Hashem had done for them, how did the בני ישראל react? (שמות טו:א-כא)
11) Based on your knowledge, why do you think that they chose this method to thank Hashem?
12) Why did the בני ישראל need to be moved away from the ים סוף? (רש"י שמות טו:כב)
13) What problem did the בני ישראל encounter in מרה? (שמות טו:כג)
14) What was established for the בני ישראל when they were in מרה? Why? (רש"י שמות טו:כה)
15) What happened to the בני ישראל on טו אייר? (רש"י שמות טז:ב)
16) What did the בני ישראל question about Hashem? (שמות טז:ג-ו)
17) How did the מן test the בני ישראל to see if they would trust in Hashem? (רש"י שמות טז:ד)
18) Explain לקטו לחם משנה. (רש"י שמות טז:כב)
19) ארון took a צנצנת of מן to put away for future usage. When was it used and why? What can we learn from this? (רש"י שמות טז:לב)
Virtual Classroom Check-in!
Questions about what we are learning online!
1) If one sleeps under a bed in a Sukkah, do they fulfill their Mitzvah?
2) What can we see from the story that Rabbi Yehuda told?
3) What might be one reason that the Rabbis did not wake Rabbi Yehuda?
Torah Math
What was it that made the Jewish people sing after they saw the splitting of the sea? Had they not seen enough miracles during the ten plagues?
While living in Egypt their surroundings of the Egyptians prevented them from seeing that everything was from Hashem’s hand. Yet, once they left Egypt it was clear to them that Hashem hand’s had been there all along and that Hashem is above nature.
We can see this from the first word in the Shira. The number 7 represents nature, but the word אז as the numeric value of 8, which represents מעלה מין הטבע above nature!!!!
The Jewish people saw that Hashem controls nature, so they sang to praise Him!!
TORAH TRIVIA!
Super Stumper Question:
This a question to ask others and discuss the answers.
Last week’s question: How many Shirot (songs) are there in Tana”ch?
Answer to last week’s question: There are 10 Shirot (songs) in Tana”ch. Can you name all of them?
Question of the week: What should one Daven for on Tu Bishvat???
Kollel Quiz
#1 Who Am I?
1. I am the opposite of raw.
2. To avoid me they detoured.
3. I could be the Mitzvah.
4. My root is bread.
#2 Who Am I?
1. I am said daily.
2. I indicate resurrection.
3. My prophecy was greater than any Prophets.
4. I appear as a wall.
FOOD Section!
Can you guess what this recipe connects to this week’s Parsha?
BANANA SPLIT CAKE
Ingredients
Original recipe makes 1 - 9x12 inch pan
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted margarine
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 eggs
1 cup margarine, softened
6 bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 (20 ounces) can of crushed pineapple, drained
1 quart fresh strawberries, halved
1 (16 ounces) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Combine cracker crumbs and melted margarine or margarine thoroughly and press into bottom of 9x12 inch baking pan. Chill in freezer for at least 15 minutes.
In the medium bowl of an electric mixer combine confectioners sugar, eggs, and softened butter or margarine; beat at medium speed for 20 minutes. (This step is important, so don't try to save time).
Spread buttercream mixture evenly over chilled crust. Place bananas, cut side down, evenly on top of buttercream and spoon crushed pineapple evenly over top of bananas. Distribute strawberries over pineapple and spread the whipped topping evenly all over. Sprinkle with walnuts and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.
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