time to build the mishkan....

Time to build the ark!
God gives Mo some instructions...
who and how to do.

If your heart moves you
bring your gifts for the Mishkan*
gold, silver, copper,

colored yarn, linen,
goats' hair, ram skins, acacia
oil, spices, gems...

Make two cherubim
and put them on the cover.
Make a table too.

Make a menorah
six branches -- of purest gold,
to light it all up.

Put the Ark, table,
and the menorah into
the Tabernacle.

Weave a curtain of
Purple, blue and crimson yarn
as a partition

Cover the Mishkan*
with fine twisted linen stuff.
Make it beautiful!

*AKA Tabernacle

Things are about to get a tad bloody...stay tuned for next week!

laws laws laws

In this week's Torah portion, Mishpatim....

God gives lotsa laws,
tells Moses to pass them on
for all to obey.

Laws for keeping slaves,
how to treat your maids and wives,
penalties and rules

don't hit mom or dad,
what to do when an ox gores,
don't throw stones or smite.

It's eye for an eye
life for life and tooth for tooth
burning for burning...

If you dig a pit
and someone falls into it
you have to make good.

The people answered:
"all that God has said we'll do!"
So Mo wrote it down.

Mo went up the Mount
left Aaron in charge of things
and all the judging.

A cloud covered up
mount sinai from all their view
Mo stayed forty days.

(What happened while he was up there? Stay tuned...)


Shabbat Shalom!

(I'm feeling a bit neglectful of this blog...I promise to work on that!)

Beshallach in Haiku

We're free! Let's go forth!
We'll take Joe's bones and get out
God will be with us.

Pharaoh changed his mind,
decided the Jews should stay.
He sent an army.

The Jews were frightened
Stay or go? Sink or paddle?
They were really stuck.

The army behind
and in front, the Sea of Reeds
Neither seemed too good.

The people cried out.
God said, "Mo! Lift up your staff!"
And the water split.

Amazed, they marched through
Walls of water on each side
on dry land they walked.

The army chased them
But Moses dropped his arm and
the water rushed in.

Freedom at a price:
the death of so many men.
We mourned and rejoiced.

There on the seashore
they sang and they danced - praise God!
Miriam led them.

They walked for three days,
no water was to be found.
They really complained.

They found water then,
but the water was bitter.
(That's what Marah means.)

God told Mo, "Toss wood
into the water to fix
it and make it sweet."

They were hungry then
and there was more complaining.
so God sent manna.

Take just what you need
No more, no less, no excess.
The food was delish!

On the sixth day they
collected double their need
for Shabbat, of course!

Again no water
God told Mo to strike a rock
and water came out.

Then came an attack
Amalek brought war on us.
Things looked kinda bad.

Mo sat on a hill
as he held his hand up high
Israel prevailed.

When his hand fell down
Amalek did much better.
Aaron helped out Mo.

Joshua led troops
and his army prevailed
against Amalek.

To this day we blot
out the name of Amalek -
he kicked us when down.

Stay tuned for more wandering in the wilderness!
Shabbat Shalom!

And thus begins Exodus...

And so we begin
Exodus starts with the names
That's what Shemot* means!

A new king arose
in Egypt where the Jews lived
This guy forgot Joe.

"There are too many!"
Pharaoh thought they might rise up
or join enemies.

So they made them slaves,
they had to work really hard
constructing cities.

Life was bad for Jews,
being slaves was really hard.
But they still "increased."

A new decree came:
When babies are born to Jews
keep girls, kill the boys.

Shifra and Puah,**
the midwives who were so brave,
did not do as told.

One lady gave birth
to a boy she kept hidden
for all of 3 months.

Then she waterproofed
a basket and put him in...
Placed it in the Nile.

His sister watched o'er
as Pharaoh's daughter came out
and rescued the babe.

To keep the baby
the sister offered a nurse -
the baby's own mom!

When he was ready
Mom brought him back to Princess
who named him Moses.

Mo grew up a prince
One day he saw a bad thing
a Hebrew beaten.

Mo looked all around,
saw no one was watching him,
and killed the beater.

Pharaoh heard of it
and was ready to kill Mo
So he fled from town!

He went to Midyan
and met seven girls, daughters
of Jethro the priest.

He defended them
from bad shepherds at the well
They took him to Dad.

He liked this guy, Mo,
gave him Zipporah as wife
made him son-in-law.

One day Mo was out
he saw a bush burning bright
but not burning up!

God called: "Moses! Yo!"
Moses took heed: "Hineni!"***
"You'll free my people."

"Who am I?" said Mo.
God said, "I'll be with you there."
"What's your name?" said Mo.

"I'm the God of their fathers,
Abraham, Isaac and Jake -
I am what I am."

God gave him some signs
that what was said was all true -
a rod, scales and blood.

Mo protested more,
"I am slow of speech and tongue!"
Help comes from Aaron.

They went to Pharaoh
"let my people go, God says!"
But Pharaoh said no.

Things got worse just then
Pharaoh took the straw for bricks
It made the job rough.

The Hebrews got mad
they blamed Mo for their trouble.
But God said, "Don't fret..."

Stay tuned for more of the saga next week!

Shabbat Shalom!

*Shemot is both the name of this week's Torah portion as well as the Hebrew name for the book of Exodus. For more thoughts on what's in a name, check out the Torah commentary for this week from the URJ.
**My favorite biblical name
***Hineni means "here I am."