B"H

Friday, Tevet 24, 5784 / January 5, 2024

This Shabbat we begin the second Book of the Torah, S’hmot (Exodus).  The first Parsha is S’hmot. 

The Parsha begins, "These are the names ("S'hmot") of the Children of Israel who came into Egypt with Yaakov (Jacob); every man and his household came."  

The Torah continues to mention the names of all of Yaakov’s children; "Reuben, Shimon, Levi and Yehuda; Isacchar, Zevulun and Binyamin; Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher and Joseph (who was already in Egypt)."  Together, Yaakov, his children and their families, including Joseph and his family, who were already in Egypt, totaled "seventy souls".

Q.   Our sages ask, "The names of the children of Yaakov were mentioned many times before. Why does the Torah begin the Book of S'hmot by mentioning their names again?

A.   According to the Midrash, one of the reasons for which the Jewish people merited the redemption from Egypt was due to the fact that all during their 210 years that they lived in Egypt they did not replace their original Hebrew names with Egyptian names.

Why didn’t they change their names, as immigrants to a new country usually do?  The reason is that through their Hebrew names they were able to keep their identity and their heritage to their forefather’s, Abraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. By mentioning their names again in the beginning of S'hmot, which tells about the Exodus, the Torah emphasizes that keeping their Hebrew names was a major factor in their redemption from Egyptian exile.

Today is the 24th of Tevet - the Yartzeit of Rabbi Schneur Zalmen of Liadi - founder and first Rebbe of Chabad who passed away in 5573 (1812).  May his memory be a blessing.

Rabbi Schneur Zalmen instilled in his followers a love for G-d, the Torah and Am Yisrael – the Jewish people.  He taught that G-d could be found everywhere! He also taught that the process of creation was not a one-time occurrence. Instead, it is an on-going event and as a result makes us continually dependent and connected to G-d.

A Chassid of Rabbi Schneur Zalmen was once at the fair for business.  At the end of the day, when it was time to calculate the total sum of goods which he bought, instead of writing the amount, he inadvertently wrote, "Ein od milvado" - "There is nothing except for G-d.”

"You have a business to run," someone remarked.  "You should concentrate on your business!"

The Chassid replied, "Doesn't it ever happen that during your prayers, when you should be meditating about G-d, you sometimes find yourself thinking about your business? Then, what is so terrible, if at the fair, when I should be thinking about my business, I get distracted and think about G-d!"

WITH SPECIAL PRAYERS FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ISRAEL

SHABBAT SHALOM

Montreal candle lighting time: 4:07 / Shabbat ends: 5:16