Mishpatim (Ex. 21:1-24:18)

This past Monday, January 21, was the observance of civil rights leader Martin Luther King. I feel that his non-violent approach to equal rights is an example of chapter 22 verse 20: "You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." That is, learning from your oppression and not holding it against other people. Dr. King didn't want to punish people for what blacks and other minorities had been through; He simply wanted better treatment by starting off on a new page.

Yitro (Ex. 18:1-20:23)

We must be willing to listen to our elders. Moses was certainly not a young man but he was willing heed his father-in-law Jethro's advice to split the responsibility of helping the Israelites with their issues. Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, the Alter of Kelm also comments on willingness: "The one who answers 'amen' is greater than the one who makes the blessing " (Talmud, Nazir 66b). Why? Because this indicates willingness to accept the obligation of the words.

Beshalach (Ex. 13:17-17:16)

Beshalach includes the parting of the Red Sea. Separation is very vital to our religion. The Creation parasha (Bereishit ) involves division of light and dark, day and night, and heavens and the earth. The final parasha of the Torah (V'zot ha-berakh ) sees the separation of the Israelites from the wilderness and into the Promised Land.
An important tenet of our Ten Commandments is the observance of Shabbat. Shabbat is the separation from the six ordinary days. Havdallah brings us back to the work week. Finally, as the Chosen people there is a division. We live in the world but are also separate as we are to be a living example of holiness.