FROM ADVERSITY TO OPPORTUNITY Listen out for the extra section in the Prayer for the King this Shabbat wishing His Majesty well. We pray that King Charles has a Refua Shlema, a speedy recovery from his cancer diagnosis. The King’s openness about his condition has heightened discussion about provision for cancer care in general in this country. His situation had added poignancy as this past week, on the 6th February, it was the anniversary of the death of his grandfather, George VI, who succumbed to lung cancer. King George had been an inveterate smoker – as many were in those...

JETHRO’S JOURNEYS Jethro made the long trek from Midian to the Sinai desert, to join his son-in-law and the people of Israel. Not only did he undertake a hard physical journey but a spiritual one too. At the beginning of the parasha we read about: “Jethro, the Priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses.” Subsequently, he is simply called “the father-in-law of Moses.” His title, “Priest of Midian,” has been dropped. From this point on, in the bible, Jethro is never referred to as “the Priest of Midian” again. Jethro enjoyed a very important position as leader of a pagan...

THE MEANING OF THE LEANING Fast forward 12 weeks from now to Seder night and the youngest child has made it to the last verse of Ma Nishtana: “On all other nights, we eat sitting or leaning, on this night, kulanu mesubin – we all lean” Eating sitting up or leaning – none of us do that – grab a sandwich on the run, maybe sit down to eat once a day – but leaning? Most sources link it to the practice of Roman noblemen and women in Talmudic times, who would recline on couches to eat their meals. On...

NAVIGATING CHALLENGE   In this week’s parasha the Israelites finally left Egypt. But how did they feel? Were they excited? Were they scared? Were they eager? Were they reluctant? Maybe they were all of these. There is a subtle difference in the wording of two verses that sheds light on the mood of the masses. In Exodus 12:41 we read: “On that very day, all the battalions of the L-d left the land of Egypt.” Ten verses later we read: “On that very day, the L-d brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, by their battalions.” It would seem...

FAMILY TREE Our parasha open with the drama of the Exodus story. Moses’ first meeting with Pharaoh turns out to be his first setback. G-d promises to redeem his people with four expressions of liberation that we reflect in our four cups of wine at the Seder. Unexpectedly, the narrative is interrupted. The entire sheni or second portion, is just a list of names. We are treated to the family background of Moses and Aaron in the tribe of Levi. The lineage of the preceding tribes of Reuven and Shimon is also included. We are given details not only of...