Shlomo's Thoughts on the Torah

The lesson on how the priest in the Temple were to be dressed is to remind us that we are the representatives of the Jewish people and therefore of God. How we dress and behave tells the world what we are.

The family that made the shew bread for use in the Tabernacle kept the recipe a secret. Thus highlighting that the Torah recognizes that intellectual property is property and has to be treated as such.

The budget for the building of the Tabernacle was public. This was so that there would be no overspending in the construction of the Tabernacle. The Torah is against secret budgets and plans. It hold our leaders to a high ethical standard.

God stresses that first we do the commandment no matter how we feel about it. Eventually, we will feel the wisdom of doing the right thing.

The reason that the Torah spends so much time on the construction of the Tabernacle is that it was meant for us, not God. We forget that God does not need the Tabernacle, we do.

A lesson that we can learn from the Super Bowl is that we should not give up on attempting to achieve our goals. When our people were down and it looked like it was over for us, we managed to achieve great things.

God's command to build a Tabernacle is so that He might dwell within us. God's plan is that we do His will and thus bring Him into the world.

The Torah's view of "social justice" is that we are responsible not only for our own actions but also of those who are dependent on us. If you own a dangerous animal, then you are responsible for your animal's actions.

The Torah is very careful about the dignity of humans. Even a murderer his dignity respected.

The purpose of the Torah's justice system is to make the victim whole. That if the victim loses an eye he is compensated by the culprit giving him the value of an eye. We do not blind the culprit.

The Torah reminds us that slaves have to be treated humanely because we are all created in the image of God.

If a Jew who is enslaved does not wish to go free in the Sabbatical year he is punished. The reason is that the Torah can only be observed by someone who is free. A slave is not a full person.

The Torah states that the purpose of the Jews leaving Egypt was that they were to serve God. Yet instead of the Jews building the tabernacle where they would serve God, God first gives them moral and ethical laws.

Morality which is not based on religion will lead to disaster. This is not to say that religion based morality can not be abused but a good religion will produce good people based on moral principles.

No where in the Torah does it just say to be a good person. It gives commands, that if followed will make one a good person.

As the Jews were getting ready to receive the 10 Commandments, they were commanded to wash their clothes. That they had to be appropriately dressed. This is to teach us that how we dress makes a difference.

Jethro is the source for the Jewish judicial system. What is amazing is that Moses took Jethro's advice, both because he was a non-Jew and his father in law. This shows us that a truly great leader knows that he does not have all the answers.

If a person wishes to live among Jews but not be a part of the Jewish nation, he has to accept the 7 Noahide laws, which means he has to accept the idea that the Torah is the supreme law of the land.

Amalek struck when the Jews were complaining. They sensed that the Jews were divided. This is true of all our enemies. They believe that if we are fighting among ourselves then we are weak.

We learn that Moses was concerned with honoring Joseph's wish to be buried in Israel. This is to teach us that we have to honor those who came before us.

God caused the Red Sea to be split with a strong wind. Why didn't He just split it in an open miracle? The answer is to teach us that miracles are all around, all we have to do is to be aware.

After all that the Israelites saw in Egypt and the Sea of Reeds, they were complaining that God was not supplying them with what they wanted. Those who complain but do not offer solutions are whiners and God does not want to be whiners but doers.

At the sea Moses begins to pray for God to save the people from the Egyptians. God replies, "quit yelling and take action." This is to teach us that God wants us to act, not just pray.

The reason that God freed the Jews from slavery was to give them a mission. To bring God's law to the world by their behavior.

Before the plague of the death of the first born, God states to the Jewish people that He is God and that He is a judging God. This is remind us that we will receive reward or punishment for the things we do.