Torah Time.

Transcription

1 Torah Time PARASHA B Shelach Exodus 13:17-17:16 Judges 4:4-5:31 Revelation 19:1-20:6 TORAH TIME Soon after allowing the Children of Israel to leaves from Egypt, Pharaoh chases after them. The Israelites find themselves trapped between Pharaoh's armies and the sea. YHWH tells Moses to raise his staff over the water. The red sea splits to allow the Israelites to pass through, and then closes over the Egyptians. Moses and the Children of Israel sing a song of praise and thanks to YHWH. In the desert, the people suffer thirst and hunger. They repeatedly complain to Moses and Aaron. YHWH miraculously sweetens the bitter waters of Marah, and later has Moses bring forth water from a rock by striking it with his staff. YHWH feeds the nation when He causes manna to rain down from the heavens before dawn each morning. Quails to appear in the Israelite camp each evening. The Children of Israel are instructed to gather a double portion of manna on Friday, and none will descend on Shabbat, the special of rest. Some disobey and go to gather manna on the seventh day, but find nothing. Aaron preserves a small but of manna in a jar, as a story for future generations. In Rephidim, the people are attacked by the Amalekites, who are defeated by Moses' prayers and an army raised by Joshua. (This is an easy explanation of the Torah portion taken from the book The Open Bible available at )

2 MEMORY VERSE Isaiah 26:4, Trust in YHWH Lord forever, for YHWH is an everlasting rock. LEARNING ACTIVITY By YHWH s power Moshe leads his group to safety across the dry ground of the Red Sea. When Pharaoh follows his army and their chariots are swept away. Then Moshe and the Israelites sang this song to YHWH, Shemot/Exodus 15:1. The song of Moshe is the first mention of singing in the scriptures. All Israel sung this as they realized their freedom. The Israelites were rejoicing because they were finally and totally liberated. They had watched with their own eyes the destruction of Egypt by the ten plagues. Now they had witnessed the death of the evil army through the waters of the sea. Their response to YHWH is joyful worship with singing and dancing. The song at the sea is a beautiful poem describing YHWH and His works. Do you like to sing? How about dance? It s natural to dance and sing when you are happy. It should be natural for us to sing unto YHWH. In Hebrew the word for sing is shir. This phrase means to lift your voice and behold. When you shir to YHWH you can behold and look at him by faith. The Psalms say to make a joyful noise unto YHWH. You can be like Moses and the Israelites by singing praise to YHWH. Singing praise to YHWH is very important. The book of James says that if anyone is happy they should sing songs of praise. What are your favorite songs? In Exodus 15:1 Moses said, I will shir to YHWH. Take some extra time each day this week to sing to YHWH. Imagine you are crossing the Red Sea like the Israelites and shir / lift up your voice! Make a tambourine craft and shir unto YHWH. Tambourine craft: Place beans, pennies, or dry popcorn in a Styrofoam plate or metal pie plate. Take another plate and draw or color a picture on the opposite side. Glue or staple the two plates together with the beans in the middle. Use a hole puncher to make holes in the sides and place ribbons, bells, or yarn in the holes to decorate the tambourine. Now play your tambourine and praise YHWH.

3 WALK THE TALK When the Israelites left Egypt they did not have time to make a bunch of food. Nor was there a grocery store nearby where they could shop. Instead of farming or buying food, the Israelites trusted YHWH and YHWH provided. In the mornings the Hebrew people would wake up to find the ground covered in their breakfast and dinner. YHWH provided manna for them! In Hebrew they called it mah nu which actually means what is it? The Israelites trusted YHWH fully to feed and take care of them. We must do the same. You can also trust your parents to provide you food each day. Just like your parents feed you each day, YHWH will provide for you. Messiah said that we are to pray, give us today our daily bread. This is a prayer of trust and provision. When is the last time you thanked YHWH or your parents for providing food for you? Saying a prayer before and after meals is a great practice to stay thankful. It is a Hebraic practice so say a blessing AFTER your meal. Deuteronomy 8:10 says, After you have eaten and are satisfied, praise YHWH for the good land he has given you. Try thanking YHWH after each meal. Isaiah 26:4, Trust in YHWH Lord forever, for YHWH is an everlasting rock. TORAH TALK What does the name of this portion mean? What is the main subject of this portion? What commandments are in this portion? How did YHWH show His love to man in this portion?

4 Why is this portion special? How can you live this portion? Did you read about the Messiah in this portion? Where? What did you learn from the Torah? HEBREW LESSON MEET THE AYIN: AYIN=EYE OR TO SEE Ayin ra=evil eye ETZ=TREE OPH=BIRD EREv=Evening Write the Letter Review the Letters

5 Activity Ideas Make fake manna by cutting circles or shapes out of white paper. Scatter them on the floor and then pick them up, just like the Hebrew picked up the manna each day. Use the internet to look up Hebrew praise and worship songs. Begin to learn new ways to praise YHWH. Or write your own song of worship. Create a thanksgiving journal for a week. Interview family members and write down what they are thankful for. Use the journal to write something you are thankful for each day. Visit a local grocer and purchase coriander seed. How does it look and taste? How is it harvested today? Make manna cakes or use a round cookie cutter to make shapes out of sandwich bread. If you make fresh bread be sure to use coriander seed as mentioned in Exodus 16. YHWH gave specific instructions on when and how to pick up manna. This is like how your parents give you certain rules. Just like the Israelites obeyed YHWH, you must obey your parents. Fill a bowl with water. Sprinkle pepper on the top of the water. Then put a drop of dish soap in the bowl. The pepper will separate just like the waters separated for Israel and Moses. Find pictures from the library of ancient chariots. Make a chariot wheel or use wagon wheel pasta to make a wheel on some construction paper. Joseph s bones were taken out of Egypt when the Israelites left in a hurry. Find a model or picture of a skeleton and look at the many body parts. Learn the parts and discuss why it was important to honor Joseph s request. Draw a picture of the Hebrews crossing the sea on dry ground. Make sure to color the waters on both sides.

6 HEBREW REVIEW Read and trace the Hebrew letters:

7

8 "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am YHWH,'" Exodus 16:12 desert grumbled Moses Aaron Israelites Egypt meat food starve death manna heaven gather enough bread morning twilight quail camp eat

9 Put the following events in the correct order of when they occurred in the Torah. For example, put number 1 for the first event and number 2 for the second. The death angel passes over the homes that have lamb s blood on the door posts. The rod of Moses turns into a serpent before Pharaoh. The Hebrew people complain to Moses about not having enough food and drink. The Red Sea splits and the Hebrews walk across. YHWH calls Moses at the burning bush. The plague of locusts strikes Egypt. The plague of blood comes against Egypt. Baby Moses is rescued from the river and raised by his mother. YHWH provides manna for the Hebrew people. Pharaoh and his army are destroyed by the Red Sea waters. The Hebrew people sing a song of praise to YHWH.