Unit 3 · Moses and the Torah

The second book of the Torah is called Shemot. That means "Names." Its English name is Exodus. It starts with a list of names. They are the sons of Jacob who came to Egypt.

The Torah says the family grew and grew. It became a people. Then a new king ruled Egypt. A king of Egypt is called a Pharaoh. The story says this Pharaoh was afraid of the people.

So Pharaoh made them slaves. A slave has to work and cannot leave. The Torah says the people made bricks in the hot sun. Their lives were very hard.

The Torah says Pharaoh gave a cruel order about baby boys. One mother hid her baby. She made a basket and put him in it. She set it in the river reeds.

The baby’s big sister watched from far away. Her name was Miriam. Then Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river. She saw the basket. She opened it and the baby cried.

Pharaoh’s daughter felt sorry for him. Miriam ran up. She said, "I know a woman who can feed him." It was the baby’s own mother! Pharaoh’s daughter named the baby Moses.

Moses grew up. He left Egypt and became a shepherd. One day he saw a strange thing. A bush was on fire. But the fire did not burn it up.

The Torah says God spoke to Moses from the bush. God told Moses to go back to Egypt. God said to tell Pharaoh to let the people go.

Moses was scared. He said, "Who am I?" The Torah says God told him, "I will be with you." Moses’s brother Aaron went with him to help him speak.

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They said, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said no. He made the people work even harder.

The Torah says ten plagues came to Egypt. A plague is a big trouble. The river turned red. Frogs hopped everywhere. Bugs came. Animals got sick. Hail fell. Locusts ate the plants. The sky went dark.

After each plague, Moses asked again. Pharaoh still said no. The last plague was the saddest of all. Then, the Torah says, Pharaoh finally said, "Go."

The Torah says the people left Egypt at night. They had to hurry. Their bread dough had no time to rise. So it baked flat. Flat bread like this is called matzah.

That night is called Passover. In Hebrew it is Pesach. The Torah says the people put a mark on their doors. The last plague passed over their homes.

Every spring, Jewish families eat matzah for a week. They do this to remember. Flat bread means "we left in a hurry."

The people walked out of Egypt. They came to the edge of a sea. Then they looked back. Pharaoh had changed his mind. His army was coming.

The Torah says Moses held out his hand. A strong wind blew all night. The sea split in two. There was a dry path in the middle. The people walked across.

On the other side, they were safe. Moses and the people sang a song. Miriam took a drum. The women danced with her. They sang about the sea.

Every spring, Jewish families sit down for a special meal. It is called the Seder. Seder means "order." The meal goes in a set order, step by step.

At the Seder, the youngest child asks four questions. The first is, "Why is this night different?" Then the family tells the story. A baby, a bush, a king, a sea.

There is matzah. There is a bitter herb for the hard years. There is a sweet mix for the bricks. Many Jewish families in Chicago hold a Seder every year.

After the sea, the people kept walking. They were in the wilderness. That is a wild, dry place with no towns. The Torah says they walked for weeks.

Then they came to a mountain. Its name was Mount Sinai. The people set up their tents at the bottom. The whole people camped together.

The Torah says Moses went up the mountain. He came back with a message. The people said, "All that the LORD has spoken, we will do."

The Torah says the people got ready for three days. They washed their clothes. On the third day, there was thunder. There was lightning. A thick cloud sat on the mountain.

A loud horn sound grew louder and louder. The people shook. The Torah says God spoke from the mountain. Everyone heard.

Jewish tradition teaches that this is when the Torah was given. The story says God gave Moses the teaching to bring to the people.

Many people call them the Ten Commandments. Jewish tradition calls them the Ten Sayings. The first saying starts, "I am the LORD your God." It says God brought the people out of Egypt.

The next sayings say: there is one God. Do not make statues to bow to. Do not use God’s name in a bad way.

Then comes Shabbat. Remember the seventh day. Rest on that day. Do not work. Jewish families keep this day every week with candles and bread.

The first sayings are about God. The rest are about people. The fifth saying is to honor your father and your mother. To honor is to treat with care and respect.

Next: do not hurt or kill anyone. Be true to your family. Do not take what is not yours. Do not tell lies about your neighbor.

The last saying is, do not wish for what belongs to someone else. Jewish tradition teaches all ten sayings together. They are about God and about people.

The ten sayings are not the only rules in the Torah. Each rule is called a mitzvah. That means a commandment. Something you are told to do, or not to do.

Some mitzvot are about God. Light candles for Shabbat. Some are about people. Help a person who is poor. Be kind to a stranger. Jewish tradition counts 613 mitzvot in the Torah.

Many Jewish people say "doing a mitzvah" when they do a good deed. Helping a friend carry books is a mitzvah. So is sharing.

Seven weeks after Passover comes a holiday. It is called Shavuot. That means "weeks." Jewish tradition connects this day to Mount Sinai.

On Shavuot, many Jewish families go to the synagogue. They hear the ten sayings read aloud. Many stand up to listen.

Many families eat foods made with milk and cheese. Some decorate with flowers and green plants. Some stay up late to study the Torah. It is a happy day.

A synagogue is where Jewish people meet to pray and learn. At the front is a special cabinet. It is called the ark. Inside the ark is the Torah scroll.

The scroll is rolled on two wooden poles. It has a cover like a coat. When it is carried, people stand up. A reader uses a little pointer to keep the place.

The words are written in Hebrew by hand. The reader chants them out loud. Each week a new part is read. The whole scroll takes one year.