A Journey Through Torah

Introduction
You have just finished reading (and, I hope, learning) from the first book of Torah, B’resheit, “In the Beginning,” Genesis. The second book, Shemot, “The Names,” Exodus, takes the stories of B’resheit and builds upon them. Are you curious as to the name of the book? Shemot is the Hebrew word for names. Now, why would this book be titled “Names”? As I mentioned earlier, the title of each book of the Torah comes from the first few words of the text. The first few words of the book are, “These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob” (Exodus 1:1 HCSB). You see how the second book of Torah is tied to the first? This is Hashem’s way of ensuring we are aware of the transition from part one of the story to part two.

What Is Exodus About?
Sefer Shemot, the Book of Exodus, tells the story of the forty-year wanderings of the Israelites and their mixed nation partners through the wilderness, mainly on the east side of the Yarden (Jordan) River, following their rescue by Yahveh, through His agents, Moshe and Aharon. However, this story goes deeper than just a narrative of a journey; it speaks also to the difficulties in transition from a people settled, yet in servitude, to a people facing the trials and tribulations of a nomadic life, yet free. How did they react when faced with these trials? What are their mindsets when the tribulations appeared to be greater than they can bear? As we will discover, the Sefer Shemot also explores perspective and the consequences of both positive and negative perspectives of Yahveh’s grace and love. At the same time, we are introduced to Yahveh’s plans for the children of Avraham, which fit within His covenant with the Patriarch of Israel.

How Is Exodus Structured?
There are two levels of structure employed in the writing of volume two. The first level is through the parashot, or the weekly readings. Sefer Shemot, or the Book of Exodus, is divided into eleven parashot.

Sh’mot—The Names: Exodus 1:1–6:1
Va’eira—And I Appeared: Exodus 6:2–9:35
Bo—Enter Exodus: 10:1–13:16
B’shalach—When He Let Go: Exodus 13:17–17:16
Yitro—Jethro: Exodus 18:1–20:23
Mishpatim—Judgments: Exodus 21:1–24:18
T’rumah—Offering: Exodus 25:1–27:19
T’tzaveh—You Shall Command: Exodus 27:20–30:10
Ki Tissa—When You Elevate: Exodus 30:11–34:35
Vayakheil—And He Assembled: Exodus 35:1–38:20
P’kudei—Amounts Of: Exodus 38:21–40:38

As well as Sefer Shemot being divided into parashot, there are also five discrete sections to the Book of Exodus.

Part I takes us through chapters 1–6: Israel’s Enslavement in Egypt and Yahveh’s Response.
Part II involves Chapters 7–12: The Exodus from Egypt
Part III consists of in Chapters 13–18: Struggles in the Wilderness
Part IV involves Chapters 19–24: The Covenant
Part V takes us through Chapters 25–40: The Forty-Year Journey to the Promised Land

Let’s begin our examination of Sefer Sh’mot, the Book of Exodus. Genesis finished with Ya’akov and his family joining Yosef in Egypt. This story is now continued as we learn how Israel became enslaved by the pharaohs of Egypt in order to address the needs of the country to contain not only its food but also the increasing treasury from its conquests of other empires and nations throughout the Middle East.