A Short Shabbat Reflection from the Weekly Parsha by Rabbi Mark Melamut

*Bissel: (bis-sel) Yiddish.  Meaning: “a little.” “Give me a bissel lox on my bagel, would you, darling?” A biselleh is even less. (www.bubbygram.com)
Served each Friday afternoon, noonish.

Parshat Sh’mot (Exodus 1 – 6:1)

We begin anew this shabbat, starting the book of Exodus.  In this week’s torah journey we revisit the story of Moses’ birth, his basket ride down the Nile, his marriage, and his departure from and return to Egypt in order to spearhead the first biblical freedom ride for the Israelites.  And, in the midst of all this action, he encounters the mysterious bush that burns without being consumed – from which an angel appears and G-d speaks to him.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: In your imagination what did the burning bush look like? From the bush G-d calls Moses by name, and Moses says, “Hineni/Here I am.”  What does a “contemporary call” in our lives from G-d look like, and how do we respond?

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Mark