The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

In pre-war Poland, every student at the Mir Yeshiva knew that their revered teacher, Rabbi Yeruchem Levovits secluded himself in his office for one hour per week. After some time, his students became overwhelmed with curiosity – what sacred practice drew him into seclusion?

A few clever students found a way to peek through the keyhole so the next time he went to his office, they crowded around and peered through. What they saw astounded them – their Rabbi was acting! As they watched, spellbound, one perceptive student exclaimed: “He’s acting out the weekly Torah portion!”

Why would a great Rabbi, who had studied the Torah hundreds of times, need to act out the Torah portion? The answer reveals a profound truth: Torah isn’t merely an intellectual exercise. Torah must be felt, internalized, and lived. Just as we cannot comprehend love by reading about it, we cannot grasp the depths of our relationship with God through study alone.

This understanding drives me to retell the Exodus story in a way that brings you into the intimate moments between God and His people – their first steps toward each other, their passionate connection at Sinai, their painful separation, and their joyous reunion. Through these words, may our ancestors love story with God become our own.

And with that introduction, let us begin!

A Nation Cries Out

Metal clangs against stone, broken bodies emit groans of pain and exhaustion, whips crack. The Jews are enslaved. After Joseph’s death, the Jewish Nation’s explosive population growth incites Egyptian fear, bigotry, and persecution. A new Pharaoh rises to power, conveniently forgetting Joseph’s pivotal role in saving Egypt from starvation. He rallies his people to literally and figuratively crush the Jewish nation, forcing them to build cities on shifting sands while subjecting them to the most brutal and humiliating labor imaginable.

But slavery isn’t enough. Pharaoh decrees infanticide – attempting to wipe out the future redeemer of Israel, prophesied by his sorcerers to arise from the upcoming generation of Jewish male children. Cast adrift into the Nile River by his parents with nothing more than a reed basket and their prayers, the three-month-old Moses floats away, and with him, the hopes and dreams of a bereaved nation. But in the most miraculous fashion, Pharaoh’s daughter rescues Moses and hires his own mother to nurse him. In Pharaoh’s palace, she raises the very child her father sought to destroy.

The palace’s luxuries fail to blind the young Moses to his people’s suffering. Beyond the palace walls, he witnesses their misery and torment. When an Egyptian taskmaster moves to strike down one of his brethren, Moses acts first, slaying the Egyptian. But his resistance is premature. His own people betray him to Egyptian authorities, forcing him to flee to Midian where he builds a family and becomes a shepherd.

In Midian, Moses’ unwavering compassion for the weak and downtrodden earns him God’s trust. God appears to him at a miraculous burning bush, charging him to liberate His people. In his humility, Moses rejects the proposal time and time again but to no avail. Surrendered to his mission, he returns to Egypt under God’s command. With his brother Aaron at his side, they march straight into Pharaoh’s palace and declare: “Let my people go!”

Pharaoh responds with characteristic ruthlessness. Instead of relenting, he intensifies the slavery, forcing the Jews to gather their own straw while maintaining impossible brick quotas. Parents who fail to meet their quotas face the ultimate horror – their infants sealed alive into the walls. For six months, the Jewish people’s cries pierce the heavens under this unbearable cruelty. Moses pleads their cause before God, and God’s response seals Egypt’s fate.

The Heroic Rescue

Ten plagues strike Egypt with devastating force, each destroying another level of Egyptian society and dominion over the Jews. Their entire water supply turns to blood for a week. Frogs and alligators swarm every inch of the country. The dust of the earth turns to vicious and unbearable lice. Wild beasts, pestilence, and boils follow – yet each plague spares the Jewish nation. The grip of slavery begins to crack.

In the seventh plague, God sends fireballs of hail to decimate Egyptian buildings and crops. The Egyptians plead with Pharaoh to let the Jews go, but Pharaoh will hear none of it. He hardens his heart, giving God free reign to decimate all remnants of Egyptian power. On come the locusts, the darkness, and finally, the 10th plague – the execution of the Egyptian firstborns. As the Jews celebrate the first Passover in their homes, God moves through Egypt, passing over the blood-marked doorways of the Jews while striking down the Egyptian firstborn. With this final blow, Pharaoh’s iron will crumbles into the rubble of his toppled kingdom and he sets the Jews free. The nation rushes out with great wealth, their matzas baking on their backs.

Just days after the Exodus, Pharaoh hardens his heart once more. He mobilizes his elite chariots to race after his former slaves. He corners them at the Sea of Reeds, with only a pillar of fire holding his army at bay. The Jews cry out to God in terror. God commands Moses to raise his staff over the Sea. The winds blow fiercely all night.

At daybreak, Nachshon, the prince of the tribe of Judah steps into the threatening waters. As his nose dips beneath the tide, the sea miraculously splits. The nation walks in wonder on dry land through the ocean, massive walls of water on either side. When the nation advances far into the sea, God removes the pillar of fire, allowing the Egyptians to give brazen pursuit. When the last Jew reaches the other shore, God unleashes the waters to crash down upon the Egyptian army, churning and destroying every last one. In that moment, pure joy erupts – the nation bursts into song, while Miriam the prophetess leads the women in dance and celebration.

Meeting at the Mountain

Despite witnessing this miraculous interventions, the Israelites’ gratitude proves fleeting. Doubt and discontent take hold as they fear for water, food, and shelter. Yet God answers their cries with divine sustenance: a traveling well with water gushing forth from a rock, manna raining down from heaven, and divine clouds shielding from harm.

With heavenly aid, the nation finally reaches its destination – Mount Sinai. For three days, they purify themselves, preparing body and soul to receive the Torah. In unprecedented revelation – never before and never again in history – God manifests His presence before the entire nation, three million strong. From the lowliest servant to the greatest leader, the entire nation experiences prophecy at the highest level. God imparts the Ten Commandments an eternal moral guide for mankind. Moses then ascends Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights to receive the complete Torah and bring down the two tablets inscribed by the finger of God.

Betrayal and Redemption

Tragedy strikes when the people miscalculate Moses’ return. Fearing that he died atop the mountain, they force Aaron to fashion a golden calf as their intermediary to God in Moses’ absence. Despite Aaron’s attempts to delay them, their molten calf emerges from the fire and they bow and dance gleefully before it.

Atop the mountain, God orders Moses to descend. Upon reaching the camp, he finds his people rejoicing before the idol. He shatters the exalted tablets before them, grinds up their idol to dust, and brings justice to those who led the terrible sin. Yet when God threatens to destroy the nation and start anew through Moses, Moses offers his own life in their defense. God accepts his plea, but proclaims that He must withdraw His Divine Presence from their midst.

Building the Home

Driven by sincere remorse and an unyielding desire to revitalize their connection with God, the nation immerses itself in forty days of intense teshuva – repentance. At the end of the forty days, God accepts their teshuva and commands Moses to carve two new stone tablets and ascend the mountain once more. After an additional forty days and nights, on Yom Kippur, Moses descends, bearing the second set of tablets, ready to teach the Torah to the renewed nation.

With the Divine relationship restored, God commands the nation to build Him a sacred home on earth—the Mishkan. United in their love and devotion, the people rally together, offering an abundance of their finest materials for its construction. Moses meticulously accounts for every contribution, from precious stones to exquisite fabrics, ensuring each item finds its designated place. When complete, God’s Presence descends into the Mishkan, signifying the complete reunion of the Jewish nation with their God.

So ends the Book of Exodus.

From Their Story to Ours

Torah study transcends mere intellectual inquiry; it calls us to engage our minds, hearts, and spirits in the journey of understanding. Our aim is to internalize the teachings of Torah and to imbue them with personal relevance and meaning. As we take leave of Exodus and embark together on our exploration of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, let us remain mindful of this transformative approach to learning. May we succeed in deepening our eternal relationship with God by bringing His teachings to life in our own hearts.

Shabbat Shalom!
Avraham

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