My D'var Torah

My torah portion talks about a very important event that has occurred in Jewish history. This information comes from the book Exodus, and a section named Yitro.

Once the Israelites had escaped from Egypt where they had worked as slaves, they entered the wilderness of Sinai. One night they rested on the foot of a large mountain, where Moses went up to God. God told Moses to deliver a message to the children of Israel saying that they have seen his wrath, and if they obey his wishes without hesitation, the Israelites would be his prized possession out of all people. Once the message was delivered the people answered as one agreeing that they shall do as told. God’s next message was telling Moses that he’d return in a thick cloud to put the agreement into affect. Also for the Israelites to stay clean for the next two day for on the third day, God would appear on the tip of Mount Sinai. But whoever touched the border, of the mountain would be put to death even though the Lords form would not be alive nor dead. God also mentioned to Moses that they may only go up to the mountain when the ram’s horn sounds.

Once Moses went down to tell the people, he told then to stay pure and on the third day, don’t go near a woman. Then on the third day thunder, lightening, and a dense cloud appeared on the mountain. Once the horn rang, Moses led the people up to the foot of the mountain and everyone took a place. By then the mountain was covered in smoke, it started to tremble violently, and the blare of the horn grew louder as time progressed. The Lord had appeared as a great heap of fire. God called Moses to the top of the mountain and as Moses spoke God answered him in thunder. The Lord gave Moses directions to tell the people what they would do once they came up to the mountain, but Moses responded saying that the people couldn’t come up to the mountain because you said, “Set bounds about the mountain and sanctify it”. Then God told Moses to come back with Aaron and not the Israelites. Which is where my torah portion ends, with Moses going down talking to the people.

This event might not seem important but to the Jews, it is very important. It is when he is having a conversation to the people who are soon to be the citizens of Israel. And the best part of it all, it’s the day when the Israelites are getting one of their most treasured possessions, the Ten Commandments. All of these events combined are a great day for the people of Israel and I’m sure all Jews to this day are very proud of their ancestors.

Why I think it is important is another story. Personally, it is important to me because this is the first time God comes down in sight of more then one person. God has communicated with Moses, he has also helped the Israelites out of Egypt with them having the slightest idea what kind of powers were beneath that amazing event. Now Aaron might as well say he is about to be one of the luckiest men on Earth because he is one of the few, who has made a big enough impact, to be chosen to step before God. And that is what a lot of people wish to happen. 

My mitzvah project is another big part of this entire experience. I was required 10 to 15 hours of community service work by the synagogue, I then had a problem of what I could do that would help people, would be fun for me, and what would last that amount of time. Then I put the pieces together. I like sports, so who needs help with sports. So later on I came up with the conclusion of helping out at the Special Olympics. When I drove down to Villanova for the Fall Festival it was a marvelous sight. I was given 2 choices, kitchen work or sports. At that time it was rather late and cold so I decided to help out in the kitchen. When I went to the place I was assigned, they switched me over to crowd control, a big disappointment. Seeing as I had to stay hours more I made the best of it. I interacted with the participants, got them drinks, and pointed them in the right directions. They had their own little teams of players so when I was lucky, I got to speak to a few coaches. I found out that the team didn’t know each other until a few days before, an interesting fact. I came back up two days after, and worked in volleyball. Again I got my hopes up to high because I ended up only giving the ball to the players when it rolled out of bounds. It was better then presented though because it was like being back stage with the kindest people you’ve ever met. They lost a point, they cheered each other on. Someone fell; they picked them up and asked them if they were all right. Teammates were always cheering from the sidelines. What a great experience.

Sadly, the time spent there ended up not being enough. Luckily the summer before, I spent 6 of my Monday nights for one hour each helping kids from kindergarten to second grade read books. They either needed help or they just wanted to practice. Every time was a different kid, so every time it was a different experience, and I still enjoyed them all.

This was my Bat Mitzvah experience, and I am truly happy that I had such a successful set of events.