Back in 1996, Rabbi Finman was asked to speak to the niece of one of his students. After spending many hours answering her questions, the woman gave Rabbi Finman her e-mail address. Rabbi Finman wrote the woman a note and included in it a short insight into that week's Parsha and a short Chasidic story.

Realizing that this was something no one was yet doing,, Rabbi Finman sent the missive to his mailing list of about 30 people. Requests from recipients friends came pouring in. The next week Rabbi Finman sent the e-Parsha to 100 people. Within a year more than 2000 people were receiving it. Today, more than 14,000 receive the e-Parsha weekly and the requests keep coming in.

Vaera 5785
Shmos 5785
Vayechi 5785
Vayigash 5785
Miketz-Chanukah 5785

Shmos 5785

Please click on the link below to receive the e-Parsha in the way cool HTML version right to your inbox. http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1103523647591&p=oi

======================================

This week's YouParsha - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC8NZasR3VA

===================

This week’s Parsha is Shmos, Exodus 1:1 - 6:1. The purpose of the Egyptian exile has been discussed many times. Egypt was referred to as kur habarzel, the smelter. In the processing of gold, it is necessary to mine the raw materials from the ground. This gold ore contains numerous other unwanted ingredients. The gold must be smelted. The impurities are burned, leaving only the pure metal. The same was true with the Jewish people.

We trace our lineage to the patriarch Abraham. Abraham traced his lineage through his father, Terach, the idolater. Yitschok was the grandson of an idolater, Yaakov the great grandson. The 210 years the Jews spent in Egypt successfully removed that dross from the nature of the Jewish people such that we no longer trace our lineage to Terach. Once the impurities were removed, we were deemed worthy to receive the Torah.

When Moshiach comes we will learn the Torah anew. Not that we will be given a new Torah, but we will be shown deeper insights into the Torah we already have. To relate to those deeper understandings will require deeper sensitivity and greater refinement. That is why we are in exile now. The Egyptian exile was a mere 210 years. We have been in this present exile for more than 1900 years. The Talmud relates that in the Messianic era we will witness wonders similar to those experienced in Egypt. Those miracles include, the ten plagues, the splitting of the sea, and the giving of the Torah. We are to accomplish an even greater refinement of ourselves during this lengthy smelting period. That refinement is achieved in a greater and easier way by learning the deeper parts of the Torah, i.e., Chassidus and mysticism.

========================

When the Tzemach Tzedek, the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, was ten years old, he engaged some of his friends in a game of hide and seek. The little boy found a hollow tree and climbed inside. Time passed and the other children went home, forgetting to call him out of his hiding place. Seeing that it was beginning to get dark and no one was looking for him, the Tzemach Tzedek went home crying to his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe.

The Rebbe inquired as to his grandson’s tears. He replied that he had found a terrific hiding place and none of his friends had tried to find him. Said the Grandfather to the young boy, “Now you know how Hashem feels. He has hidden himself within everything in this world and charged us with finding him. What can we say if no one is looking for him?” ==========================

Listen Weekly to the Jewish Hour Podcast. www.rabbifinman.com. Now available on iTunes, spotify, audacy, and wherever you park your podcasts.

The Torah e-Parsha is a project of Jewish Ferndale. For information on sponsoring the Torah e-Parsha in memory or for the recovery of a loved one, in honor of a simcha or you just feel like being nice, contact via reply. All contributions are tax deductible. Please forward this message to as many friends and associates as you like. © 2025 by Herschel Finman.


Contact Rabbi Finman for information on sponsoring the e-Parsha