Parashat: Beshallach 

Parashat: Beshallach 
Torah reading: Exodus 13:17–17:16 

And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had exacted an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will be sure to take notice of you: then you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

— Exodus 13:19

This week’s Torah portion, most well known for the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, begins with God leading the people up out of Egypt, and Moses bringing the bones of Joseph with him. At the end of the book of Genesis, Joseph exacts this oath from his brothers. Now, all these years later, God has indeed taken notice of the Israelites and Moses is fulfilling the oath passed down through the generations. Why is Moses taking on this task? Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno, 16th century Italian rabbi (and doctor!) explains that this serves to teach us that any obligation taken on by a community must be honored by the community’s leader when the opportunity arises.

— Rachel Petroff Kessler