JTS Torah Commentary

Pesah Day 1

Jan 1, 1980

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and proceed with a second circumcision of the Israelites.”

Pesah Day 2

Jan 1, 1980

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²⁷ When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall stay seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as an offering by fire to the Lord.

Pesah Day 2

Jan 1, 1980

¹ At the king’s summons, all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem assembled before him.

Pesah Day 8

Jan 1, 1980

¹⁹ You shall consecrate to the Lord your God all male firstlings that are born in your herd and in your flock: you must not work your firstling ox or shear your firstling sheep.

Bo

Jan 1, 1980

¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. For I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that I may display these My signs among them, 

Emor

Jan 1, 1980

1 The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

None shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin, 2 except for the relatives that are closest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also for a virgin sister, close to him because she has not married, for her he may defile himself.

Beha’alotekha

Jan 1, 1980

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you mount the lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand.”

Pinehas

Jan 1, 1980

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Phinehas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying among them his passion for Me, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My passion.

Mattot-Masei

Jan 1, 1980

³ If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips.

Re’eh

Jan 1, 1980

²⁶ See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: ²⁷ blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon you this day; ²⁸ and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the path that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced.

Masei

Jan 1, 1980

¹ These were the marches of the Israelites who started out from the land of Egypt, troop by troop, in the charge of Moses and Aaron. 

Ki Tissa

Jan 1, 1980

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² When you take a census of the Israelite people according to their enrollment, each shall pay the Lord a ransom for himself on being enrolled, that no plague may come upon them through their being enrolled.

Pesah Day 1 & 2

Jan 1, 1980

²¹ Moses then summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, pick out lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover offering.

Pesah Day 1 & 2

Jan 1, 1980

This translation was taken from the JPS Tanakh Day 1 Joshua 5:2 – 15; 6:1,27 Chapter 5 2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and proceed with a second circumcision of the Israelites.” 3 So Joshua had flint knives made, and the Israelites were circumcised at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 This is the reason why Joshua […]

Pesah Day 7 & 8

Jan 1, 1980

¹⁷ Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

Shabbat Hol Hamoed Sukkot

Jan 1, 1980

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Lead this people forward,’ but You have not made known to me whom You will send with me. Further, You have said, ‘I have singled you out by name, and you have, indeed, gained My favor.’

Hol Hamoed Pesah

Jan 1, 1980

¹⁶ In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, there shall be a passover sacrifice to the Lord, ¹⁷ and on the fifteenth day of that month a festival.

Shabbat Hol Hamoed Pesah

Jan 1, 1980

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Lead this people forward,’ but You have not made known to me whom You will send with me. Further, You have said, ‘I have singled you out by name, and you have, indeed, gained My favor.’

Passover Learning

Collected Video, Commentary, and more from JTS scholars to broaden the holiday of Pesah

Preparing for Pesah

Preparing for Pesach can feel like a marathon leading to the Seders. As former JTS Chancellor Ismar Schorsch writes, “It took God but six days to create the world; it took my mother at least twice that long to prepare for Passover.” These resources offer ways to help with this preparation, both in terms of […]