Biblical Literature -- Chumash Create Two Source Sheets in Sefaria.

This is the model for Source Sheet #2
First choose 2-4 pasukim from the "pshat" and " that we have studied in class.
Use either the Exodus (Freedom from Slavery)
or Devarim (Greatest Hits of Deuteronomy)
Then, you will need to find
a midrash that you must find, and then create your own personal midrash.

שמות ב׳:כ״ג-כ״ה

(כג) וַיְהִי֩ בַיָּמִ֨ים הָֽרַבִּ֜ים הָהֵ֗ם וַיָּ֙מָת֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם וַיֵּאָנְח֧וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל מִן־הָעֲבֹדָ֖ה וַיִּזְעָ֑קוּ וַתַּ֧עַל שַׁוְעָתָ֛ם אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים מִן־הָעֲבֹדָֽה׃ (כד) וַיִּשְׁמַ֥ע אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־נַאֲקָתָ֑ם וַיִּזְכֹּ֤ר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־בְּרִית֔וֹ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֶת־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽת־יַעֲקֹֽב׃ (כה) וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיֵּ֖דַע אֱלֹהִֽים׃ (ס)

Exodus 2:23-25

(23) And it came to pass in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. (24) And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. (25) And God saw the children of Israel, and God took cognizance of them.

The story of Exodus is one to remember for its amazing miracles. With the help of God, Moses saves the Israelites and becomes all powerful. Before Exodus starts, we finish Genesis. Genesis is the story of the creation of the world that gives us a setting for all of the other stories. Once the world is fully created and we meet the first two humans, Adam and Eve, we learn about how individuals act when they are tested. After that story, comes the story of Moses and the Israelites slaving away in Egypt to be lead to safety by Moses. This text is more than important due to the miracles that take place. Most commonly known, is the splitting of the sea to allow the Israelites to come through while the water crashes down to drown Pharoah and his followers.

וידע אלהים AND GOD KNEW — He directed His heart to them and did not hide His eyes from them. (Rashi)

This midrash written by Rashi is important and meaningful because it shows Gods devotion to his people. God realizes that his people, who have been so loyal to him, are in pain and need his special attention. This commentary makes the pshat less intense and allows for us, the readers, the have faith that God will keep us safe and he truly cares about us. The commentator, Rashi, gets his information for the commentary from his students. He is known by many for his extremely insightful additions to the pshat text. Without Rashi helping us understand the text, we would not be able to analyze the text as much as we do now.

We have all been put in a situation where the conditions are less than satisfactory and we are expected to do our best and make everyone proud. I personally have been in a situation like that a few times in my life so far. Last year, while i was studying for my first year of high school finals, my mom asked me to help her with her art show. My mom works at Valley Beth Shalom Day School and teaches kindergarten all the way to 6th grade. For each grade, she needs a place card with every kids name on it to put in front of each piece of art. My mom knew that I was more tech savy than her so she set me up to do them. The art show is only a week before finals week so i was very busy. After making half of the note cards i had a meltdown and realized that my anxiety had taken over me and I could not handle the stress anymore. It took this long for my mom to realize that i could not handle finals and the art show and stay sane and happy. After my meltdown, my mom had me teach her how to make the note cards and then she finished the other half of them. This year, my mom only had me do some of the note cards and i was able to have more study time so i can feel more confident in getting good test scores on all of my finals.

Lizzy Suman