Who's Who
Moshe's father-in-law, a Midianite priest who advises Moses to establish a hierarchical judicial system to avoid burnout.
Who is Yitro?
This is the geographical name of the mountain where Moses first encounters the Burning Bush, noted explicitly as the "Mountain of God."
What is Har Chorev?
At Marah, immediately after sweetening the bitter waters, Hashem provided the nation with its first preliminary set of laws, described in the text by this dual phrase.
What is Chok Umishpat? (חוק ומשפט)
This was built either before or after the sin of the Golden Calf.
What is the Mishkan?
The two Hebrew midwives who fear God and courageously defy Pharaoh’s decree to kill the newborn boys.
Who are Shifrah and Puah?
Three days into the desert, the nation cannot drink the water because it is bitter, leading them to name the campsite this Hebrew word.
What is Marah?
This foundational rule of Parshanut serves as the core battlefield between commentators regarding whether the the stories in the Torah are written in chronological order.
What is Eyn Mukdam Ume'uchar Batorah? (אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה)
וְהוֹדַעְתִּי אֶת־חֻקֵּי הָאֱלֹהִים וְאֶת־תּוֹרֹתָיו
This phrase spoken by Moshe to Yitro regarding his daily tasks is used by commentators to prove Yitro must have arrived after this event
What is Matan Torah?
Moshe's firstborn son
Who is Gershom?
Where Bnei Yisrael lives in Mitzrayim.
What is Goshen?
This three-word phrase introduces the sudden shift in Egyptian politics that triggered the enslavement of Bnei Yisrael.
What is Vayakom melekh chadash? (ויקם מלך חדש)
According to some commentators, Bnei Yisrael panicked and interrupted Moshe at Har Sinai because they could not sustain the Divine voice, meaning they only heard this specific number of commandments directly from God.
What is two?
Moses’s wife, who quickly performs a circumcision on their son at a lodging place to save Moses from a sudden, lethal divine threat.
Who is Tzipporah?
This is the location where Bnei Yisrael camp when they are unexpectedly attacked by Amalek
What is Rephidim?
Proclaimed at the base of Har Sinai during Moses' absence, this blasphemous declaration mistakenly credited a golden idol with orchestrating the Exodus.
What is Eileh Elohekha Yisrael? (אלה אלהיך ישראל)
Rashi argues that the command to build the Mishkan were given after the sin of the Golden Calf as a means of what?
What is atonement?
These two helped hold up Moshe's hands during the battle of Amalek, and were appointed by Moshe to assist leading the people when Moshe went up Har Sinai.
Who are Aharon and Chur?
The two fortification or store-cities (arei miskenot) that the enslaved Israelites were forced to build for Pharaoh at the very beginning of Sefer Shemot.
What are Pitom and Ra'amses?
God explicitly avoided routing Bnei Yisrael along this specific coastal highway, fearing that immediate warfare would cause the nation to panic and retreat to Egypt.
What is Derekh Eretz Plishtim? (דרך ארץ פלשתים)
Yitro's movements at the end of Shemot 18 and in Bemidbar 10 challenge commentators understanding of when the story took place?
What is Yitro leaving at the end of Shemot 18 - and then presumably - joining Bnei Yisrael again, only to leave (again?) in Bemidbar 10.