Torah Portion of the Week
Building Character through the Themes of the Weekly Torah Portion
וָאֵרָא אֶל־אַבְרָהָם אֶל־יִצְחָק וְאֶל־יַעֲקֹב בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי וּשְׁמִי ה׳ לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם׃
Va-e-ra el–Av-ra-ham el–Yitz-chak v’el–Ya-a-kov b’El Sha-dai uSh-mi A-do-nai lo no-da-ti la-hem.
and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My Name Hashem I did not make Myself known to them.
Exodus 6:3
Va’eira means “and I appeared.” In this portion, we read of the first seven plagues that came upon the Egyptians. When reading about the fourth plague, it says, “And I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell…And I will put a division between My people and thy people…” (JPS 1917, Exod. 8:18–19).
Here, the point is emphasized: God chose the Jewish people and distinguished them from everyone else. They were different for a reason, and their difference was meant to affect their surroundings. They were different from the Egyptians in the way they dressed, the language they spoke, and the names they went by—and their difference was important to God. Their difference made a difference. From this we can derive a heartfelt lesson about the importance of difference.
What Makes You Different?
You have a lot of reasons to be happy about who you are. Your difference counts, your difference is significant, and you have within you a great purpose. Your difference has influence. When other people look at your life and see your difference, they’ll know that there is something in you that they need. People want what you have when you are comfortable with your difference.
Your difference is important to your mission in life—so be excited about it and get to know it. Think about it: God put within each individual a unique combination of skills, strengths, and characteristics that cannot be found in any other person.
Think about how you spend your time and what you love to do. These are all indicators of your difference. Knowing your difference will help you to know what others need from you. Moses and the Children of Israel knew what their difference was and what God needed from them.
Examine who you are. Uncover your difference. You were created and designed by the greatest mind in the world—the mind of God. Celebrate your difference, for it is what makes you who you are.
Pronunciation Guide for Transliterated Hebrew Words
| a | [a] as in arm |
| ai | [ai] as in Thailand |
| e | [e] as in red |
| ei | [ei] as in eight |
| i | [i] as in ski |
| o | [o] as in score |
| oi | [oi] as in oil |
| u | [u] as in rule |
| ui | [ui] as in gluing |
| ch/kh | [ch] as in the Scottish loch |
| g | [g] as in good (not as in giant) |
| tz | [ts] as in hats |
| ‘ | short “eh” or “uh” sound |
The Hebrew Scriptures in this text have been derived from the Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC), and the English translation is based off of the JPS 1917 Tanakh.
Simchat Torah Beit Midrash®
