Kol Ramah

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. This Shabbat is Chol Ha-Mo’ed Pesach, the Shabbat which falls during the week of Pesach [Passover]. The Torah Reading is from Parashat Ki Tissa [Exodus 33:12–34:26], which includes the 13 attributes of God as well as one of the earliest festival calendars; it is also read on Shabbat Chol Ha-Mo’ed Sukkot. The haftarah is from Ezekiel, and is the famous vision of the valley of the dry bones [Ezekiel 37:1-14]. Looking ahead to the concluding days of the holiday, the Torah Reading on the 7th day of Pesach [April 27] features Shirat Ha-Yam, the Song of the Sea [Exodus 15:1-19]. It is also customary to read The Song of Songs this Shabbat. Given the turbulence of recent times, our focus was on hope. Are there texts that are part of our liturgical calendar this week, and especially this Shabbat, which point to it? How do we understand the core texts such as the crossing of the Sea; do we see it as the end of a journey or the beginning