CARNEGIE SHUL CHATTER

 A Novel Idea

This week’s parshah, Bamidbar, the first parshah in the Book of Numbers, begins with Moses taking a census of all of the Jewish men of draftable age (ages 20 to 60), a population that numbered 603,550 men. So that got me to wondering, how many men actually left Egypt as part of the Exodus? According to Aish. com, It is written in the Torah, “The Children of Israel journeyed... 600,000 adult males on foot, besides the children.” (Exodus 12:37). But then, that same article from Aish says, “By the way, the Talmud says that 80 percent of the Jews never even left Egypt. They were so steeped in Egyptian culture that they were unwilling to join the Exodus. As such, they were lost to the Jewish nation forever.” Now, that is something I never knew. How about you? How do you think the Egyptians treated those who stayed behind, and how much more powerful might the Jewish nation have been if they too had departed? Or were we better off without them? And what did God and Moses think of these people who stayed behind? The story would make for a most interesting historical novel, wouldn’t it?

SHABBAT SERVICES

Carnegie Shul hybrid services begin at 9:20am. Join us in the synagogue, or attend virtually. If you haven’t received our Zoom link for services, please contact our secretary, Rosalyn Hoffman at rjlynman@yahoo.com. The complete Torah reading, in Hebrew and English, can be found HERE

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