• January 18, 2023
• 2 comments

We are at the transition point between Sefer Braishis, the book of the formation of the Jewish family, and Sefer Shemos, when that family grew into a nation. Braishis begins with the first family and its problems and keeps going through family after family and the challenges and rivalries within them. The sefer doesn’t end until Yaakov Avinu gathered his whole family at his bedside in one room at one time and blessed them. This had never happened before - firstly that all his children were worthy of blessing, but even more, that they were blessed all together, individually and collectively. Now that they were united as a family, they were ready to develop into a nation. The book of Shemos and a nation can commence once Yaakov’s family is strong and united, which only happens at the end of Vayechi. In case that is too subtle, the book of Shmos opens again with the listing of Yaakov’s families and stresses that they came down to Egypt “ish uveiso”, each man and his family. When you look past the opening of Shemos you see again and again that the theme of the book seems to still be family. The mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a prelude to redemption is to gather together as families to eat the karban Pesach. Even the second half of Shemos which covers the building of the Mishkan is according to the Ramban, nothing more than an attempt to recreate the family homes of our Imahos. And finally, the closing sentence of Sefer Shemos, unlike every other one of the five books of the Torah, describes the Jewish people as a family, Bais Yisrael, not Bnai Yisrael. Yes, the book of Shemos is about the beginning of the Jewish nation, but the Torah wants us to know with certainty that the root of the nation is the home and family. You think this is a sefer about a nation? No. First and foremost it's about the Jewish home, because it is only through building homes that you form a nation. Some of you know that almost two years ago, my sister Rena was diagnosed with cancer. Rena is passionate about motherhood and in recognition of the important role of a Jewish woman in building her home and raising her children, our family is working on an initiative called Mom2Mom to support and nurture Jewish mothers as a zechus refuah sheleima for Rena Esther bas Yaffa Gita. This week, Mom2Mom hosted a free community-wide Mommy and Me program which will iy”H run every Thursday and was a huge success. But we also want to initiate a project which every woman in every city around the world can participate in as a zechus refuah sheleima. I am very excited to share this initiative called Souper Mom which encourages women to bring a serving of soup to any Jewish mom just because she is a mother. Every mother is a heroine and every mother is doing the world’s most important job and every mother deserves recognition and support in her role as a mother. Souper Mom is a way that you can drop off a small container of soup as a gift to a mother, not because she’s struggling, not because she’s in crisis, not because someone is sick, just because she is a mother. This doesn’t necessitate anyone making a large batch of soup to feed a whole family, just take off a single portion of soup when you cook for your family and give a mother a hot, nutritious lunch simply because she is so special for being a mother. To accompany your soup we have beautifully designed Souper Mom cards. There are two versions you can choose from to download and print and deliver with the soup. Both options are available for download on the page torasimecha.com/pdfs. One has blank lines for a personal note if you like, and the other comes preprinted with a poem. Anyone who would like to join this project, please go to torasimecha.com/pdfs, print a card, package up a small serving of soup and bring it with a smile to any mother you know. It seems like a small gesture, and it is easy to ladle off two cups of soup and drop it off with a smile, but the mothers who have already received Mom2Mom soup have been touched and appreciative. This may seem small, but it makes a huge impact when a mother feels noticed and appreciated, nurtured and supported. I know and deeply appreciate how many of you are davening for Rena Esther bas Yaffa Gita and I wanted to share with you this new opportunity to create zechuyos for her complete recovery and at the same time nurture, support, and encourage mothers, the people who aren’t only building their homes, they are, as we see in Sefer Shemos, building the foundations of the Jewish people. Thank you for your help.