Sefer Shemot, also known in English
as, “The Book of Exodus”, is the second of the “Five
Books of Moses” (Chamisha Chumshe Torah). Shemot deals primarily
with the Exodus from Egypt and the formation of the Jewish nation. The
giving of the Torah is our defining moment as an “Am Kadosh”,
a “Holy Nation”.
The redemption is a theme that pervades our liturgy. The verse “mi
kamocha…” from the “Song at the Sea” appears
in the preliminary to the shacharit service (pesuke d’zimra) as
well as in the shacharit service itself. The phrase “The Lord
shall reign throughout all time” (Hashem yimloch l’olam
va’ed) appears in Sefer Shemot and is recited before the Amidah
prayer. In the Friday night Kiddush we say: “It is the first among
our days of sacred assembly, which recall the Exodus from Egypt”
(ki hu yom techilla, l’mikra’ei kodesh, zecher li’yitziyat
mitzraim). Finally, Pesach seder is centered around the ritual of retelling
the story of our redemption from bondage.
