Torah (Masoretic Text) Reader

And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying: Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall let live. And a man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw him that he was good, she hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and with pitch, and she put the child in it and laid it in the reeds by the bank of the river. And his sister stood far off, to know what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked along by the riverside, and she saw the ark among the reeds and sent her handmaid to fetch it. And she opened it and saw the child, and behold, a boy was crying, and she had compassion on him and said: This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then his sister said to the daughter of Pharaoh: Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you? And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her: Go. And the young girl went and called the child's mother. And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her: Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and she said: Because I drew him out of the water.

These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, on the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground. But a mist would go up from the earth and water the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed the man, dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He placed the man whom He had formed. And the LORD God caused to sprout from the ground every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four heads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that surrounds all the land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; there is the bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that surrounds all the land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one that goes east of Assyria. And the fourth river, it is the Euphrates. And the LORD God took the man and set him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden you may surely eat. But of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat from it, for on the day you eat from it you shall surely die.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said: Let me turn aside now and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned up. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said: Moses, Moses. And he said: Here I am. And He said: Do not draw near here. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place upon which you stand is holy ground. And He said: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman: Did God really say, You shall not eat from any tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent: Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. But of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, You shall not eat from it and you shall not touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman: You shall surely not die. For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, and she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking about in the garden in the breeze of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. And the man said: The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. And the LORD God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the cattle and above every beast of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. To the woman He said: I will greatly multiply your pain and your childbearing; in pain you shall bear children, and your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. And the man called the name of his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to work the ground from which he was taken. And He drove out the man, and He stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flame of the ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

And Moses said to God: Behold, I am coming to the children of Israel, and I shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they will say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses: I will be what I will be. And He said: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I-will-be has sent me to you. And God said further to Moses: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My remembrance from generation to generation.

Now the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man with the LORD." And she bore again, his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the course of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD. And Abel, he too brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. And Cain was very angry, and his face fell. And the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? Surely, if you do well, there is uplifting; and if you do not do well, sin crouches at the door, and its desire is for you, but you may rule over it." And Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. And the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to take your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you; a fugitive and a wanderer shall you be on the earth." And Cain said to the LORD, "My iniquity is too great to bear. Behold, You have driven me out this day from upon the face of the ground, and from Your face I shall be hidden, and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and it shall come to pass that whoever finds me will kill me." And the LORD said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD set a sign for Cain, so that whoever found him should not strike him. And Cain went out from before the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and he begot Methuselah. And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God, and he was no more, for God took him.

And to Moses He said: Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and bow down from afar. And Moses alone shall approach the LORD, but they shall not approach, and the people shall not go up with him. Then Moses went up, with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel, and under His feet there was as it were a work of sapphire brickwork, like the very heaven for clearness. And against the nobles of the children of Israel He did not stretch out His hand; and they beheld God, and they ate and drank.

And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a valley in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. And they said one to another: Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and bitumen they had for mortar. And they said: Come, let us build us a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men had built. And the LORD said: Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withheld from them which they have planned to do. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from there upon the face of all the earth, and they ceased to build the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confounded the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

And the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." And Abram went as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son and all their possessions that they had gathered and the persons they had made in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan.

And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could count the dust of the earth, then your seed also could be counted. Arise, walk about the land through its length and through its breadth, for to you will I give it. And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar to the LORD.

And from the congregation of the children of Israel he shall take two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is his own, and make atonement for himself and for his household. And he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. And Aaron shall place lots upon the two goats, one lot for the LORD and one lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall offer the goat upon which the lot for the LORD came up, and make it a sin offering. But the goat upon which the lot for Azazel came up shall be set alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it away to Azazel into the wilderness.

And the LORD appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. And he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing near him. And he saw, and he ran to meet them from the entrance of the tent, and he bowed down to the ground. And he said, "My lords, if now I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass on from your servant. Let now a little water be taken, and wash your feet, and recline under the tree. And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and refresh your hearts; afterward you may pass on, since you have passed by your servant." And they said, "So do, as you have spoken." And Abraham hurried to the tent, to Sarah, and said, "Hurry, three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes." And to the herd Abraham ran, and he took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the lad, and he hurried to prepare it. And he took curds and milk, and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree, and they ate. And they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "Behold, in the tent." And He said, "I will surely return to you at this season, when life is due, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. And Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I am worn out shall I have pleasure, and my lord being old?" And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too wondrous for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, when life is due, and Sarah shall have a son." And Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but you did laugh."

And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and he rose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground. And he said: Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry the night, and wash your feet, and you shall rise early and go on your way. And they said: No, but we will spend the night in the open square. And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned aside to him, and came into his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from young to old, all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot and said to him: Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them. And Lot went out to them to the entrance, and shut the door behind him. And he said: I pray you, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as is good in your eyes; only to these men do nothing, for they have come under the shadow of my roof. And they said: Stand back. And they said: This one came to sojourn, and he keeps acting as a judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them. And they pressed hard upon the man, upon Lot, and drew near to break the door. And the men put forth their hand and brought Lot in to them into the house, and shut the door. And the men who were at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, from small to great, so that they wearied themselves to find the entrance. And the men said to Lot: Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said: Arise, get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city. But he seemed like one who jests in the eyes of his sons-in-law. And as the dawn broke, the angels urged Lot, saying: Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are present here, lest you be swept away in the iniquity of the city. And he lingered; so the men seized his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hand of his two daughters, in the LORD's mercy upon him; and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said: Escape for your life; do not look behind you, and do not stop anywhere in the plain; escape to the mountain, lest you be swept away. And Lot said to them: Oh no, my lord. Behold now, your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me, which you did with me in keeping my life alive; but I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me and I die. Behold now, this city is near enough to flee there, and it is a small thing; let me escape there, pray, is it not a small thing? And my life shall be spared. And he said to him: See, I have granted your request in this matter also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I can do nothing until you arrive there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. And the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. And his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham rose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked out over Sodom and Gomorrah, and over all the face of the land of the plain, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings and a heavy cloud upon the mountain, and the sound of a shofar exceedingly strong, and all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wholly in smoke, because the LORD had descended upon it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder; Moses would speak, and God would answer him with a voice. And the LORD descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And all the people saw the thunderings and the torches and the sound of the shofar and the mountain smoking; and the people saw, and they trembled and stood at a distance. And they said to Moses, "Speak you with us, and we will hear; but let God not speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for it is in order to test you that God has come, and in order that the fear of Him may be upon your faces, so that you do not sin." And the people stood at a distance, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom, and the soul of the people grew impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread and no water, and our soul loathes this miserable bread. And the LORD sent the fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said: We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD that He remove the serpent from us. And Moses prayed on behalf of the people. And the LORD said to Moses: Make for yourself a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole, and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of bronze and set it upon the pole, and it was that if the serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived.

And it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and He said to him: Abraham. And he said: Here I am. And He said: Take, please, your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and go for yourself to the land of Moriah, and offer him up there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains that I will tell you. And Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose and went to the place that God had told him. On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. And Abraham said to his young men: Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder, and we will bow down and return to you. And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and the two of them went together. And Isaac said to Abraham his father, and he said: My father. And he said: Here I am, my son. And he said: Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said: God will see to the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. And the two of them went together. And they came to the place that God had told him, and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and he bound Isaac his son and laid him upon the altar, above the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. And the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said: Abraham, Abraham. And he said: Here I am. And He said: Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a ram behind, caught in the thicket by its horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place "The LORD will see," as it is said to this day: On the mountain of the LORD it will be seen. And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven. And He said: By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, that because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only one, that I will surely bless you and will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is upon the shore of the sea, and your seed shall possess the gate of its enemies. And through your seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have hearkened to My voice. And Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba, and Abraham dwelt in Beersheba.

And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD let Himself be entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her, and she said, "If it be so, why am I thus?" And she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger." And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like a hairy mantle; and they called his name Esau. And after that came out his brother, and his hand was grasping Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

And the boys grew up, and Esau became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field, while Jacob was a wholesome man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, for the game was in his mouth, but Rebecca loved Jacob. And Jacob was cooking a stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob: Let me gulp down, please, some of that red, red stuff, for I am weary. Therefore his name was called Edom. And Jacob said: Sell me, as of this day, your birthright. And Esau said: Behold, I am going to die, so of what use to me is a birthright? And Jacob said: Swear to me as of this day. And he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and a stew of lentils, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. So Esau despised the birthright.

And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his thigh, and the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated as he wrestled with him. And he said: Let me go, for the dawn has broken. And he said: I will not let you go unless you bless me. And he said to him: What is your name? And he said: Jacob. And he said: Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed. And Jacob asked and said: Tell me, please, your name. And he said: Why is it that you ask for my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for: I have seen God face to face, and my life was delivered. And the sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh-vein which is on the socket of the thigh, to this day, because he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh on the sinew of the thigh-vein.

And he said: Show me, I pray You, Your glory. And He said: I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy. And He said: You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live. And the LORD said: Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand upon the rock. And it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by. And I will remove My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.

And the LORD said to Moses: Carve for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write upon the tablets the words that were upon the first tablets, which you shattered. And be ready by the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself for Me there on the top of the mountain. And he carved two tablets of stone like the first ones, and Moses rose early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and he took in his hand two tablets of stone. And the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and he called out in the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before his face and proclaimed: The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, keeping lovingkindness for thousands, bearing iniquity and transgression and sin, yet He does not wholly acquit, visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children and upon children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations. And Moses hastened and bowed to the earth and prostrated himself. And he said: If now I have found favor in Your eyes, my Lord, let my Lord go now in our midst, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance. And He said: Behold, I am making a covenant; before all your people I will do wonders such as have not been created in all the earth and among all the nations, and all the people in whose midst you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is awesome, that which I am doing with you.

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in Moses' hand as he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of His speaking with him. And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to draw near to him. And Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders in the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. And afterward all the children of Israel drew near, and he commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. And Moses finished speaking with them, and he put a veil over his face. And when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel what he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone; and Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with Him.