15.3 Par’shah Bo, Go

[alon]

Name of Par’shah- Bo, Go
Par’shah- Ex 10:1- 13:16
Haftara- Jeremiah 46:13-28

D’rash: Adonei HaAdonim, the Lord of Lords (Deu 10:17) is about to establish Himself as El-Elyon, Most High God, the Supreme Might (Gen 14:18). In so doing He will establish the first of the feasts, a memorial to His mighty salvation and a prophecy of the greatest manifestation of that might- the humble atoning death of His Messiah. But first, he must deal with the very symbol of the power and might of Mitzrayim, the most powerful nation on earth at the time. He is going after Ra himself, the all seeing eye of Egypt.

Exodus 10:5a, 7b, 15a, 21 (ESV) and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. … Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” … They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened … Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.”

The word translated “face” here is actually eye: עַיִן ʻayin, ah'-yin; a primitive word; an eye (literally or figuratively); El-Roiy, The God of Sight (Gen16:13) covered the eye of Egypt, their god Ra with locusts so thick, you couldn’t see the sun. A few verses later the term paneh, “face” is used. So we know our God meant eye, andwas attacking the false god Ra here, whose symbol was the all seeing eye.

Exodus 10:28 (ESV) Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face (פָּנִים pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of the noun פָּנֶה pâneh); the face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.”

Now we get into the commandments concerning Pesach. There are many more concerning the exodus that pertained only to the Hebrews who were there. I won’t go into those because we are already going to be long here. But the world throughout all generations is about to see the might of El Chai, the Living God (Deu 5:26). And besides Shabbat, the Passover remembrance is to be the first feast dedicated to His mighty works on our behalf. So though all these will be repeated later, they are worth listing here. I am mostly just going to list the scriptures. If anyone has questions, comments, additions etc. we can discuss them. But for brevities sake I think this is the best way to do it:

Exodus 12:2 (ESV) “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Hebrew calendar month of Nissan.

Exodus 12:3-6 (ESV) Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.  And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. Today we don’t eat the Korban Pesach קרבן פסח. It’s korban, a sacrifice to HaShem– something that can only be done in the Temple/Tabernacle. But when the Temple is rebuilt, this sacrifice will be resumed. “According to what each can eat,” no leftovers.

Exodus 12:8-9 (ESV) They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.  Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.

Exodus 12:10 (ESV) And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.

Exodus 12:11 (ESV) In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. This is generally taken to be specific to those eating the original Passover meal. But that is not how it is stated. Possibly at least part of the meal should be eaten like this today.

Exodus 12:14, 24-27 (ESV) “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. … You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped

Exodus 12:15 (ESV) Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

Exodus 12:16 (ESV) On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.

Exodus 12:17-20 (ESV) And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

Exodus 12:42 (ESV) It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations. My wife informs me that Messianic Pesach remembrances are way too short. Jews are usually up into the wee hours of the morning.

Exodus 12:43-45, 47-48 (ESV) And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave [servant] that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. …  All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.

Exodus 12:46 (ESV) It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.

Exodus 12:49 (ESV) There shall be one תּוֹרָה for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”

Exodus 13:1-2, 12-13 (ESV) The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” … you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.

Exodus 13:14-15 (ESV) And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

Exodus 13:16 (ESV) It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” Fulfilled by the mitzvah of teffillin. Originally possibly a euphemism of remembrance in all we say, think, and do.

[alon]

Our commandments list is suddenly getting quite long:

Actual Commandments:

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV) fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I take this as a command and a promise. (fear not)

Exodus 3:15 (ESV) God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people 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 thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. This gives the Name by which the Almighty is to be known.



Moedim:

Genesis 1:5 (ESV) God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. This sets the calendar, dividing it into days and weeks at this point. This will later be extremely important as HaShem’s moedim, His appointed times must be kept on God’s calendar.

Genesis 1:14-15 (ESV) And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons [Or appointed times], and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. The commandment to use the heavenly lights to know when His appointed times are is implicit here.

Genesis 2:3 (ESV) So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Shabbat, the first of the moedim! God made it holy; and what God declares set apart, we keep set apart!

Genesis 1:26-27; 2:15 (ESV) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created *man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. … The Lord God took the *man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. *The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind, and becomes the proper name Adam.
We have a responsibility before God to care for our environment.

(4 Jewish new years)

Exodus 12:2 (ESV) “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Hebrew calendar month of Nissan.


(moedim concerning Pesach, First-fruits, unleavened bread)

Exodus 12:3-6 (ESV) Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.  And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. Today we don’t eat the Korban Pesach קרבן פסח. It’s korban, a sacrifice to HaShem– something that can only be done in the Temple. But when the Temple is rebuilt, this sacrifice will be resumed.

Exodus 12:8-10, 46 (ESV) They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.  Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. … It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. Not universally practiced. But it is a commandment- roast the meat, eat it all that night, burn what remains. And take care not to break any of the bones.

Exodus 12:11 (ESV) In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. This is generally taken to be specific to those eating the original Passover meal. But that is not how it is stated. We might want our sidurim to reflect this by eating at least part of the meal in this manner.

Exodus 12:14, 24-27 (ESV) “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. … You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Simple. Keep pesach forever, and explain what it means to your children.

Exodus 12:15 (ESV) Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. Check everything, including any prepackaged or prepared foods, cans, etc. Leavening agents are in most. Get rid of them. And we should not try to cheat God by selling them to a neighbor for a dollar and buying them back later.

Exodus 12:16 (ESV) On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. Unleavened Bread, pesach to the 7th day, is bookended by Shabbaton. Only food preparation and serving is allowed on these days.

Exodus 12:17-20 (ESV) And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.” The phrase “from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening” speaks of the twilight time, when the days turn. So the 14th is a preparation day, then at twilight the seder starts the Sabbath. Then at twilight when the 21st starts is another Sabbath.

Exodus 12:42 (ESV) It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations. My wife informs me that Messianic Pesach remembrances are way too short. Jews are usually up into the wee hours of the morning. That’s how the parent synagogue here did theirs when I was privileged to attend.

Exodus 12:43-45, 47-48 (ESV) And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave [servant] that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. …  All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. To partake, as I read this a person should be Observant, or at least a God-fearer. And if a male he must be circumcised.

Exodus 13:14-15 (ESV) And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ We are to understand what this all means and teach it to our children.



Sin:

Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Consider sin and its nature. Every bad habit, every forbidden pleasure, every sin I ever indulged in, loved and was habitually attracted to would have been a whole lot easier never to have partaken of than it was to quit! Don’t eat the forbidden fruit!

Genesis 4:7b (ESV)  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” This just naturally goes with the above commandment. The commandment: speaking of sin, which crouches at the door- we “must rule over it.”

Genesis 3:7,21 (ESV)  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. … And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Cover it up.

Genesis 9:4 (ESV) But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Don’t eat blood.

Isaiah 42:10a, 11b-12 (ESV)  Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! There is a little doble entendre here. God, through the prophet was speaking of idols of wood and stone facetiously telling them to hear and see. However He is primarily telling us to wake up, put away our idols and worship the One True God.

Genesis 12:1 (ESV) Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country [land] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. Many missionaries (including Messianics) say “If God calls you, go. But if you are not called, it is far better not to force the Lord’s hand.” Go where you are called, not where you want.

Hosea 12:6 “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.” With God’s help, return (repent), hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.



Marriage:

Genesis 2:24 (ESV) Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And here we have the model for marriage: 1 man, 1 woman, 1 marriage, making 1 new family. God allowed multiple wives at times, but looking at the examples where there were more than one wife, it caused a lot of problems.



:

Exodus 12:49 (CJB) The same teaching is to apply equally to the citizen and to the foreigner living among you.” It sounds as if we (gerim) are responsible for the whole when we accept Yeshua. Not talking about the 613 Mitzvoth of so called “Rabbinical Judaism,” but what it actually teaches- the laws, the instructions, the lessons, and the principles. Not 2 , not 2 House, no lists made by man of what parts of we should keep; just 1 for everyone.



Halacha:

Genesis 17:1b (ESV) “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,” Pretty clear. (obedience)

Genesis 17:11-12 (ESV) You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,  If you are male and joined to God’s family, you must be circumcised.

Genesis 32:32 (ESV) Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh. It clearly says that God’s people do not do this (eat thigh sinew).

Exodus 13:1-2, 12-13 (ESV) The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” … you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. We are to kill or redeem all firstborn. “Sons” often means “sons and daughters.” So this could be taken either way (“sons” or “sons and daughters”), but contextually it would seem to mean “sons and daughters” as no distinction was made in other animals in this same passage.

Exodus 13:16 (ESV) It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” Fulfilled by the mitzvah of teffillin, however it may be a euphemism for let the work of your hands and your thoughts be set apart for HaShem.

[alon]

These mitzvoth are important. So If no one else has any to discuss, I have a few. Most have to do with keeping them in a divided house and with no congregation to fall back on:

Exodus 12:14, 24-27 (ESV) “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. … You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Simple. Keep pesach forever, and explain what it means to your children.

But how do we keep it if our spouse is not a believer? I set this day aside as a Shabbat, and allow no intrusions on it. Where I might help one of the kids or a friend on a regular Shabbat, unless it is a serious problem only I can help with on that day I will just say no.

Keeping it as a feast to the Lord, if we translate that as be at a seder, can be a problem. I try to find a demonstration seder as close to Pesach as I can and attend that. But they are not quite as popular these days. I’m trying to organize one with some Christian friends here in town, but so far no joy. I then still keep the actual day as a Shabbat. Same with the last day. But assembling is just not possible.

Exodus 12:15 (ESV) Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. Check everything, including any prepackaged or prepared foods, cans, etc. Leavening agents are in most. Get rid of them. And we should not try to cheat God by selling them to a neighbor for a dollar and buying them back later.

I can clean, try to eat all the products with leaven ahead of time, and not allow any in my own space. But the fact is my wife lives here too, and she will bring leaven into the house. Further, while she is pretty good about telling me if something has leaven in it, she isn’t quite as exacting as I am. So we must take responsibility on ourselves, be vigilant and check everything. I can’t keep it out of the house, but I can keep it out of my mouth.

Exodus 12:16 (ESV) On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. Unleavened Bread, pesach to the 7th day, is bookended by Shabbaton. Only food preparation and serving is allowed on these days.

So who am I to assemble with? No family, no assembly, … well, there is one of sorts here on the forum. So if anyone wants to meet here to talk and in particular the Exodus and Pesach, please let me know. We’ll arrange a time and log on, maybe open a thread just for the occasion.

Exodus 12:43-45, 47-48 (ESV) And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave [servant] that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. …  All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.  To partake, as I read this a person should be Observant, or at least a God-fearer. And if a male he must be circumcised. Actually, his whole household should be. The demonstration seders allow anyone to come, because they are not actual sedurim. But we do what we can. We should just be aware their purpose is mainly to teach Gentiles about their Jewish roots or about what we as Messianics do.

Exodus 13:1-2, 12-13 (ESV) The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” … you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. We are to kill or redeem all firstborn. “Sons” often means “sons and daughters.” So this could be taken either way (“sons” or “sons and daughters”), but contextually it would seem to mean “sons and daughters” as no distinction was made in other animals in this same passage.

The synagogue I until fairly recently attended practiced redeeming the firstborn son with gold. We actually bought gold from a precious metals vendor and took it to the synagogue. But they didn’t require it of livestock or pets. Seems to me if you are going to do this, then do it as it is written. I can see the symbolism in redeeming a firstborn child. But as I said, the way I see this written, talking about animals in the same passage it makes no distinction, male or female. So I see this as meaning sons and daughters, not just sons. I'll also say it would have been a lot more meaningful if done as a dedication and not just a payment. That is why Yoseph and Miriam took the infant Yeshua to the Temple: "And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22-24 ESV) (Note: “Every male who first opens the womb" may be a mistranslation from the original Hebrew, or this may be clarified later when the commandment is repeated- we'll see.)

Exodus 13:16 (ESV) It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” Fulfilled by the mitzvah of teffillin, however it may be a euphemism for let the work of your hands and your thoughts be set apart for HaShem.

I am guessing not many here have teffillin. I have a pair I made in the style of the ones found at Qumran. Though never 3 times a day, I did use them fairly regularly at one point. And they did enhance my prayer time (saying the Amidah as well as regular prayers). I need to get back to that practice.

Buying a pair from Jewish suppliers is prohibitively expensive. Then they must be maintained and regularly inspected. If they develop cracks, which they will eventually, or are damaged, they must be replaced.

The ones I made use reduced photocopies of the scriptures on vellum instead of miniature hand written verses on papyrus or skins, small batim (the containers for the scriptures) which are of much simpler construction, and leather from kosher animals, though not ritually killed, but which is not subjected to the entire processes leather from regular tefillin are. This means it is both cheaper and far less likely to be damaged over time if even marginally cared for. So should I bite the bullet and get a set from a Judaica store or other supplier? Well, mine can be worn on the hand, not the upper arm as theirs is. I could put it there, but why would I want to? Some play instruments and sing at times instead of just saying prayers. Mine easily reverse to the back of the hand. I've made them for others with a filagreed shin and with different styles of batim. Held in the palm of the hand, the shin leaves an imprint when removed. Not for long, but long enough to notice, a reminder of the commandment "It shall be as a mark on your hand." I don’t make them any more because my hands are arthritic, and hand stitching and other parts of the process are hard on them. But I enjoyed it when I did them.

Are mine “kosher?” Not if you ask a mainstream Jew, and certainly not if you ask a regular supplier. But the ones found at Qumran were of simple construction, not highly finished, and smaller. So I don’t know. They work for me. What else can I say?

Feel free to comment on what I wrote, or to post other questions/concerns/observations.

Dan C