Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar and Daily Aliyah. As always, you can Order The Daily Aliyah <https://mosaicapress.com/product/the-daily-aliyah/> and receive your hard copy of these daily practical and relevant Torah thoughts (all proceeds go to Daily Giving), or join this Whatsapp group <https://chat.whatsapp.com/GFRNDpSWoFHGhHYziqAGYv> to receive one per day. I hope you find this meaningful... _______________________________________________ The Torah interrupts the story of the Exodus to list the names of the heads of the tribes of Reuven and Shimon, as well as the names of the tribe of Levi (6:14–26), including finally naming Moshe’s parents (6:20). Why does the Torah list only the leaders of Reuven and Shimon, while listing all the names of the tribe of Levi? The Lekach Tov quotes the Shelah, explaining that because Levi was not subject to slavery, they wanted to share in the anguish of their brothers. They named their children after the nation’s challenges: Gershon representing being visitors in a land not their own, Kehas representing the blunted teeth of overworked people, and Merari representing the bitterness of their lives. While this numeration was important in furthering the story about to happen, it was also meant to display the compassion that the people had for each other, a key ingredient in a people and in liberation. Shlomo Ressler _____________________________________________ Quotation of the week: "When we practice loving-kindness and compassion, we are the first ones to benefit."