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January 21, 2012
PARASHAT VA-ERA
(“AND I APPEARED”)
1ST Aliyah (P. 232, verse 2)
Moses returns from Midian and asks Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to
take a three-day journey into the wilderness so that they could make
sacrifices to God. The response was negative and the Israelite
burden became more severe. Pharaoh’s refusal to allow the people
their religious sacrifices prolongs and escalates the process. The text
is giving a message that freedom is not a result of Pharaoh’s
generosity. The Israelites must be freed in such a way that they, the
Egyptians and all other nations of the world, will understand that it
was God’s doing and not Pharaoh’s good will. This isn’t an effort to
solely glorify God but to establish the principle that it is unacceptable
for one human to reduce another human being to slavery and that
freedom is the will of God and not the choice of a despot. Moses then
shows doubt by saying, “…and still You have not delivered Your
people”. God responds to Moses very patiently beginning with
familiar terminology by saying, “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob as El Shaddai. I did not make Myself known to them by My
name, YHVH (Adonai)”. In other words, the Patriarchs did not
experience the specific power that is associated with the name YHVH
(Adonoi). That power--the power of YHVH (Adonai)--was to be
displayed in the coming process of redemption. God’s message to
Moses and the people is: “I will free you…and deliver you…I will
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redeem you…I will take you as My people.” These four phrases of
redemption are one source for the four cups of wine that we use at
the Pesach Seder. A fifth phrase—“I will bring you into the land”—is
the basis for having a fifth cup of wine reserved for Elijah. Moses
gives this exhilarating message to the Israelites who are unresponsive
due to their mind stifling suffering under slavery and causes Moses to
doubt his leadership ability. Never the less, God’s message extends
all the way into the future and applies also to us, here in Quincy,
Massachusetts. It offers hope not only to us as a people but to us as
individuals, who may be struggling through life. We should feel a rush
of faith and hope when we hear these words: I will free you…and
deliver you… I will redeem you…I will take you as my people… I will
bring you into the land… God’s promise offers us hope---Hatikvah!
2nd Aliyah (Sha ne) (P. 234, verse 14)
At this point, the Torah seems to take a break in the story, which to
the modern reader might seem kind of annoying. The genealogy,
inserted here, has been added to support Moses’ and Aaron’s claim
to represent the people before the Egyptian crown. It stresses their
Levite ancestry or the Priestly class thereby legitimating their
leadership. Aaron now is able to take a major liberation role right next
to his brother Moses. Sha ne gives more power to the priestly class
and may have been inserted by a later writer, to increase the power of
Aaron, his sons and descendants so that the Levites would become
more prominent. It is interesting that in this Levitical genealogy, the
wife of Aaron, Elisheba, is mentioned. The Torah mentions her only
once and defines her by her family relationships. It is extremely
unusual that she is identified by her father’s name, her husband’s
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name and children’s names—all in the same verse. The description
of Elisheba is even more unusual in that she is also identified as the
sister of Nahshon. In her life, Elisheba experienced much nachas.
Her brother-in-law took over a mantle of leadership; her brother,
Nahshon, was made chief of the tribe of Judah; her husband, Aaron,
was made high priest; her grandson, Phinehas, was appointed
military leader; and two of her sons, Nadab and Abihu, were made
assistants to the High Priests.
Unfortunately, Elisheba also
experienced tragedy in her life. According to Leviticus, her two sons,
Nadab and Abihu, offered God an alien fire, which consumed or killed
them. Like Elisheba, we too have experienced both sides of what life
has to offer.
3rd Aliyah (Shileshe) (P. 235, verse 29)
In this section Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh, but not before
God tells Moses that He “will harden Pharaoh’s heart”. This verse
raises moral and theological problems. How can Pharaoh be held
responsible for his actions if God hardens his heart? According to the
Conservative Etz Hayim commentary, Pharaoh conducted himself in
conformity with his own motives. Pharaoh himself chose to be
stubborn. In the beginning of the process, Pharaoh was free to make
his own choice but every time he chose the option of stubbornness he
gave away some of his free will. Each choice made it more likely that
he would choose similarly the next time. Eric Fromm has written,
“Pharaoh’s heart hardens because he keeps on doing evil. It hardens
to a point where no more change or repentance is possible. The
longer he refuses to choose the right choice, the harder his heart
becomes until there is no longer any freedom of choice.” Sometimes
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our own behavior is similar to the way Pharaoh acted. Perhaps this is
a lesson for us all to take seriously. The longer we continue to do
immoral acts, the more likely we will rationalize them as the proper
thing to do. We can use the Torah as a gage to monitor our own
behavior. The Torah’s ethical laws can help us lead moral lives and
prevent our own hearts from hardening.
4th Aliyah (Rivee) (P. 236, verse 8)
At first the meeting between Moses and Pharaoh seems like a
confrontation in magic. Aaron’s rod turned into a serpent. When
Pharaoh’s wise men did the same, Aaron’s serpent swallowed the
sorcerer’s serpent. Moses, in the name of God, told Pharaoh, “Let my
people go that they may pray in the wilderness.” Pharaoh, not
recognizing the authority of God, denied the request. This set the
stage for the first two plagues. It is natural that the Nile River
becomes center stage since it represents the life blood of Egypt.
Notice that by turning the Nile into blood foreshadows the tenth
plague—the blood on the doorposts and the death of Egypt’s first
born. The plagues, of course, have a natural explanation. The Nile
River is fed by melting snow and summer rains that pour down from
the highlands of Ethiopia and carry with them sediment from the
tropical red earth of that region. An abnormal heavy rainfall would
lead to an excessively high rise of the Nile and wash down into it large
amounts of the red sediments. The river would take on a bloody hue.
As a result, bacteria washed down from the high mountain lakes,
together with the red sediment or particles of earth, disturb the river’s
oxygen balance and begin to kill off the fish, producing a horrendous
odor. This has a bearing on the second plague. The frog’s natural
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habitat, the watery shores, was now polluted by rotting fish. The frogs
were forced onto the land much earlier than usual. The dead fish
were a source of insect-borne infection, which killed off the frogs en
masse. Scientific explanations were unavailable to the Egyptians so
abnormal or extraordinary events were looked upon as being caused
by the gods, perhaps caused by their displeasure. In this case, Moses
claimed YHVH (Adonai) caused the plagues to show His supreme
power and to reveal the Egyptian deities as false gods. The ultimate
goal, however, was to free the enslaved Israelites from bondage.
5th Aliyah (Ha meshe) (P. 239, verse 7)
After Egypt was relieved from the plague of the frogs, Pharaoh again
became stubborn and would not allow the Israelites to go on a threeday retreat into the wilderness. Without warning, Mitzrayim was hit by
a third plague, an infestation of vermin, identified by some as lice.
These carriers of deadly diseases multiplied astronomically as a result
of the first two plagues. During this third round, the Egyptian
magician-priests dropped out of the contest and, humbled, admit
defeat. Pharaoh should have taken their example and allowed the
Israelites to pursue their sacrificial ceremonies. But he could not give
in and his heart hardened. The fourth plague was an infestation of
insects. In the Torah, the plagues take on a supernatural aura in
which Divine will is being carried out. The Biblical author saw it as part
of the overall drama in which God is involved in the nation of Israel
and, in particular, the freeing of the Israelites from their oppression.
Our development and survival as a people can also be viewed as part
of God’s plan.
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6th Aliyah (She she) (P. 240, verse 19)
The drama between Moses and Pharaoh continues when Moses and
Aaron are summoned to the royal court. Pharaoh proposes a
compromise which is rejected by Moses, who insists on going out into
the wilderness. Pharaoh then tells them not to go too far into the
wilderness, upon which Moses promises to remove the swarms of
insects. Pharaoh reneges on the deal and would not let the people
go. This sets the stage for the fifth plague—pestilence. Moses
delivers God’s message that Egyptian livestock, horses, asses,
camels, cattle and sheep will die. A natural progression of events is
occurring. The soil, contaminated by rotting frogs, spread by
swarming insects and creeping vermin, most likely became the
breeding ground of disease. When Pharaoh was suffering, he could
be compassionate toward his suffering slaves. When he recovered,
he loses that sense of compassion.
Notice that God shows
compassion by allowing the pharaoh to change his mind after each
plague. True power as displayed by God, in this confrontation
between Moses and the pharaoh, was wedded to kindness.
Pharaoh’s inability to lesson his dictatorial nature seals his fate and,
unfortunately, the fate of his people. The sixth plague is that of boils.
With all this bacteria and contamination, it is only natural that major
skin rashes and boils break out among the Egyptians. The Israelites
saw this as God’s hand at work.
7th Aliyah (Shive e) (P. 242, verse 17)
In the seventh plague, God rains down a very catastrophic
hailstorm. Although the Israelite livestock, in the isolated area of
Goshen, was protected, the Egyptian crops and livestock, left out in
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the open, were destroyed. The Pharaoh, in the usual pattern, sends
for Moses and pleads with him to stop the destruction. When the hail
stops, Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and the Israelites were not allowed to
go into the wilderness to pray and sacrifice to God. According to
Rabbi Sidney Greenberg of Temple Sinai, in Dresher Pennsylvania,
the story of the Exodus, even without the plagues and the miracle at
the sea is altogether an unbelievable story. A more unlikely drama
would be hard to imagine. The three principal characters in the
scenario are Moses, Pharaoh and the Israelites. And each is an
unwilling participant reluctant to play the assigned role. First there is
Moses. When the Almighty appears to him with the announcement
that He has heard the groaning of the Israelites, seen their suffering
and has determined to liberate them, He asks Moses to appeal to
Pharaoh to let the people go. Moses protests his total unfitness for
this impossible mission. “O lord, I am not a man of words, neither in
the past nor since You spoke to Your servant; for I am slow of speech
and of a slow tongue…Please, Lord, send somebody else.” In effect,
he is saying to the Almighty that He could scarcely have chosen a
less qualified spokesman. And then there is Pharaoh. When the
Egyptian monarch is approached with the preposterous request to
liberate all this cheap labor, his answer is predictable. His face was
probably as purple as his royal robes and his voice could scarcely
conceal his rage as he shot back: “Who is the Lord that I should
listen to HIS voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord and,
moreover, I will not let Israel go.” And then there are the enslaved
Israelites. Moses’ intercession with Pharaoh on their behalf only
enrages the monarch and prompts him to increase their already
intolerable burdens. Now they will have to provide their own straw
while the quota of brick remains undiminished. It is a small wonder,
then, that Moses’ promise that God was about to redeem, left the
Israelites unmoved and unbelieving.
As the Bible tells us
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(Exodus 6:9) they would not listened to Moses “their spirit crushed by
cruel bondage”. So here you have the most improbable case of
characters: The self-doubting messenger, the intransigent Pharaoh
and the despairing Israelites. And each participant was totally
justified in rejecting the assigned role. Moses, Pharaoh and the
Israelites were each true to their own selves. What is more, the plot
of the projected drama was as incredulous as it was unprecedented.
Never before had a ruler been asked to grant freedom to his slaves
who were, after all, his property. Never before had slaves been set
free. Here is where the Divine Playwright enters. He is the true Hero
of the Exodus for it is God who enables a stammering, tongue-tied
Moses to be the vehicle for the greatest words ever uttered by a
human being. It is He who takes an inflated tyrant and cuts him down
to size. It is He who converts an oppressed, down-trodden horde of
slaves into “a kingdom of priests and a holy people.” Every year at
Pesach time, the descendants of those ex-slaves retell and re-enact
this ancient drama, thus making it the longest running play in history.
And as we do so, we relearn some important truths about the God
who wove this implausible story with the most reluctant case of
characters. We learn, from the pages of Exodus, that He is the God
who invests each human being, created in His image, with sanctity
and grace, and wants all His children to be free from exploitation,
oppression, and enslavement. According to Heinrich Heine, “Since
the days of Moses’, “justice speaks with a Hebrew accent”. And so
does courage, and so does freedom, and so does human dignity.
Maftir (P. 244, verse 33)
Haftarah (P. 244, at the bottom)
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Ya-a-mode, Ya-a-mode, Ben ben Moshe, Maftir Chazach
or:
Ya-amode, Ya-a-mode, El-e-ezar ben Daveed v’Shrona, Maftir
Chazak