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January 1, 2011
PARASHAT VA-ERA
(“AND GOD SPOKE”)
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. Expanding
on the Torah’s message, the Declaration of Independence puts it this
way: “We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
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.” God told Moses that He
did not make Himself known to the Patriarchs by YHVH (Adonai). In
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the ancient Near East the names of gods were identified with their
nature, status and function. To say, “I did not make Myself known to
them by My name, YHVH (Adonai)” is to state that 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
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. Moses is faced with
the collapse of his liberation movement. He continues to doubt
himself. Moses and the Israelites, however, should have been jubilant
with God’s promises of redemption. It is a message that 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
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Levite ancestry or the Priestly class thereby legitimating their
leadership role. Moses and Aaron can now return to the task of
liberation. The narrative resumes when Moses informs God that he
has a speech impediment, as if God didn’t know. 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 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
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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. God made it so, but Pharaoh had
only to be himself to do God’s will. 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
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.
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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
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. It is
also our own personal message of freedom.
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.
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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, which was due to
natural causes when the normal Nile cycle was disrupted, was an
infestation of insects. Have you ever been harassed by black flies on
a beach or have you ever been inundated with mosquitoes while
sitting on your deck? This is only a hint of the discomfort the
Egyptians must have felt due to the fourth plague. Notice that the
plagues can be attributed to natural causes or events but, in the
Torah, they 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.
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. This plague strikes down the notion
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of sacred animals, in the Egyptian religion. 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. 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. We too can look around and see the
process of nature as God’s ultimate design.
7th Aliyah (Shive e) (P. 242, verse 17)
In this portion God makes his purpose in sending the plagues quite
clear. He says that the plagues or signs were designed to show the
Egyptians as well as the world His power. 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 the open were destroyed. Amidst the
heavy hail were thunder and lightning, possibly alluding to the thunder
and lightning at Sinai when Moses received the Ten Commandments.
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. The story of Exodus, even without 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
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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. What makes
the request also grossly offensive is that it is made in the name of
some invisible God, as though there were indeed an higher authority
than himself, the Pharaoh and Supreme Ruler of the realm. 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. Small wonder, then,
that Moses’ promise that God was about to redeem, left the Israelites
unmoved and unbelieving. As the Bible tells us (Exodus 6:9), “…but
they listened not to Moses because of impatience of spirit and 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
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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.
He is a God who gives us the courage and the strength to overcome
handicaps and adversity, and go on to make something good and
beautiful with our flawed human material. He is the God who humbles
the haughty and teaches the tyrant a basic lesson: “Judgment in
history”, writes the historian Herbert Butterfield, “falls heaviest on
those who come to think themselves gods, who fly in the face of
Providence, who put their trust in man-made systems and worship the
work of their own hands, and who say the strength of their own right
arm gave them victory.” 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.
“Since the days of Moses’, wrote Heinrich Heine, “justice speaks with
a Hebrew accent”. And so does courage, and so does freedom, and
so does human dignity. (A sermon by Rabbi Sidney Greenberg from
his book Lessons for Living)
Maftir (P. 244, verse 33)
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Haftarah (P. 244, at the bottom)
Ya-a-mode, Ya-a-mode, Ben ben Moshe, Maftir Chzach
or:
Ya-amode, Ya-a-mode, El-e-ezar ben Daveed v’Shrona, Maftir
Chazak