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1 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 2 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 3 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 4 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 5 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. 6 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 7 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 8 (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) 9 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