Shemot – The Tree of Life

parasha Shemot 5784

weekly Torah reading: parasha Shemot 5784

– Humble Origins, Humble Beginnings

“And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.” – Exodus 2:2

The Children of Israel were enslaved, at the bottom of the pyramid of the social structure, and strangers in a land that is not their own (Genesis 15:13). The words of Joseph, pekod pekodti – G-d will surely remember you – drifted across the generations, in the hearts of young and old: the promise of a redeemer, who would free the captives, and bring them to a land of milk and honey.

And, he, himself, was born a slave, like unto his brethren, so that from this lowly start, he may serve as interlocutor between G-d and man (Deuteronomy 5:5, Psalm 106:23).

The redeemer enters the world in a time of darkness, when the ruler seeks to prevent his birth. For, Pharaoh had been told by his prognosticators, that a redeemer would be born to the Children of Israel. Pharaoh makes a drastic attempt to prevent the redeemer from fulfilling his role, by making a decree against all male infant children. Yet, the infant Moses, through divine guidance, is spared from this decree in a remarkable way:

“And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark made of reeds, and smeared it with tar and pitch, and put the child inside the ark; she placed the ark in the river, near the bank, within a clump of reeds” (Exodus 2:3). The infant was found by Batya, the daughter of pharaoh, who raised him as her own child. And, yet, he knew of his identity as a Hebrew, because his birth mother nursed him, inasmuch that Batya sought a Hebrew woman to do so.

Expect Redemption

motzei Shabbos: parashas Shemot 5783

“Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them: The L-RD, the G-d of your fathers, the G-d of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying: I have surely remembered you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.” – Exodus 3:16, JPS 1917 Tanach

“It was a sign for Israel. When any redeemer would come with this sign, ‘I have surely thought of you,’ they would know that he was a true redeemer.” – Midrash Tanchuma Buber; sefaria.org

A prophecy given to Abraham, speaks of a time that his descendants, “shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years” (Genesis 15:13, JPS). Therefore, this was known well to the Children of Israel, who were enslaved, that towards the end of the allotment of time given in the prophecy, they should begin to expect a redeemer. Now, the time was at hand; so, when Moses returned to Egypt from Midian, he first approached the elders, along with Aaron, who accompanied him: “And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel” (Exodus 4:29, JPS).

At this pivotal moment in the lives of the Children of Israel, when they heard the words that H’Shem had given to Moses, and saw the signs given him to validate that indeed he was the one who H’Shem sent, they responded in a manner that expressed their hope, trust, and faith in H’Shem, who sent the redeemer: “And the people believed; and when they heard that the L-RD had remembered the children of Israel, and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped” (Exodus 4:31, JPS).

As we look ahead, along the trajectory that this world is heading, the days will approach whereof the light will be diminished by darkness; then, we should lift up our heads and look towards the Final Redemption. Our expectations will increase in direct proportion to our understanding that we can only place our trust in H’Shem. “And it is a time of trouble unto Jacob” (Jeremiah 30:7, JPS). The birthpangs of Moshiach (Messiah), the travails that will be brought upon the world, will precede the Final Redemption (Sanhedrin 97a).

Find Time for Introspection

“Therefore, they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Ramses.” – Exodus 1:11, JPS 1917 Tanach

The midrash explains that the location where the slave labor was being done, was upon marshy land. So that the structures being built would continuously sink into the mire to no avail. According to this rendering, the effort being made was of no feasible purpose. The work assigned was for the sole purpose of keeping Bnei Yisrael occupied with useless activity, because Pharaoh thought that this would keep them from any schemes of rebellion.

It is interesting to note that in Rome, the gladiator games and other events at the Colosseum were meant to keep the people’s minds off of politics. Today, in modern society, the same premises may be at play, inasmuch that entertainment is a distraction, busy work lives can wear down a person, leaving little time for anything of lasting value to focus upon outside of one’s job, career or vocation. Yet, the time and the effort must be made. Forasmuch that we let ourselves be robbed of the precious time that we have, we lose out on what can truly benefit the soul.

The Ramchal, in Mesillas Yesharim denotes how the yetzer hara compels one to be preoccupied with burdens, to the extent that no time can be found to contemplate one’s path in life, namely, by examining one’s behavior through introspection. He compares this to the plight of Israel, subjugated to the harsh work that Pharaoh imposed upon them, especially, when he decided to increase their burdens, to prevent them from even thinking about redemption. G-d forbid, that we should fall prey to the same machinations of our yetzer hara (evil inclination).

Furthermore, it is regrettable for those who do not even realize that the Adversary attempts to keep us blinded to our own condition and “enslaved to sin.” The Ramchal advocates deliberately setting aside time for what is called heshbon hanefesh, literally “an accounting of the soul,” so that we may become aware of the quality of our lives from a moral perspective, if only we would take the time every day to subject ourselves to introspection upon our own initiative. Change can only take place through awareness of our faults, and where we need to make improvement in our lives.

Expect Redemption

motzei Shabbos: parashas Shemot 5782

“It was a sign for Israel. When any redeemer would come with this sign, ‘I have surely thought of you,’ they would know that he was a true redeemer.” – Midrash Tanchuma Buber; sefaria.org

Never Forget

parashas Shemot 5782

And G-d heard their groaning, and G-d remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” – Exodus 2:24, JPS 1917 Tanach

For four hundred years, the Children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt. Upon crying out to G-d day and night, perhaps, they began to wonder when the Redeemer would arrive. The question may be asked, why did G-d permit so many years to pass, before He finally responded? One answer given is because not until the pleas of the Children of Israel were genuinely heartfelt did He answer them. At that time, finally, “they cried, and their cry ascended to the high heavens of the L-rd” (Targum Jonathan on Genesis 22:4, sefaria.org). Persistence in prayer, to the point of utmost sincerity, was eventually heard. “The L-RD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him” (Lamentations 3:25, JPS 1917 Tanach).

How did the Children of Israel become enslaved? Ironically, when Joseph was governing Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, he instituted a system, whereof all of the land was turned over to Pharaoh. When all the people of Egypt became destitute during the famine, they said to Joseph, “there is naught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands” (Genesis 47:18, JPS). “So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine was sore upon them; and the land became Pharaoh’s” (Genesis 47:20, JPS). Yet, to what degree this system, wherein the Egyptians became serfs, remained in place over the ensuing years, thus setting the stage for a more fluid transition, when the Children of Israel became enslaved is unclear.

Consider that an entire people, the Children of Israel, a large population of common ethnic origin, could not have been made subject to slavery overnight. Perhaps, their subjugation occurred in a manner akin to the proverbial frog in boiling water. Thus, the temperature of the water is slowly increased, cooking the frog without a reaction from the frog, that would otherwise immediately jump out of the cooking pot, if it had been thrown into boiling water. Although the actuality of the proverb may not be accurate, the saying does serve as a descriptive metaphor. Can this metaphor be applied to the enslavement of the Children of Israel?

If so, perhaps, the narrative could serve as an admonition. In retrospect, a parallel can be drawn to a contemporary historical tragedy. The confinement of the Jewish people, to ghettos and concentration camps in Germany, only occurred after the institution of discriminatory laws, and state-sponsored violence against German citizens of Jewish descent. However, the same principle may conveniently play out in other insidious designs, cast upon an unsuspecting people. Today, more than ever, in acknowledgment of the cultural shifts that eventually brought oppressive regimes into power, within the modern era, we should always remember the past, lest history repeats itself.

note: first published at my blog, Holy Scribbles

Birth of Moses

parashas Shemot 5782

“And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.” – Exodus 2:1-2, JPS 1917 Tanach

Towards the end of Joseph’s life, he explained to his brothers, that G-d would surely visit his people – pekod pekodti – a redeemer shall come. This was the assurance given to his brothers, so that their descendants who would meet with challenging times, culminating in their enslavement in Egypt, would have hope for their redemption down the road. After 136 years of slavery, a redeemer was born, who was named Moses. Torah describes him as טוב – a “goodly” child. Commentary explains that, “When he was born the whole house became filled with light” (Rashi on Genesis 2:2, Sotah 12a; sefaria.org).

Additionally, “the meaning of this goodliness is that she saw in him some unique quality which, in her opinion, foreshadowed that a miracle would happen to him and he would be saved” (Nachmanides, sefaria.org). Therefore, she took it upon herself to seek a way to save him; and, after three months she placed him in an ark (תבת) that was “made of reeds, and “daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein” (Exodus 2:3), and she laid the ark near the reeds, by the bank of the River Nile. Thus, the prophecy was set in motion, as conveyed by the sages, “that Miriam prophesied, ‘Mother is destined to bear a son who will deliver Israel’” (Nachmanides, sefaria.org).

All of this was required, because of the decree that had gone out from Pharoah’s court, “And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying: ‘Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive” (Exodus 1:22). Yet, that day, Pharaoh’s daughter, who was named Batya, was by the river, and saw the child. She brought the child into the court, to raise as her son. Thus, was the redeemer’s life preserved in the very place that the command had been issued against his life. Moreover, Moshe’s sister, Miriam was watching nearby the river to see what would happen; Pharaoh’s daughter, Batya told her to fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse the child; so, of course, Miriam brought the child’s mother to Batya, to nurse him for two years. So, Moshe grew up cognizant of his Hebrew heritage, because of the instruction given to him by his natural birth mother.

The Burning Bush

parashas Shemot 5781

“And the angel of the L-RD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”

Exodus 3:2, JPS 1917 Tanach

While tending to a stray sheep in Midian, Moses encountered the burning lowly thornbush. G-d humbled himself by appearing within the form of the lowly thornbush, as if to say that He understood the suffering of Israel, represented by the thornbush itself. The thornbush was in flames; yet, was not consumed. Symbolically, this phenomenon represented the nisyanos (troubles) that Israel endured, without succombing to destruction.

When Moses began to step closer towards the burning bush to investigate, he was commanded to refrain from doing so, “Do not come closer to here, remove your shoes from your feet, for the place upon which you stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). By removing his shoes, Moses was being shown that at this juncture in his life, he was to fully commit to the mission G-d chose for him without any reservations (R’Hirsh).

Figuratively, it was required of him to recognize where he stood, as a person, in relationship to G-d. He had been born a Hebrew, grew up as an Egyptian in Pharaoh’s palace, and spent at least forty years as a Midianite shepherd. The “holy ground” that he stood upon was the soil of his deepest roots.

When G-d appeared to him within the burning lowly thornbush, there was a sanctity of the present moment, wherein Moshe accepted his role, on H’Shem’s terms, not his own. We too, are called, each and every day to seek the vision of G-d that He intends for us: for “whosoever shall call on the name of the L-RD shall be delivered” (Joel 2:32, JPS 1917 Tanach).