Rabbi Philip Weintraub
January 12, 2013
This week’s parsha is famous for the plagues. Whether on Pesach or year round, it makes for a great story. Pharaoh is stubborn (whether with Gd’s help or independently), but through a series of miracles and punishments, Pharaoh decides to let our people go. At least for a moment, then a plague ends and Pharaoh says, “No, wait, stay!”
Relating to Passover, this parsha is also famous as the source of the four cups of wine. Each cup is seen to come from verses 6 and 7 of the 6th chapter of Shmot
ו לָכֵן אֱמֹר לִבְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲנִי יְ-ה-וָ-ה, וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלֹת מִצְרַיִם, וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מֵעֲבֹדָתָם; וְגָאַלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בִּזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה, וּבִשְׁפָטִים גְּדֹלִים.
| 6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel: I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments; |
ז וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם לִי לְעָם, וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵא--לֹהִים; וִידַעְתֶּם, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, הַמּוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם, מִתַּחַת סִבְלוֹת מִצְרָיִם.
| 7 and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. |
These two verses from Sh’mot (Exodus) declare liberation 4 times:
1. I will take you out [והוצאתי] from the labors of the Egyptians
2. I will deliver you [והצלתי] from their slavery
3. I will redeem you [וגאלתי] with an outstretched arm and with great judgments
4. I will take you [ולקחתי] to be My people, and I will be your G-d.
Some, who say we are ready for the fifth cup of wine at Passover, also include
ח וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂאתִי אֶת-יָדִי, לָתֵת אֹתָהּ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב; וְנָתַתִּי אֹתָהּ לָכֶם מוֹרָשָׁה, אֲנִי יְהוָה.
| 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am the LORD.' |
(The debate about that line is if Gd has given us Israel yet in all senses. Some argue that the State of Israel is this embodiment, others say we must wait for Messiah.
Yet even with these famous ideas, within one of these verses, I see a reminder of a verse from last week
Chapter 5:1
א וְאַחַר, בָּאוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן, וַיֹּאמְרוּ, אֶל-פַּרְעֹה: כֹּה-אָמַר יְ-ה-וָ-ה, אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, שַׁלַּח אֶת-עַמִּי, וְיָחֹגּוּ לִי בַּמִּדְבָּר.
| 1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto Pharaoh: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.' |
Last week we saw that Moses asked Pharaoh for freedom FROM Pharaoh so that we might have freedom TO worship Gd. This week we see see that Gd will redeem us and then take us as Gd’s people.
While I was in Israel, I studied with Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, a JTS rabbi and educator in Israel. This week he shared a comment of Joseph B’khor Shor, a 12th century French rabbi, who wrote a commentary on the Torah.
Joseph B’khor Shor shares an essential interpretation of Israelite redemption: far from becoming “free agents,” the Israelites transition from the authority of one master to that of another. According to our exegete, when God declares “and I will take you as My People,” God’s message is to say that God will be a more benevolent master than Pharaoh. God is on one hand “lowering” the Divine Self to become the master of these former slaves; and, on the other hand, the Israelites choose to raise themselves by serving a higher authority.
On some profound level, B’khor Shor inverts our common understanding of yetziat Mitzrayim (the Exodus from Egypt) and redemption. Though associations with liberation from bondage conjure images of shackles breaking, the Israelites are far from unfettered. They now become the servants of God. And it is through the structure of covenant, law, and relationship that they become free to live meaningful, purposeful, and holy lives. Eschewing freedom that leads to chaos and idolatry, God and the Israelites choose a different path—one that will lead to a prophetic and divine vision of a world repaired. http://learn.jtsa.edu/content/commentary/va-era/5773/slaves-pharaoh-servants-god
It is said that every rabbi/teacher/preacher/minister has only a few sermons, but they share them over and over again in different ways. For me, one of my key messages is that in Egypt we were not freed FROM Pharaoh, but freed TO serve Gd. Thus our lives are not just a gift but an obligation. We have responsibilities as human beings, as Jews. As human beings we have responsbilities to the planet, to each other, to humanity. As Jews, we have the Mitzvot, we have the commandments, which help us to fulfill those Gd-given responsibilities. We are not free to live our lives and do whatever we wish, but are here to serve Gd. Repeatedly in the book of Judges, it says that “they had no King, every man did what was good in his eyes.” This was not a compliment but a failing. Sometimes we do what we think is right, but find it is not so. This is not the most popular message, but it is an important one. Our tradition, our heritage, our inheritance, our Judaism, offers us with a guide to life. It is all of these things, but only if we take it, only if we accept it, only if we live it. Shabbat Shalom.
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