QUESTIONS FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE PARSHAT BESHALACH, EXODUS 13:17-17:16

QUESTIONS FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE

PARSHAT BESHALACH, EXODUS 13:17-17:16

In this week’s Torah reading we learn about Miriam, Deborah and Jael, three heroic Jewish women, and role models for us all.

In the Parsha at 15:20-21 we find Miriam, leading all the Jewish women:

וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן, אֶת-הַתֹּף--בְּיָדָהּ; וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל-הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ, 

"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbral in her hand; and all the women went out following her…”

Miriam is a prophet; as such she does the will of God.  Like her two brothers, Miriam is also a leader.  All the women follow her.  In the Haftorah portion from the Book of Judges (4:4 - 5:31) we learn about Deborah, a Prophet, a Judge and a military leader.  As for Jael: The commander of the Canaanite army has fled the field of battle and is in need of a place to rest and to hide.  He comes to the tent of Jael.  At her own peril Jael kills him.

In Israel today, there is no shortage of equally capable women, B”H.

In Parshat Beshalach Hashem says (14:4): "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them".

וְחִזַּקְתִּ֣י אֶת־לֵֽב־פַּרְעֹה֘ וְרָדַ֣ף אַֽחֲרֵיהֶם֒

Instead of "harden" substitute the word "strengthen" because the root of ְחִזַּקְתִּ֣י   is חַזֵק  which mean strengthen.

And if "heart" refers to the intellect, then Hashem is causing Pharaoh to mentally focus on losing millions of his slaves who for 100's of years have supported the Egyptian economy, and are now leaving with the wealth of Egypt.

For an instant, Hashem's metaphysical ability to act outside of nature is pushed back into a corner.  Pharaoh wants to take back his “property” which he believes belongs to him.  I think a comeuppance is in order; don’t you?

In Parshat Beshalach we are entering into a new phase for the Jewish people.  We are on our way to becoming a tribal nation. We are becoming conscious of our autonomy, unity, and our exclusive attachment to Hashem, the one God. 

I think Rav Kook would say that as individuals and as a nation we were acquiring a spiritual, national soul.  We were already in possession of a rich legacy of memories and hopefully the desire to live together. 

But in order to be truly free, there is a time to stand up and take that first step:

Trapped at the Sea of Reeds, with the Egyptian calvary breathing down our necks, Hashem orders us to stand up for ourselves, and go forward.  This is a lesson for Jews for all time and all places.

At 14:15 “Hashem says to Moshe:  Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them journey”.

 וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, מַה-תִּצְעַק אֵלָי; דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִסָּעוּ.  

And so we took the plunge!

Shabbat Shalom!

PARSHAT BO, EXODUS 10:1-13:16

QUESTIONS FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE

PARSHAT BO, EXODUS 10:1-13:16

The Haftarah reading for Parshat Bo is from Jeremiah 46:13-28.  The Babylonians led by their new king, Nebuchadnezzar, are on a tear.  They have overwhelmed the Egyptian army of Pharaoh Necho II and have virtually destroyed the Assyrian army in a place called Carchemish which is located on the Euphrates River on the border of Turkey and Syria.  The date is 605 BCE.  The Babylonians are now headed South.  The obvious connection of the Haftarah to the Torah portion is the destruction of Egypt:

“The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon coming is to bludgeon the land of Egypt.” (46:13)

הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה, אֶל-יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא--לָבוֹא, נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל, לְהַכּוֹת, אֶת-אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם

In 605 BCE, despite the Prophet’s warning and because of our leadership we had an alliance with Egypt.  In came to naught.  Are there geo-political implications for us today?

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At 12:5-6, HaShem speaks to Moshe:

שֶׂה תָמִים זָכָר בֶּן-שָׁנָה, יִהְיֶה לָכֶם; מִן-הַכְּבָשִׂים וּמִן-הָעִזִּים, תִּקָּחוּ

…וְשָׁחֲטוּ אֹתוֹ, כֹּל קְהַל עֲדַת-יִשְׂרָאֵל--בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם.

A male lamb yearling, you will take from the sheep or from the goats…and you will slaughter it, the whole congregation, community of Israel at dusk.

The constellation Aries is overhead in March and April, the time of Passover.  In ancient Egyptian astronomy, Aries was associated with the god Amon-Ra, a chief god who was sometimes depicted as a man with a ram's head.  He represented fertility and creation. Amon-Ra was also the god of the poor and oppressed.  It is not difficult to see how slaughtering a lamb would send a poignant message to Egyptians, to assimilated and non-assimilated Jews that it is Hashem who is in charge.

What was this message?

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At 13:3, Moshe exclaims:

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם, זָכוֹר אֶת-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר יְצָאתֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים, כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד, הוֹצִיא יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה; וְלֹא יֵאָכֵל, חָמֵץ.

“Moses said to the people, Remember this day, when you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for with a mighty hand, the Lord took you out of here, and no leaven shall be eaten”.

Here the Hebrew word for “remember” is זָכוֹר. It is in the infinitive form and makes a statement. If “remember” was a command, it would be in the imperative form and written זְכֹר.

According to Rav Kook, the infinitive form indicates that the Torah is not merely commanding us to remember and commemorate the anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt. זָכוֹר implies a state of being. It describes us as a people who always remember this historic date.

For Rav Kook the people were not commanded to remember the 15th of Nisan. That was unnecessary.  Moses was informing us that this date would be forever etched in our collective consciousness. On this day, the Jewish people were forever changed. On this day our souls gained eternal freedom.

Do you agree with Rav Kook that our Jewish “DNA”, our collective souls were forever changed by the Passover event?

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