1.23.15 Parashat Bo


A little Torah for 1.23
Parashat Bo

Exodus 10:1-13:16


Locusts, darkness and the killing of all firstborn Egyptians - marking the end of the 10 plagues.  Freedom is now only a sea crossing away.    A new beginning is on the horizon.  

The good news; the Israelites are no longer enslaved.  The bad news;  [as the reader we know] the journey to the "Promised Land" includes tremendous hardship, suffering and loss.  

And, unfortunately, even though we are still a free people today, there is still tremendous hardship, suffering and loss.

The events over the past couple of weeks and months in Israel and around the world are heartbreaking (and inconceivable). We extend comfort and strength to those who have lost loved ones.  Tel-Aviv, Paris, Yemen, Nigeria, Boko Haram, and the list could go on.  Is violence becoming the norm and not the exception?  Are acts of terror becoming mainstream?

The injustices in our own country, a nation of free people, established on the principle that "all men are created equal", are intolerable.  Is ultimate power the goal no matter the cost?  Has personal comfort created a tolerance for inequality?

What will it take?  What needs to happen?  When will freedom for all replace freedom for some?  When will justice for all replace justice for some?

It is a critical time in our world and in our country.  The problems seem overwhelming and impossible to solve.  I often wonder if it is a matter of desire and will?  Could we solve the problems if we really wanted to?  I believe the answer is "yes".  If our leaders, our politicians and we regular citizens, wanted to eliminate poverty and racism, intolerance and hatred we could.  If we really wanted a nation where everyone had equal opportunity and equal access, we could.  It wouldn't be simple and it wouldn't be quick but it's not impossible.

Each of us has to decide that's what we want, more than anything else.  And then we need to decide to take some action to help get us there.   Our sages teach; Lo aleicha ha'melacha ligmor.  V'lo atah ben chorin, l'hibatel mimenah.  "It is not up to you alone to complete the task.  Nor are you, as a free person, permitted to desist from it."(Pirke Avot, 2:16)

Mekor Ha'chayiim, Source of Life, as we move into another Shabbat, where we will hopefully experience rest and peace, may we make the decision to do something (no matter how small), to bring tolerance, compassion and equality to our nation and our world.  

As I was writing, the following phrase kept running through my head: olam chesed yibaneh, "We will build a world on/of kindness."  Imagine the possibilities if each of us choose one act of kindness?

Rabbi Menachem Creditor wrote a beautiful melody to this phrase.
"I wrote this song for my daughter, born right after 9/11. This world will be built by love: ours and God's. In the best and worst of moments, non-fundamentalist "believers" and "atheists" are reaching for the same hope using different language. Amen to both."  www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHp-jcPlKIY

Shabbat shalom u'mevorach,
Laurie




1.16.15 Parashat Va'eira

Parashat Va'eira
Exodus 6:2-9:35

Each of Us Has a Name

Chapter 6
2God spoke to Moses, and He said to him, "I am the Lord.

ב. וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֶל משֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי יְהֹוָה:
3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob with [the name] Almighty God, but [with] My name YHWH, I did not become known to them.

ג. וָאֵרָא אֶל אַבְרָהָם אֶל יִצְחָק וְאֶל יַעֲקֹב בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי וּשְׁמִי יְהֹוָה לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם:




These are the opening verses to this week's Torah portion.  As with Abraham, God speaks quite easily to Moshe.  God also quite easily repeatedly announces the line from which it all began.  As the reader, we are already quite aware that God is the the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.  It would also stand to reason that Moshe also knows that this God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  And yet, God repeats this refrain constantly throughout the Torah.  Why?

These opening verses also reveal that while God announces the line, God's name is not shared as easily.  In fact, according to verse 3, God's name has not been known to anyone (yet).  This is significant.  God is building Her name in this "experiment" towards establishing a one God - one people system.  Remember, this has never been tried before.  This God is the first to branch out on Her own and explore the possibility of a new structure.

Throughout the Torah God is establishing Her name.  Throughout the Torah God is building Her name.  Maybe God's name hasn't been known to anyone (yet) because God doesn't fully know Her full name (yet)? The building of the name is a critical component of this parasha.  

The Israelites are enslaved in Egypt and this Pharaoh is wicked (not at all like the Pharaoh during Joseph's life).  He has imposed harsh labor upon the Israelites and they are crying out, screaming out for help.  And eventually God hears their screaming cries and responds.  God appoints Moshe to be the one to convey God's words to Pharaoh.  God tells Moshe exactly what will happen.  God will command Moshe to command Pharaoh to "Let My people go!"  Pharaoh will say "no".  God will bring harsh plagues upon the Egyptians.  Pharaoh will then let the people go.  BUT and it's a very big BUT, God will harden (literally in the Hebrew it is "strengthen") Pharoah's heart causing him to reverse his decision.  The Israelites will continue to be enslaved.  This pattern is repeated TEN TIMES (The story is probably coming back to you now.)  This parasha takes us from Blood to Hail.  We know the worst is yet to come.

What does it take for God's name to be known?  Even after seven plagues, Her  name is not known.  According to our tradition, God's real name is never known.  We have lots of names for God but none are the real name.

I can't help but wonder if it our responsibility to make God's name known and not the other way around?  My question is only strengthened as we approach Martin Luther King Junior Day and Holocaust remembrance Day.  Six million Jews, Ten million people parished in the Holocaust under the hands of an evil Pharaoh.  It was only 50 years ago that Blacks were terrorized under the hands of other wicked Pharaohs.  And when we look at the events of terror and Genocide around the world we cannot deny that wicked Pharaohs are still walking this earth. We have been waiting quite a long time for God to make Her name known to us.  

But, maybe we have it wrong?  Maybe humanity is in charge of making God's name known?  Maybe humanity has the power to complete the building of God's name? Perhaps God's name cannot be fully known until each of us has completely built our name?  What we choose as the building blocks for our name, will determine if God's name becomes fully known or disappears (perhaps forever)?

What will we choose?  How will we build our name?  Will we build through justice and love?  Will we choose greed and abuse of power?  Will we build our name through compassion and generosity? Or will we choose fear and hatred?  How will we ensure that those who were murdered in the Holocaust, and those who were murdered because of the color of their skiing and those who continue to be murdered and terrorized simply because they breathe - what will we DO to ensure that they have not died in vain?  

What will we choose to DO in order to create a world where hatred is replaced by respect?  What will we choose to DO in order to create a world where fear is replaced by safety?  What will we choose to DO in order to create a world where kindness and compassion lead in place of violence and war?

What will we choose to DO in order to create a world where our names enable God's name to be fully known?

Perhaps God repeats the refrain of being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so often to impress upon each of us the importance of reviewing our own name equally as often?  

Mekor Ha'Chayiim, as we make our way into Shabbat, MLK Day and into Holocaust Remembrance day next Tuesday, may each of us take an honest look at our own name. May we pledge to make a change that will bring us closer to knowing God's full name.

Shabbat shalom u'mevorach, 
Laurie

Below is the poem Lechol Ish Yesh Shem - "To Every Man There is a Name," written by the Israeli poet, Zelda.  She wrote this in memory of all those who perished in the Holocaust.
Read it once all the way through.  Then read it again and this time reflect on all of the things that influence, impact and contribute to the name you are building for yourself.

“Every Man has a Name”
Every man has a name
Given him by God
And given by his father and his mother
Every man has a name
Given him by his stature and his way of smiling,
And given him by his clothes.
Every man has a name
Given him by the mountains
And given him by his walls
Every man has a name
Given him by the planets
And given him by his neighbors
Every man has a name
Given him by his sins
And given him by his longing
Every man has a name given him by those who hate him
And given him by his love
Every man has a name
Given him by his holidays
And given him by his handiwork
Every man has a name
Given him by the seasons of the year
And given him by his blindness
Every man has a name
Given him by the sea
And given him
By his death.


The poem was written in Hebrew and if you’d like to read it in Hebrew click here