This Parsha covers many tempting topics;
I’ll touch on all of these things.
Some refer to the god of the Torah as a vengeful and angry god, and some see the plagues as an example of this. But let’s look at this more closely.
At the beginning of Shemot, the Pharaoh appoints officers over the Israelites to build storage cities. Eventually, according to the Ramban, individual Egyptians take Israelites as personal slaves. And later, Pharaoh orders that all male babies are to be killed. And, by and large, they are.
God then picks Moses and Aaron as leaders. If He were a vengeful god, He would have all of the Egyptian’s boys killed right then and there.
But that’s not what this battle is about.
It took Pharaoh an order of laws to dehumanize the Israelites to the point that ordinary Egyptians would feel comfortable murdering their babies. Unfortunately, we understand that approach from studying 20 th century history.
God’s job is perhaps more difficult. Thru Moses and Aaron, He has to convince these people – who still live among their masters - people who feel worthless – to stand up and walk away as free men, women and children. Certainly, this would take time.
And, given the Israelite lack of confidence, they may only allow themselves to believe once they see their Egyptian neighbors recognize the Israelite God.
For that to happen, the Egyptians would first have to see their own gods in a different light.
In the first two plagues, the Nile is turned to blood and frogs come out of the water and cover the earth. Why? Rabbi Jonathan Sacks points out that the river Nile was worshipped by the Egyptians as the god Hapi, who represented life and fertility and they associated Frogs with Heqet, a goddess of childbirth and fertility. The first two plagues not only rendered these life-bringing gods powerless, but turned them into agents of death.
The 9
th plague, darkness, rendered the great Egyptian sun god Ra powerless – for 3 long days.So how do the Egyptians react? We know Pharaoh hardened his heart but what about the citizens? The Egyptians speak up only once during the entire ordeal. Before the locusts, they say to Pharaoh, “ how long will this be a snare for us? Send out the men that they may serve Hashem, their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is lost?”
Pharaoh listens to them. He tells Moses and Aaron that he will let the men go – just not the women and children. Moses insists that everyone has to be let go - Pharaoh refuses, and God unleashes the locusts.
That’s the only time that we hear from the Egyptian people, until after the last plague.
Before the 10 th plague, the Israelites are ordered by God to offer a lamb as a sacrifice. Our rabbis tell us that the Egyptians worshipped the lamb. So, the Israelites had to have enough faith in their God to slaughter an Egypian God. But that’s not all. The Ramban points out that during Pesach, Aries is ascendant. So, the Israelites are expected to take an act of faith that repudiates astrology.
But that’s not all. They have to make this act public. To save their lives, they’re required to put the lamb’s blood on the doorpost of the house in front of their neighbors and their bosses. It’s a sign to God for their faith and perhaps as sign to their own children that they can live outside their houses in the same manner in which they live within. In a way, this sign is emulated by the mezuzah today but, at that time and in that place, that was a courageous act.
The 10
th plague comes. The pharaoh lets them leave and the Egyptians are eager to give them gifts and rush them off. There is celebration for all but the Israelite firstborn – they are reminded that others like them were killed so their people may be free. They are to remember this the rest of their lives.The 10
th plague is the most drastic, but it is still less violent one than the order issued by a man. Pharaoh ordered that all Israelite sons were to be killed, not just the firstborn, for he wanted wipe out the nation. That wasn’t God’s plan. That’s not what this battle was about.We are given the laws of Pesach, a holiday filled with storytelling, of symbols of suffering at the hands of humans, of relief brought on the day of our freedom. Rabbi Sacks points out that 3 times during this Parsha we are told to speak to our children – emphasizing the role of education over might and vanity – education has been a hallmark of our people ever since.
In the end, a mixed multitude leaves Egypt – Israelites and others who too were convinced about this God, peoples who unite into one as they venture into the desert.
There’s one more item on the list - Tefillin. What is this doing here?
There are 2 verses relating to the Tefillin– both quite similar. The first one reads, “And it shall be for a you a sign on your arm and a reminder between your eyes, so that Torat Hashem, Hashem’s Torah, may be in your mouth, for with a strong hand Hashem removed you from Egypt.”
“A sign on your arm.” Which arm? The rabbis determine that it’s the left arm. Why? Because it is near the heart. The written record of the exodus is to be put opposite the heart and the brain – this Parsha isn’t a battle of force. From the first verse to the last, it’s a battle for our hearts and minds.
This battle for hearts and minds started with Pharaoh – who dehumanized citizens once valued by his ancestors – like the Pharaoh of Joseph’s day.
Today too we have an ongoing battle for hearts and minds. And again the Children of Israel are forced to determine their position in an increasingly hostile world. Symbols are used in this new battle. Swastikas are paired with the Star of David in demonstrations about Gaza. Terms like Apartheid are used in reference to the Jewish State.
Education is being subverted by causes as some American textbooks blame the Jews for the death of Christ and some refer to the acts of Palestinian suicide-bombers as civil disobedience while Israeli actions are called terrorist. The word “holocaust” is being rebranded and the country of Israel itself is being dehumanized in the community of nations.
I get the emails, I hear from friends and family, and I understand why people are worried about Israel, about the Jewish community, and about themselves.
I would be worried too. It if weren’t for this parsha.
For our people were formed in the foundry of battle, the battle over hearts and minds. If there is hope for a people who were slaves, there is hope for us too. So, when we put a mezuzah on a door, when we eat a piece of matzah, when we put on tefillin, when we celebrate the seder; each time let’s recall what’s important, and what’s possible.
Shabbat Shalom