December 28, 2007

Parshat Hashavua: Shmot         Exodus 1:1-6:1
 
The Book of Exodus relates the centerpiece of the Jewish master story: how the Jewish people were enslave by Pharaoh in Egypt, that God heard their cry and chose Moses as his agent to demand that the people be freed, that after suffering 10 plagues, Pharaoh liberated the people, who traveled to Mt. Sinai to receive God’s commandments, and prepare to wander in the desert on their way to the Promised Land.
 
The book opens, however, by reminding us of this small clan that came to Egypt, a total of 70 souls.  Following Joseph’s death the people thrived and multiplied to such an extent that they became a matter of concern to the new king who had no memory of Joseph’s deeds in saving Egypt from famine.  Feeling threatened that king enslaved the Israelites and worked them hard.  The new king also ordered the Israelite midwives to kill all the Israelite males.  When that failed, he ordered that all the new born males should be thrown into the Nile.
 
When she could hide her child no longer, one woman placed her child in the river bank reeds where he would be found by Pharaoh’s daughter.   She named him Moses and raised him in the palace. When Moses had grown up he saw an Egyptian taskmaster hitting a Hebrew. Moses killed the taskmaster.  Later when he saw two Hebrew’s arguing, he intervened only to have one of the men ask if he was going to kill them as he killed the Egyptian.  Since the matter was known, Moses was frightened and fled to Midian.  There he saw shepherds preventing women from procuring water.  Again Moses intervened and watered their flack.  Moses met the father of the women, who gave him his daughter Zipporah to wed.  She gave birth to their first son, Gershom.
 
God then listened to the cry of the slaves.  Tending the flock of his father-in-law, Moses spied an unusual phenomenon, a burning bush that was not consumed.  When Moses stopped to look, he heard God’s voice call to him.  Moses responded, “Hineni/here I am.”  There God commissioned Moses to go to Pharaoh to free the Israelites from Egypt.
 
However Moses raises several objections, not wanting to accept God’s mission to which God responds, rejecting each objection:
1)  “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh” to which God promised that God would be with him.
2)  The Israelites will ask me about this God: “What is His name?” God responds enigmatically “Eheyeh-Asher-Eheyeh, Eheyeh send me to you. The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” God instructs Moses to tell the people that God has taken note of their plight and will liberate them so that they can go to the land of Canaan.  He instructs Moses to ask Moses for three days in the desert to sacrifice to their God.  Knowing that Pharaoh will refuse, God will bring plagues, after which he will let them go.
3)  Moses objects further: “What if they do not believe me?”   God therefore provides Moses with miracles, a rod that turns to a snake and a hand that became encrusted with snowy scales and water that can turn to blood as proof.
4)  Still unconvinced, Moses pleads, “I have never been a man of words…I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”  God promises to be with him.
5)  Finally, in desperation, he begs, “Please O Lord, make someone else your agent.”  Now angered, God tells Moses that Aaron will be Moses’ spokesman.
 
Moses returned to Egypt. He s told that God will stiffen Pharaoh’s heart.  Aaron came to meet Moses along the way and Moses told Aaron all that had transpired.  They assembled the Israelite elders and showed them the miraculous signs and they were convinced.
 
Moses and Aaron met Pharaoh demanding the right to celebrate a festival for God in the wilderness.  However Pharaoh refuses, denying recognition of the Israelite God.  Instead Pharaoh ordered the slaves to produce the same output, but without benefit of provision of straw to make the bricks.  When the Israelite foremen asked the reason from Pharaoh, he accused them of being shirkers and that is the reason they ask for time to sacrificwe to their God.
 
They complained to Moses for bringing on this additional hardship.  Moses in turn complained to God, “O Lord, why did You bring harm upon this people? Why did You send me?”  God promised that Pharaoh would be punished and then he would let them go.
 
Shabbat Shalom
Candle lighting: Friday, December 28, 2007               4:16pm