Torah Portion Exodus 6.2-9.35
Study for this parsha includes the JPS Tanakh and the Sh'mos edition of the book The Midrash Says, edited by Rabbi Moshe Weissman. Also I consulted Aish.com's Advanced Parsha pages and several of Chabad.org's devars. I did not attend TBI's Torah Study group this week. A side note: Chabad.org is the site of the most powerful line of Chassidism, the Lubavitch. Aish.org intends to represent Judaism in general.
This parsha begins with God's description of himself in Exodus 6:2: "I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El Shaddai..." El is the name for the highest Canaanite god. Shaddai is the word for mountain, so literally, one of God's names for Himself is God of the Mountain. ( There is a "Midianite Theory" that the gods of Moses and Abraham were different. Since Moses first met God in Midian (now Jordan) while staying in the household of Jethro, a priest, the God of Moses was actually a Midianite war and volcano God, NOT the more empathetic God of Abraham who sat down for dinner and a conversation! In support of this theory, Moses' God did not disappear for a few years between visits. Moses' God would not leave Moses alone! The Revelation at Sinai happened in an atmosphere of threatened volcanic eruption: dense clouds of smoke and fire; the mountain even shook violently.)
However, doesn't the opening of this parsha disprove the Midianite theory? Doesn't it make clear that God considered Himself ONE entity, as we proclaim in the Shema ? (Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.) For God continues, "...but I did not make Myself known to them by My name..." followed by the unpronounceable Tetragrammaton, and His confirmation that He promised the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham.
So how shall we reconcile these two "personalities" of God? Kabbalah has a "tree" diagram showing all the Sefirot (attributes of God, using anthropomorphic terms) and explaining not only how He works within those attributes, but how we should attempt to emulate God, climbing the "tree" as far as we are able. Kabbalah calls loving kindness Chesed and severity/strength (tough love?) Gevurah. It appears that God used the attribute of Chesed more with Abraham and Gevurah more with Moses. There are other attributes being used, of course, but I have neither much talent nor much interest (these shortcomings tend to reinforce each other) in esoteric matters. I will leave a detailed description of the Kabbalistic attributes of God to others more talented than I.
Here are my "logical" thoughts: God knows each of His creations far better than we are able to know ourselves. Therefore, He knows how to approach us. Abraham always seemed to me a righteous man, hard working and faithful to God, but wishy washy in affairs of the heart. For instance, although he should have interfered in the squabbling of his wife and concubine, he did not, much to Sarah's displeasure. If God had dealt with Abraham as harshly as He did with Moses, would Abraham have been crushed? Perhaps.
Moses was filled with dread and foreboding. His "Egyptian insider" status, which no doubt was an advantage in this matter, increased his reluctance to act. If God had appeared as a friend or forgiving parent, would Moses have dilly dallied or not accepted his assignment at all?
Moreover, God gave Himself a name that is easy to understand, God of the Mountain, to Abraham, but a name that could never be understood, unpronounceable and meaning something like "I am what I am" to Moses. When as I child I demanded logical reasons for tasks my father expected me to do, he sometimes gave a similar answer! I didn't need to understand. I just needed to do.
This parsha contains one of my favorite understatements: "I am the Lord... I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements." (ex 6:6) (This second sentence also contains the alternate title for Maimonides' Mishnah Torah. After initial publication, some people advised Maimonides that calling his work "The Second Torah" sounded egotistical, so Maimonides gave it Sefer Yad haHazaka, Book of the Outstretched Arm, as an alternate title.)
Moses, as instructed, told the Israelites that God heard their cries and was ready to free them and take them into the Promised Land. However, the Israelites were literally made hope-less by their sufferings and did not believe Moses.
When God instructed Moses to ask Pharaoh for the release of His people, Moses protested that if the Israelites would not listen to a man with a speech impediment, why should Pharaoh? (Do all people, even our greatest prophets, share the trait of exaggerating a small fault to the point where it impedes necessary brave actions? I struggle with this myself. Words come easily to paper but poorly to my mouth. I shall have to remember the struggles of Moses - and his ability to rise above them.) God accepted the fears of Moses and included Aaron in his instructions.
There is an intermission here for an accounting of the descendants of many of Jacob's progeny. You may decide to go to the lobby and get a big bucket of popcorn or you may stay and wonder the significance of this break. (I noted that one of the sons of Simeon is named Zohar, the name later chosen for the most important book of Kabbalah. Zohar means "splendor". I find this very interesting because Simeon ben Yohai, often called only Rabbi Simeon, is the assumed author (father) of Zohar! Life imitates Torah throughout the ages, does it not?)
The intended reason for the break appears to be to show that Moses and Aaron were indeed descendants of the patriarchs and therefore worthy by blood to lead this mission. ("It is the same Aaron and Moses...") Levi's sons included Kohath. Kohath's sons included Amran. Amran's sons were Aaron and Moses. Although we are given the names of Aaron's four sons, Moses' are not listed here, perhaps because they do not serve as priests.
After this intermission, God made an incredible statement to Moses: "See, I place you in the role of God to Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your prophet." (Ex. 7:1) How terrifying that must have been for Moses to hear! (Many years later Moses had flashes of ego, but certainly not here.) Also, God described His people as his "host" (or "ranks", depending on your translation.) Therefore we can infer that God intended Moses to lead God's own army.
God explained that Aaron may act as the speaker so long as Moses gave God's instructions exactly. He said that Pharaoh would not obey the instructions, for reasons other than Moses' speech impediment. Instead, God would "harden the heart" of Pharaoh. (And no, this is not the "harden my heart" of the 80's band Quarterflash, which was a protection of a jilted girl's feelings. Rather, this is arteriosclerosis of the spirit. Chabad.org says "Egypt, or Mitzrayim in Hebrew, shares the same root as the word meitzarim, meaning constrictions". Hardening of the heart, being unwilling to change while knowing that one needs to, is called "Pharaoh Syndrome" and sometimes affects us all.)
God rarely interferes with our free will. Why would God harden the heart of Pharaoh? Some do not want to believe that God intended to force a man to sin. However, perhaps God intended to teach a very clear lesson about Pharaoh's supposed divinity. By warning Pharaoh of the plagues that will befall Egypt and giving him the chance to accept the terms or deny them, He allowed Pharaoh to show how little he cared about his people. Common Egyptians and Israelites could experience the wrath of God, see Pharaoh beg for mercy, talk among themselves and come to the conclusion that Pharaoh was not divine. God explained in 7:5 "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord..." Later, God also reminded the straying Israelites that he freed them with wondrous signs and marvels.
Rashi's translation of the Hebrew is "hard", not "hardened", meaning that Pharaoh already possessed this character trait of inflexibility, even at the risk of serious harm. A footnote in The Midrash Says, explains, "Our Sages state 'One who is willing to purify himself is assisted from Above, but one who intends to defile himself is given opportunity to do so'. Man is free to chose his own direction in life. However, as he progresses in his chosen direction, it becomes increasingly difficult for him to retreat."
The Midrashic text shows how evil Pharaoh is by displaying his obsessive thoughts towards Moshe: "I will stab him. I will hang him. I will burn him..."
I think that perhaps even more than the Egyptians and the Israelites, Moses needed these plagues. Pharaoh's magicians were able to duplicate the signs, but not to overturn God's, so that Pharaoh was forced to beg for mercy. What effect could this have had on Moses? Over the time these plagues occurred, Moses could not help but learn the lesson: Pharaoh was powerful enough to struggle, but not powerful enough to win. When Moses led God's army out of Egypt, he no longer wavered with uncertainty.
Chabad.org says that the Baal Shem Tov found Eastern European Jewry in much the same state that Moses found the Israelites in Egypt. After years of violent persecution, the Jews of the mid-1600s were numb, practicing but not feeling their religion. Although BESHT and God did not inflict plagues on the Cossacks, they did work together to warm the hearts of the numb Jews and thus reawaken them to a life infused with hope. Egyptians were dependent upon the Nile for their very lives; they even worshipped it. Chabad.org says when the cool waters turned to warm blood, it not only stunned the Egyptians, it thawed the numbed hearts of the Israelites.
Moses and Aaron appeared in the court of Pharaoh. (We must remember this was a new Pharaoh; the one whose daughter raised Moses died. Perhaps the Pharaohs are not distinguished by name because with the exception of the Pharaoh Joseph knew, they behaved much the same.) Moses, possibly remembered by Pharaoh's guards, was allowed in. Midrash says Moses waved his staff at the lions and bears guarding the palace gates and the beasts "calmed down and trotted along with Moshe and Aaron as obediently as lambs". As instructed, Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh; it turned into a snake. Although the court magicians were also able to produce snakes on demand, Aaron's snake devoured theirs. God triumphed over magic, but Pharaoh refused to heed the words and signs of Aaron and Moses.
God told Moses that Pharaoh was stubborn. (Proving Rashi's point.) He said Moses should meet Pharaoh early in the morning, when Pharaoh left the palace to bathe in the Nile. (Midrash says he performed his bodily functions in secret to enhance his appearance as a god.) God instructed Moses to warn Pharaoh that because he failed to understand the stakes yesterday, he would now perform a greater marvel: he would strike the Nile with his rod and all the water of the Nile and its disbutaries would turn to blood. Impressive and repulsive, don't you think? How would you like to have your bath water turn to blood with dead fish in it?
Egyptians were not only unable to draw fresh water, but also found that water stored in their homes in vessels and pots, turned to blood. Pharaoh, despite this dramatic sign, simply "turned and went into his palace, paying no regard." Is this how we expect a leader to react to the suffering of his people, deprived of the most immediate human need, water?
This passage, and several that follow, are difficult for me. Were every one of the Egyptians bad, even the children? What about the fish that died? Were they bad? Fortunately the Egyptian children were unharmed because in the following verse, "all the Egyptians had to dig round about the Nile for drinking water." However, Midrash says even the subterranean water and the juice of fruits turned to blood. Only the water in Goshen was unaffected, so the Egyptians bought water from the Jews. Midrash also says that Moshe was reluctant to smite the Nile, which protected rather than drowned him as a baby in a basket.
Several plagues follow in quick succession. The second plague is frogs. Frogs are cute, right? Not when they are in your bed, your oven and your bowl of bread dough. Although the magicians were able to produce frogs (just as they were able to turn sticks to snakes and water to blood), they were unable to make God's frogs go away. Pharaoh had to ask Moses to intervene on his behalf to remove the frogs. He even said he would let the people go to worship. The frogs did not just disappear; they died where they were, and the people piled them up in huge heaps of rotting flesh. I suppose God did not want this lesson easily forgotten.
Midrash makes the plague of frogs even more grotesque, like a low budget 1960's horror flick made in Japan. One "supersized" frog marched towards the palace, undeterred by the Egyptians beating it with sticks. It opened its mouth. Uncountable baby frogs poured forth. Then it whistled and even more frogs, accompanied by sea monsters with big teeth, emerged from the Nile. (If you go to archiemcphee.com, I'll bet you can find action figures for this very plague, or one similar to it!) Midrash even says the frogs entered the bodies of the Egyptians and once inside, screamed to be let out!
The third plague was definitely not cute enough for Archie McPhee: lice in unimaginable proportions. The very dust particles of the earth turned to lice. The magicians could not produce lice and told Pharaoh: "This is the finger of God!" We do not know if Pharaoh was plagued by itching himself. If so, he must have had the very hardest of hearts, knowing intimately how his people suffered and still refusing to listen. He did not ask Moses to remove the lice. Midrash says this plague freed the Israelites from their labors because there was no earth available for making bricks.
The following morning God sent Moses to meet Pharaoh on his way to bathe again. If Pharaoh did not capitulate, God would release swarms of insects everywhere but in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived. Midrash says that this plague included not only insects, but also lions, bears, weasels, sea monsters, scorpions and other beasts. Even the domesticated livestock ceased to be tame. So if you read of the plague of wild beasts and wonder if you missed a plague somewhere, it is the plague of insects on steroids. After this plague came to pass, Pharaoh summoned Moses and said they could worship their God. Moses replied that his people could not worship God within the Egyptians because the Egyptians would surely kill them for doing so. (Egyptians believed their ancestors were reincarnated as certain livestock.) They must travel three days' journey away to worship Him. It appears for a moment that Pharaoh relented. He said that he would let them go if they did not travel far and then he asked Moses, "Plead for me."
However, as soon as the insects disappeared, Pharaoh hardened his heart again. The Lord instructed Moses to ask for the release of His people again and to threaten with a plague of pestilence that would kill livestock - except the livestock of the Israelites. (This is a strange passage; it says all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but we see they owned livestock again in the very next plague. Did the Israelites sell to them?)
Next there was a plague of boils, which infected all, even the magicians. The seventh plague was special hail, each stone containing a ball of fire. Moses warned Pharaoh that he and all his people should bring his livestock and all belongings under cover. Those courtiers who believed in God did. The remainder lost their livestock, slaves and crops.
What was the fire for? I imagine its purpose was to prove this was God's hail. A certain Jewish philosopher from the Middle Ages, Hiwi, claimed that Moses' genius was being able to foresee when great natural events would occur and to place the Israelites there. If this were ordinary hail, perhaps... but hail with fire in it? He was called a heretic by the Talmudic Rabbis.
Pharaoh says, "I stand guilty this time. The Lord is in the right and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead for me..." Pharaoh, unlike Hiwi, was impressed by this hail. However, after the hail ceased, Pharaoh again became stubborn and would not let the Israelites go. Thus the parsha ends.
Earlier we saw that Chabad.org compared the pogroms of Eastern Europe to the slavery in Egypt. An Aish.com essay compares our modern times to slavery in Egypt.
Divine Providence has seen fit to put us back into Egypt. The turmoil of the last century, the two World Wars and the Holocaust that was a part of the latter put us in a situation where once again the vast majority of the Jewish people are ignorant of their Torah heritage. At the beginning of the current historic era which began after the Second World War, the percentage of the surviving Jewish nation that had enjoyed serious exposure to Torah knowledge was miniscule. Observant Jews comprised under five percent of the Jewish people while serious Torah scholars barely numbered in the hundreds. It is fair to say that for the first time in Jewish history since the encounter of Sinai, we, the Jewish people are once again in the pre-Torah stage existentially, just as we were before the Exodus. Not having received the Torah or being virtually ignorant of what it contains are identical states from a practical point of view.
The secret of our continued survival is once again dependent on our refusal to assimilate to the Egyptian good life in anticipation of being able to renew our old relationship with God.
In the meantime, we are being tested. God is waiting while we sort ourselves out into those who have a powerful inner vision that there is more to life than the modern world has to offer and those who elect to join. No one can be reasonably expected to drop his or her current attitudes instantaneously. But all Jews can be expected to be willing to hear some Jewish input. Observance and the powerful relationship with God that is associated with making the fulfillment of Torah the focus of one's life is a ladder that has many rungs. Each step in the climb to the top is precious and worthwhile. We are not necessarily obligated to reach the top, but we are all obligated to climb. No step up is possible without some Torah input.
God is always reasonable. He does not expect strict observance from the modern Jew who is ignorant of his own traditions and whose values and outlooks have been shaped by a culture that is dedicated to living wrong. But He does have the reasonable expectation that even the modern Jew becomes familiar with the book we have suffered so much to defend through our long bloody history. Whoever opens it will find that his appreciation for the Torah scholar and his respect for the Torah's vision of the world will grow by leaps and bounds.
Here is a lovely story from Chabad.org, "To the Point of Self-Sacrifice":
At a gathering on July 1 1985 marking the 105th anniversary of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson's birth2, the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita related the following incident from the life of his illustrious predecessor and father-in-law:
It was during Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok's younger years, when the czarist regime still ruled the Russian Empire. A new decree against the Jewish community was in the works, aimed at forcing changes in the structure of the rabbinate and Jewish education. Rabbi Sholom DovBer dispatched his son, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok, to the Russian capital of Petersburg to prevent the decree from being enacted. When Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok asked how long he was to stay in Petersburg, his father replied, "to the point of self-sacrifice."
Upon his arrival in Petersburg, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok learned that the decree had already reached the desk of Stolypin, the interior minister of Russia and arguably the most powerful man in the Russian Empire. The ruling Czar's intelligence (or lack thereof) made him a virtual rubber stamp for whichever minister the prevailing political climate favored; at the that particular time, His Highness was led by the nose by Interior Minister Stolypin, a heartless tyrant and rabid anti-semite who was personally responsible for many of the devastating pogroms which were 'arranged' for the Jews of Russia in those years.
Living in Petersburg was an elderly scholar, a former teacher and mentor of the Interior Minister. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok succeeded in befriending this man, who was greatly impressed by the scope and depth of the young chassid's knowledge. For many an evening the two would sit and talk in the old man's study. One day, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok told his new friend the purpose of his stay in Petersburg and pleaded with him to assist him in reaching the Interior Minister. The old scholar replied: "To speak with him would be useless. The man has a cruel and malicious heart, and I have already severed all contact with this vile creature many years ago. But there is one thing I can do for you. Because of my status as Stolypin's mentor, I have been granted a permanent entry pass into the offices of the interior ministry. I need not explain to you the consequences, for both of us, if you are found out. But I have come to respect you and what you stand for, and I have decided to help you."
When Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok presented the pass at the interior ministry, the guard on duty was stupefied: few were the cabinet-level ministers granted such a privilege, and here stands a young chassid, complete with beard, sidelocks, chassidic garb, and Yiddish accent, at a time when to even reside in Petersburg was forbidden to Jews. But the pass was in order, so he waved him through. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok entered the building and proceeded to look for Stolypin's office. Those whom he asked for directions could only stare at the strange apparition confidently striding the corridors of the interior ministry. Soon he located the minister's office at the far end of a commanding hallway on the fourth floor of the building.
As Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok walked toward the office, the door opened and Stolypin himself walked out and closed the door behind him. The rebbe's son and the interior minister passed within a few feet of each other. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok made straight for the office, opened the door, and walked in. After a quick search, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok located the documents pertaining to the decree in Stolypin's desk. On the desk sat two inkstamps, bearing the words 'APPROVED' or 'REJECTED' above the minister's signature and seal. Quickly, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok stamped the proposed decree 'REJECTED' and inserted the papers into a pile of vetoed documents which sat in a tray on the desk. He then left the room, closed the door behind him, and walked out of the building.
Showing posts with label Pharaoh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pharaoh. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
Torah Portion Exodus 1.1-6.1
Torah Portion Exodus 1.1 - 6.1
Study for this parsha includes the JPS Tanakh and the Sh'mos edition of the book The Midrash Says, edited by Rabbi Moshe Weissman. Also I consulted Aish.com's Advanced Parsha pages. I did not attend TBI's Torah Study group this week.
One of the themes from this parsha is that royalty and wealth do not really matter in this world. The Pharaoh is snubbed over and over by people who would rather do what is right rather than what he orders. These people include slaves, midwives, his own daughter and his adopted son.
This parsha begins with an accounting of the descendants of Jacob, who were very prolific, filling the land of Egypt. Torah says the new Pharaoh did not know Joseph and was threatened by the great number of 'Apiru (later called Hebrews and Israelites), so he enslaved them before they grew so numerous they could overcome the Egyptians. Even under harsh labor, they multiplied.
Midrash says at first Pharaoh rebuked his advisors for trying to convince him to crush the Hebrews. He said, "Fools! If not for their ancestor Yosef, who saved the country in the years of famine, we all would not be alive today. How can you think of harming them?" His advisors ousted him from the throne and humiliated him. When he reclaimed the throne three months later, he had changed his mind and was ready to deal harshly with the Jews and to renounce any belief whatsoever in God.
The Rabbis recorded many reasons God may have allowed the Hebrews to become slaves. Maimonides said it was because Abraham left the Promised Land so soon after settling there rather than trusting that God would provide. (Although there is a record that God told Abraham to journey to the promised land, there is no mention of God telling Abraham to leave during the famine.) Rabbi Abarbanel said it was punishment for Jacob's sons, who treated Joseph so harshly. Because they sold Joseph into slavery, their descendants would all become slaves. Joseph's descendants were included in the punishment because Joseph was too proud. Rabbi Shmuel said it was to punish the descendants of Abraham, who questioned God's promise to make his descendants numerous. There were other reasons given, but these, (from the foreword of The Midrash Says) should serve as warning to us that even small disobediences to God could have an impact on many future generations.
The Torah does make it clear that slavery helped the Hebrews, previously scattered semi-nomads, form into a distinctive nation. Midrash says as long as Jacob's sons lived, the Hebrews were content to associate among themselves and to live honorable lives. However, over time, the Hebrews began to intermarry with the Egyptians and practice idol worship. God had no alternative but to impose harsh labor and discrimination on them to force them to come back together as a united people. Once enslaved, there were no further intermarriages. They began to speak the language of their fathers, dress differently from the Egyptians, practice chesed with each other and only give their children Jewish names.
The sages claimed Egyptian advancements and life of leisure (made possible by the sweat of Hebrews) led them into a life of sorcery, pantheism and immoral behavior. Midrash says most Hebrews abhorred their oppressors' evil ways, and that our ancestors Sarah and Joseph, who both resisted Egyptian advances, imparted all their descendants with this virtuous quality. Midrash also says the requirement to obey God, even while on call to the Egyptians 24 hours a day, has been retained in our genes to this day, proved by the fact that Jews still incorporate service to God in all our waking hours.
All of Israel supported the Levites, who were not enslaved and therefore were not fed by the Egyptians. The Levites engaged in Torah study and proper worship of God to the general population.
Midrash says by removing the men from their wives for hard labor, Pharaoh thought he would stem the "plague" of Hebrew births. To entice the men away, he promised good pay for hard work, but only paid the first month, then placed heavily armed guards to watch over the Jews as they worked without pay except for meager rations. Midrash says that the Hebrew women drew water, God placed numerous little fish in it, so the wives could prepare them to nourish their husbands, who were weary from hard labor. The women disobeyed Pharaoh's commands, endangering themselves in their desire to raise large families. They gave birth to an unprecedented number of healthy offspring, even sextuplets! When the women gave birth while working in the fields and were forced by the Egyptians to abandon their babies, God's angels fed and cleaned the infants. The earth would open to swallow the babies whenever Egyptians searched for them to kill them. The babies miraculously not only sprang up from the earth when the danger was past, but found their way home to their parents! (Midrash sometimes reads like scholarly material and sometimes like a fairy tale, with exaggeration and many hidden meanings, including social commentary.)
Pharaoh ordered Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives who served the Hebrews, to kill all the baby boys, only allowing the girls to live. The midwives, who are not identified clearly in Torah, may or may not have been Hebrews themselves. Midrash says they were none other than Yocheved, Moses' mother, and Miriam, Moses' sister. Regardless of their race, they knew God and feared his wrath. They prayed to God that all the children be born healthy and not disabled in any way so the Hebrews could not blame them for their children's afflictions. When the king summoned them to explain why no baby boys had died, they answered bravely, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, they are vigorous (like animals). Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth." Midrash says the midwives told Pharaoh that the Hebrew ancestor Judah was like a lion, Benjamin, like a wolf, and Naphtali, like a hind. Somehow, Pharaoh believed the midwives and did not put them to death.
Midrash says God rewarded Miriam with a Judean husband and decedents that included the Davidic line. Yocheved became mother not only of Moses, the first Levi, but also Abraham, the first Kohen. Aish.com says Rabbi Moshe Feinstein explained the odd placement in the Torah of "the people multiplied and increased greatly" between "God dealt well with the midwives" and "because the midwives feared God, he established households for them." If the households were the only reward, they would have been mentioned immediately after "God dealt well". The placement of "households" after the "increase" of the people means that the increase was the first and greatest reward.
The Pharaoh, who intended genocide, said, "The final solution seems more complicated than I thought". He called his astrologers and counselors, who according to Midrash, told him that Jews were resistant to all means of death except drowning. Astrologers told himthat the savior of the Jews would soon be born. Pharaoh ordered the Egyptian soldiers to seize every baby boy and throw him into the Nile.
Torah says a Levite couple gave birth to a very beautiful baby boy. Midrash says they named him Tuvyah, Hebrew for "good". (Makes me think of the protagonist in Fiddler on the Roof.) The mother (identified in Midrash and in the following parsha as Yocheved) hid him for three months. We can assume she either shushed his every cry quickly (like America's plains Indians did so others passing near camp would not discover them) or that he was mute. His silence protected him. Eventually the mother felt she could no longer hide him, so she waterproofed a basket and placed the baby in it in the Nile, among the reeds so he could not be swept away. The baby's sister (named Miriam, which means "bitter" because the Egyptians made their lives bitter) stayed within eyesight of him so she could see what happened.
Midrash says Pharaoh's astrologers knew the instant the baby was placed in the water and told Pharaoh he was cast into the Nile. Pharaoh called off the edict to keep killing baby boys. Midrash also says God protected all the babies previously cast into the Nile by commanding the water to spit them out onto dry land. God ordered the rocks on one side of the river to produce honey and the other side to produce oil so the children would not go hungry.
Pharaoh's daughter (named Basya) came to bathe in the Nile. Midrash says she had leprosy. She saw the basket. Her slave girl fetched it for her. Midrash says when Basya touched the basket, her leprosy was healed. When she opened the basket, she SAW the baby boy crying. Torah does not say they heard him, but Midrash says the angel Gabriel made him emit one cry. Pharaoh's daughter pitied him, knowing he must be a Hebrew child. In the third remarkable act of bravery on the part of women, Basya decides to defy her father's order and raise the child. Miriam, in the fourth act of bravery, came forward to ask Basya if she should find a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child. When Basya consented, Miriam ran to get her own mother. The Pharaoh's daughter then offered to pay Yocheved to nurse her own child! When the child was of weaning age, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter. Pharaoh's daughter named the child Moses, which meant she drew him out of the water. Midrash says when Moses grew older, Pharaoh placed him in charge of his household, just as a previous pharaoh did for Joseph.
We know Moses, despite his royal upbringing, thought of himself as a Hebrew and often sympathized with the oppressed. Perhaps Yocheved's brave concern for the Hebrews was passed to him. One day he went out specifically to see the labors forced upon his kin. When he saw an Egyptian mercilessly beating a Hebrew, he looked left and right and thinking no one was watching, killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The following day he saw two Hebrews fighting and admonished the perpetrator, who answered: "Who made you chief and ruler over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses knew he had been seen. He was frightened. Sure enough, Pharaoh found out and tried to kill Moses, but Moses ran away. He ended up in Midian, where he stopped to rest beside a well.
Here the theme of meeting and defending kind women at a well is repeated. In fact, by now, I am beginning to think wells served as matchmakers in ancient times. Perhaps because wells are vessels that sustain life, symbolizing fertility and wombs. The seven daughters of the Midianite priest came to water their flocks, but male shepherds scared them away. "Moses rose to their defense and he watered their flock." When the girls returned home, their father was surprised that they were home so early. Apparently they often had to wait for the shepherds to leave before they could water their animals. They told their father of Moses' behavior. They described him as an Egyptian.
Their father, who we shall see is a virtuous man, was unhappy they did not invite Moses in. He summoned Moses, who accepted their hospitality. The priest gave Moses his daughter Zipporah (which means bird) as his wife. She bore him two sons. Moses, who had been brought up as Egyptian royalty, which despised shepherds, became one for his father in law.
Meanwhile, Pharaoh died, but the Hebrews were still very much enslaved. Their suffering attracted the attention of God, who remembered the Covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Although God had told Abraham his people would be enslaved 400 years, he heard the cries of the Hebrews and decided to intervene after only 210 years. God selected Moses to be his agent.
While Moses was tending sheep, he saw a bush burning but not being consumed. I believe this was a variety of sage called Salvia Judaica, literally Save Jews! It often has seven branches, resembling a menorah. Quite a few websites believe Salvia Judaica is the inspiration for the menorah described to Moses much later, in Exodus 25:31-37. Because the plant has so much natural oil, I wonder if it could burn like a torch, like our Scotch Broom here in Oregon. You can find a very good picture of the plant here: http://www.holidayinisrael.com/ViewPage.asp?lid=1&pid=289.
Moses was fascinated by the burning bush, but realized as he drew close that he should avert his eyes. ( Kabbalah says that Moses was Abel reincarnated. Abel died young (at Cain's hand) because he looked at the Shechinah as he gave his offering. Moses had learned his lesson, humility, from his previous life.) When God called his name, Moses answered as almost all other prophets in the Tanakh would, hinieni, "Here I am!"
God commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh and ask for the release of his people. Moses made it beyond clear that he really did not want to go. (We can imagine, although Torah does not tell it, that he is afraid he would meet certain death since no doubt Pharaoh charged him with murder and treason.) Moses told God that Pharaoh would not obey him, the Israelites wouldn't believe he was their savior and that he was a poor spokesman due to a speech impediment. Finally he asked that someone else be sent in his stead, which angered God. Midrash says that Moses meant that God should send the Messiah instead, but God had reasons for choosing Moses.
The way Moses attempts to protest and bargain with God recalls Abraham's conversations with God, but God deals with Moses more harshly than he ever did with Abraham. Even though God became angry with him, Moses continued to protest all the rest of his life! (Maimonides said that God neither spoke nor had emotions to become angry. Seen through the logic of Maimonides, God's master plan, which Moses was able to perceive, became colored by Moses' own personality.)
Aish.com, quoting Pesikta Rabbasi 15:8, says Moses knew the Israelites expected 400 years of slavery and would doubt him because only 210 had passed. God gave Moses powers to perform three signs to show he was sent by God; later, as we shall see, Pharaoh's sorcerers call these signs mere magic. So I wonder why God would give signs to Moses that could be duplicated by others. Did the Israelites really need these signs? Didn't the righteous among them know the stories of the matriarchs and patriarchs? Is it possible that either they have been so crushed by slavery that they think God has deserted them? Or, as I think, is it possible that God gave these signs to Moses to increase Moses' confidence?
God told Moses He would be with him, the Israelites would believe him and they would come worship Him at this very mountain. The holy ground, where God revealed himself in a burning bush, is the same ground where God, in a cloud of smoke and fire, would give the Commandments and Torah.
Moses returned home and asked his father in law to let him see his kinsmen in Egypt. Jethro said, "Go in peace!" After God told Moses the men who wanted to kill him had died, Moses gathered his wife and sons and began traveling to Egypt. God was still angry, however, and sought to kill Moses while they were encamped. Zipporah, Moses' wife and a convert, knew exactly what to do. She quickly circumcised her son. (How could the liberator of Jews leave his own sons uncircumcised?) God then left Moses alone.
God told Aaron to meet Moses in the wilderness. Moses and Aaron kissed and talked about their instructions, then went on to meet the elders of the Israelites. Aaron did the talking and Moses performed the signs, to the Israelite's satisfaction.
Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh together to ask for permission to take their people to worship God in the wilderness. Pharaoh mocked them, "Who is the Lord that I should heed Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go." Aaron and Moses said that they had seen God, and that God might smite their people with pestilence or sword if they did not worship and sacrifice to Him.
In spite, the following day, Pharaoh ordered the taskmasters to stop providing straw for the bricks the Israelites were building. Not only were the Israelites to gather their own straw, but also they must still make as many bricks as before. Of course, the Israelites, who could not keep up and were beaten, were angry with Moses and Aaron. Moses called out to God, "Oh, Lord, why did You bring harm upon this people? Why did You send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has dealt worse with this people, and still You have not delivered Your people."
Thus this parsha ends.
Rabbi David Wolpe (the author of In Speech and Silence, which among other subjects, discusses Moses' speech impediment) was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying that the Exodus couldn't have happened. Saying the Exodus didn't happen is almost like saying the reason for the Jews' cohesive peoplehood is a lie, like saying we didn't receive and agree to God's Covenant and did not struggle and support each other during nearly unendurable hardship. It is like denying our martyrs the reason they chose death rather than forced conversion through multiple persecutions.
Aish.com says that for most of ancient history (until Herodotus, the first relatively impartial historian, who lived 800 years after the Exodus), recorded "history" was largely propaganda, meant to support the politics of whoever was in power. Egyptians would not want to admit that escaping Hebrew slaves virtually destroyed Egypt and drowned the Pharaoh himself with God's help. Aish uses to support their argument a war in which both sides claimed to be victorious and also the fact that unlike other ancient documents, Torah presents its heroes as real people, with both strengths and faults.
This objective portrayal lends the Torah great credibility. As the writer Israel Zangwill said: "The Bible is an anti-Semitic book. Israel is the villain, not the hero, of his own story. Alone among the epics, it is out for truth, not heroics."
I have read essays and books that refute that Israelites were ever in Egypt or ever conquered Canaan, and also essays and books that say that everything in the Bible is the word for word truth from God. I am inclined to believe that the Bible contains truth that was edited by the rabbis in exile and suffered occasionally from mistranslations. It appears from archaeological evidence that perhaps the Judges version of the takeover of Canaan (which admits that all the Canaanites were not ousted or killed) is more realistic than the Joshua version. I am not inclined to believe the entire Exodus story is fiction. So I was pleased to find the following in Aish.com:
Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner said of Egyptian archaeology: "It must never be forgotten that we are dealing with a civilization thousands of years old and one of which only tiny remnants have survived. What is proudly advertised as Egyptian history is merely a collection of rags and tatters." This sketchy archaeological record makes a document preserved from the Israelite slavery period even more astounding. Known as the Brooklyn Papyrus (because it is in the Brooklyn Museum), this document portrays Israelite names from the Bible as the names of domestic slaves: Asher, Yissachar, and Shifra. The document also includes the term "hapiru" which many scholars agree has clear historical affinity to the biblical term "ivrim," meaning "Hebrews."
The Bible records that Jews built the storage cities of Pitom and Ramses. Austrian archaeologist Manfred Bietak has succeeded in positively identifying the city of Pi-Ramesse. This city he found dates exactly to the period of the sojourn in Egypt, and even contains many Asiatic (of Canaanite origin) remains at the area of the slave residences. Egyptian records also tell how Pharaoh Rameses II built a new capital called Pi-Ramesse (the House of Rameses) on the eastern Nile delta, near the ancient area known as Goshen, the precise geographic area where the Bible places the Israelites.
Further, the Leiden Papyrus (another Egyptian document of that era) reports that an official for the construction of Ramasses II ordered to "distribute grain rations to the soldiers and to the Apiru who transport stones to the great pylon of Ramasses." (Apiru, as we said, is related to Hebrews.) Professor Abraham Malamat of Hebrew University infers from this that the Hebrews were forced to build the city of Ramasses. "This evidence is circumstantial at best," notes Malamat, "but it's as much as a historian can argue."
EXODUS AND DESERT WANDERING
"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land Philistines, although that was near; For God said: "Lest the people repent when they see war and return to Egypt." (Exodus 13:17) Prof. Malamat explains the reason for this detour: At that time in Egyptian history, and lasting for only about 200 years, there was a massive, nearly impenetrable network of fortresses situated along the northern Sinai coastal route to Canaan. Yet these same defenses were absent near Egypt's access to southern Sinai -- because the Egyptians felt the southern route was certain death in the desert. Therefore, when Moses tells the Israelites to encamp at a site that will mislead Pharaoh, the Egyptians will conclude that the Israelites "are entangled in the land, the wilderness has closed in on them" (Exodus 14:3). This, according to Malamat, "reflects a distinctly Egyptian viewpoint that must have been common at the time: In view of the fortresses on the northern coast, anyone seeking to flee Egypt would necessarily make a detour south into the desert, where they might well perish."
...Biblical criticism comes from the late archaeologist Gosta Ahlstrom. He declares: "It is quite clear that the biblical writers knew nothing about events in Palestine before the 10th century BCE, and they certainly didn't know anything of the geography of Palestine in the Late Bronze age," the time of the desert wandering and subsequent conquest of the land of Canaan. Ahlstrom's proof? He cites the biblical listing of cities along the alleged route that the Israelites traveled immediately before reaching the Jordan River -- Iyyim, Divon, Almon-divlatayim, Nevo, and Avel Shittim (Numbers 33:45-50), and reports that most of these locations have not been located, and those that were excavated did not exist at the time the Bible reports.
In the meantime, writings from the walls of Egyptian Temples say differently. It is well known that Egypt had much reason to travel to Canaan in those days; trade, exploitation, military conquest. These routes are recorded in three different Egyptian Temples -- listed in the same order as provided in the Bible, and dated to the exact period of the Israelite conquest of Canaan.
Another piece of outside verification is an ancient inscription housed in the Amman Museum. Dating to the 8th century BCE (at least), it was found in the Jordanian village of Deir Alla, which was Moabite territory in biblical times. This inscription tells of a person by the name of Bilaam ben Beor, known to the locals as a prophet who would receive his prophecies at night. These features match precisely the Bilaam described in the Bible (Numbers 21) -- his full name, occupation, nighttime prophecies. And of course, Bilaam was a Moabite.
CONQUEST OF CANAAN
...Rarely can an archaeologist claim that "this is the very item the Bible spoke about." Yet Dr. Adam Zartal, chairman of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, may have done it. Joshua 8:30-35 tells of the fulfillment of Moses' command to build an altar on Mount Eval (Deut. 27). Zartal reports that his excavation team found this very altar. The place is right, the time is right, and the animal bones are consistent with the biblical offerings. Even the style of the altar is right, in such detail, says Zartal, that it looks nearly identical to the description of the Temple's altar as described in the Talmud -- a uniquely Israelite design that no Canaanite temples used then or later.
Revisionists insist there was no such entity as "Israel" until at least the 9th century BCE. Yet a well known Egyptian inscription dated to about 1210 BCE clearly identifies an Israel in the land of Canaan as a people that had to be reckoned with. The inscription, which depicts the victories of Pharaoh Merneptah in Canaan, reads in part: "Israel is laid waste, his seed is no more." How do revisionists react to this inscription? Dismissively. Says Dever: "They denigrate it as our only known reference. But one unimpeachable witness in the court of history is sufficient. There does exist in Canaan a people calling themselves Israel, who are thus called Israel by the Egyptians -- who after all are hardly biblically biased, and who cannot have invented such a specific and unique people for their own propaganda purposes."
More: In the book of Samuel, the Philistines are reported to be expert metal workers, and in the Book of Jeremiah they are reported to have originated in Crete. Both of these details concerning the Philistines, who were off the political map by the 9th century BCE, are corroborated through archaeology. Furthermore, 1-Samuel 13:19-21 records the Israelites relying on the metal smiths of the Philistines, and a 'pym' used in the tool-sharpening process. But what this 'pym' was has been a mystery. Recent excavations found that an ancient coin weight called a "pym," which was used exclusively during the Israelite settlement period, was apparently the payment for the service of sharpening. Posits Dever: "Is it possible that a writer in the 2nd century BCE could have known of the existence of these pym weights which... would have disappeared for 5 centuries before his time? It is not possible."
Additionally, in the hill regions of Judea and Samaria (the heartland of ancient Israel), approximately 300 small agricultural villages were found, built between the 13-11th centuries BCE, the time period of the Israelite conquest of the land. According to Dever, this represented a large population increase that did not come from the native population. He writes, “Such a dramatic population increase cannot be accounted for by natural increase alone, much less by positing small groups of pastoral nomads settling down. Large numbers of people must have migrated here from somewhere else, strongly motivated to colonize an under populated fringe area of urban Canaan now in decline at the end of the Late Bronze Age.” Also, the type of house structure was unique, and matched descriptions in the books of Judges and Samuel. Additionally, all of the settlements lacked any pig remnants amongst animal bones left in the area; only the Jews had a pigless diet.
There is more; to read it for yourself, go to Aish.com, Archaeology and the Bible, Parts I and II
Study for this parsha includes the JPS Tanakh and the Sh'mos edition of the book The Midrash Says, edited by Rabbi Moshe Weissman. Also I consulted Aish.com's Advanced Parsha pages. I did not attend TBI's Torah Study group this week.
One of the themes from this parsha is that royalty and wealth do not really matter in this world. The Pharaoh is snubbed over and over by people who would rather do what is right rather than what he orders. These people include slaves, midwives, his own daughter and his adopted son.
This parsha begins with an accounting of the descendants of Jacob, who were very prolific, filling the land of Egypt. Torah says the new Pharaoh did not know Joseph and was threatened by the great number of 'Apiru (later called Hebrews and Israelites), so he enslaved them before they grew so numerous they could overcome the Egyptians. Even under harsh labor, they multiplied.
Midrash says at first Pharaoh rebuked his advisors for trying to convince him to crush the Hebrews. He said, "Fools! If not for their ancestor Yosef, who saved the country in the years of famine, we all would not be alive today. How can you think of harming them?" His advisors ousted him from the throne and humiliated him. When he reclaimed the throne three months later, he had changed his mind and was ready to deal harshly with the Jews and to renounce any belief whatsoever in God.
The Rabbis recorded many reasons God may have allowed the Hebrews to become slaves. Maimonides said it was because Abraham left the Promised Land so soon after settling there rather than trusting that God would provide. (Although there is a record that God told Abraham to journey to the promised land, there is no mention of God telling Abraham to leave during the famine.) Rabbi Abarbanel said it was punishment for Jacob's sons, who treated Joseph so harshly. Because they sold Joseph into slavery, their descendants would all become slaves. Joseph's descendants were included in the punishment because Joseph was too proud. Rabbi Shmuel said it was to punish the descendants of Abraham, who questioned God's promise to make his descendants numerous. There were other reasons given, but these, (from the foreword of The Midrash Says) should serve as warning to us that even small disobediences to God could have an impact on many future generations.
The Torah does make it clear that slavery helped the Hebrews, previously scattered semi-nomads, form into a distinctive nation. Midrash says as long as Jacob's sons lived, the Hebrews were content to associate among themselves and to live honorable lives. However, over time, the Hebrews began to intermarry with the Egyptians and practice idol worship. God had no alternative but to impose harsh labor and discrimination on them to force them to come back together as a united people. Once enslaved, there were no further intermarriages. They began to speak the language of their fathers, dress differently from the Egyptians, practice chesed with each other and only give their children Jewish names.
The sages claimed Egyptian advancements and life of leisure (made possible by the sweat of Hebrews) led them into a life of sorcery, pantheism and immoral behavior. Midrash says most Hebrews abhorred their oppressors' evil ways, and that our ancestors Sarah and Joseph, who both resisted Egyptian advances, imparted all their descendants with this virtuous quality. Midrash also says the requirement to obey God, even while on call to the Egyptians 24 hours a day, has been retained in our genes to this day, proved by the fact that Jews still incorporate service to God in all our waking hours.
All of Israel supported the Levites, who were not enslaved and therefore were not fed by the Egyptians. The Levites engaged in Torah study and proper worship of God to the general population.
Midrash says by removing the men from their wives for hard labor, Pharaoh thought he would stem the "plague" of Hebrew births. To entice the men away, he promised good pay for hard work, but only paid the first month, then placed heavily armed guards to watch over the Jews as they worked without pay except for meager rations. Midrash says that the Hebrew women drew water, God placed numerous little fish in it, so the wives could prepare them to nourish their husbands, who were weary from hard labor. The women disobeyed Pharaoh's commands, endangering themselves in their desire to raise large families. They gave birth to an unprecedented number of healthy offspring, even sextuplets! When the women gave birth while working in the fields and were forced by the Egyptians to abandon their babies, God's angels fed and cleaned the infants. The earth would open to swallow the babies whenever Egyptians searched for them to kill them. The babies miraculously not only sprang up from the earth when the danger was past, but found their way home to their parents! (Midrash sometimes reads like scholarly material and sometimes like a fairy tale, with exaggeration and many hidden meanings, including social commentary.)
Pharaoh ordered Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives who served the Hebrews, to kill all the baby boys, only allowing the girls to live. The midwives, who are not identified clearly in Torah, may or may not have been Hebrews themselves. Midrash says they were none other than Yocheved, Moses' mother, and Miriam, Moses' sister. Regardless of their race, they knew God and feared his wrath. They prayed to God that all the children be born healthy and not disabled in any way so the Hebrews could not blame them for their children's afflictions. When the king summoned them to explain why no baby boys had died, they answered bravely, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, they are vigorous (like animals). Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth." Midrash says the midwives told Pharaoh that the Hebrew ancestor Judah was like a lion, Benjamin, like a wolf, and Naphtali, like a hind. Somehow, Pharaoh believed the midwives and did not put them to death.
Midrash says God rewarded Miriam with a Judean husband and decedents that included the Davidic line. Yocheved became mother not only of Moses, the first Levi, but also Abraham, the first Kohen. Aish.com says Rabbi Moshe Feinstein explained the odd placement in the Torah of "the people multiplied and increased greatly" between "God dealt well with the midwives" and "because the midwives feared God, he established households for them." If the households were the only reward, they would have been mentioned immediately after "God dealt well". The placement of "households" after the "increase" of the people means that the increase was the first and greatest reward.
The Pharaoh, who intended genocide, said, "The final solution seems more complicated than I thought". He called his astrologers and counselors, who according to Midrash, told him that Jews were resistant to all means of death except drowning. Astrologers told himthat the savior of the Jews would soon be born. Pharaoh ordered the Egyptian soldiers to seize every baby boy and throw him into the Nile.
Torah says a Levite couple gave birth to a very beautiful baby boy. Midrash says they named him Tuvyah, Hebrew for "good". (Makes me think of the protagonist in Fiddler on the Roof.) The mother (identified in Midrash and in the following parsha as Yocheved) hid him for three months. We can assume she either shushed his every cry quickly (like America's plains Indians did so others passing near camp would not discover them) or that he was mute. His silence protected him. Eventually the mother felt she could no longer hide him, so she waterproofed a basket and placed the baby in it in the Nile, among the reeds so he could not be swept away. The baby's sister (named Miriam, which means "bitter" because the Egyptians made their lives bitter) stayed within eyesight of him so she could see what happened.
Midrash says Pharaoh's astrologers knew the instant the baby was placed in the water and told Pharaoh he was cast into the Nile. Pharaoh called off the edict to keep killing baby boys. Midrash also says God protected all the babies previously cast into the Nile by commanding the water to spit them out onto dry land. God ordered the rocks on one side of the river to produce honey and the other side to produce oil so the children would not go hungry.
Pharaoh's daughter (named Basya) came to bathe in the Nile. Midrash says she had leprosy. She saw the basket. Her slave girl fetched it for her. Midrash says when Basya touched the basket, her leprosy was healed. When she opened the basket, she SAW the baby boy crying. Torah does not say they heard him, but Midrash says the angel Gabriel made him emit one cry. Pharaoh's daughter pitied him, knowing he must be a Hebrew child. In the third remarkable act of bravery on the part of women, Basya decides to defy her father's order and raise the child. Miriam, in the fourth act of bravery, came forward to ask Basya if she should find a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child. When Basya consented, Miriam ran to get her own mother. The Pharaoh's daughter then offered to pay Yocheved to nurse her own child! When the child was of weaning age, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter. Pharaoh's daughter named the child Moses, which meant she drew him out of the water. Midrash says when Moses grew older, Pharaoh placed him in charge of his household, just as a previous pharaoh did for Joseph.
We know Moses, despite his royal upbringing, thought of himself as a Hebrew and often sympathized with the oppressed. Perhaps Yocheved's brave concern for the Hebrews was passed to him. One day he went out specifically to see the labors forced upon his kin. When he saw an Egyptian mercilessly beating a Hebrew, he looked left and right and thinking no one was watching, killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The following day he saw two Hebrews fighting and admonished the perpetrator, who answered: "Who made you chief and ruler over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses knew he had been seen. He was frightened. Sure enough, Pharaoh found out and tried to kill Moses, but Moses ran away. He ended up in Midian, where he stopped to rest beside a well.
Here the theme of meeting and defending kind women at a well is repeated. In fact, by now, I am beginning to think wells served as matchmakers in ancient times. Perhaps because wells are vessels that sustain life, symbolizing fertility and wombs. The seven daughters of the Midianite priest came to water their flocks, but male shepherds scared them away. "Moses rose to their defense and he watered their flock." When the girls returned home, their father was surprised that they were home so early. Apparently they often had to wait for the shepherds to leave before they could water their animals. They told their father of Moses' behavior. They described him as an Egyptian.
Their father, who we shall see is a virtuous man, was unhappy they did not invite Moses in. He summoned Moses, who accepted their hospitality. The priest gave Moses his daughter Zipporah (which means bird) as his wife. She bore him two sons. Moses, who had been brought up as Egyptian royalty, which despised shepherds, became one for his father in law.
Meanwhile, Pharaoh died, but the Hebrews were still very much enslaved. Their suffering attracted the attention of God, who remembered the Covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Although God had told Abraham his people would be enslaved 400 years, he heard the cries of the Hebrews and decided to intervene after only 210 years. God selected Moses to be his agent.
While Moses was tending sheep, he saw a bush burning but not being consumed. I believe this was a variety of sage called Salvia Judaica, literally Save Jews! It often has seven branches, resembling a menorah. Quite a few websites believe Salvia Judaica is the inspiration for the menorah described to Moses much later, in Exodus 25:31-37. Because the plant has so much natural oil, I wonder if it could burn like a torch, like our Scotch Broom here in Oregon. You can find a very good picture of the plant here: http://www.holidayinisrael.com/ViewPage.asp?lid=1&pid=289.
Moses was fascinated by the burning bush, but realized as he drew close that he should avert his eyes. ( Kabbalah says that Moses was Abel reincarnated. Abel died young (at Cain's hand) because he looked at the Shechinah as he gave his offering. Moses had learned his lesson, humility, from his previous life.) When God called his name, Moses answered as almost all other prophets in the Tanakh would, hinieni, "Here I am!"
God commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh and ask for the release of his people. Moses made it beyond clear that he really did not want to go. (We can imagine, although Torah does not tell it, that he is afraid he would meet certain death since no doubt Pharaoh charged him with murder and treason.) Moses told God that Pharaoh would not obey him, the Israelites wouldn't believe he was their savior and that he was a poor spokesman due to a speech impediment. Finally he asked that someone else be sent in his stead, which angered God. Midrash says that Moses meant that God should send the Messiah instead, but God had reasons for choosing Moses.
The way Moses attempts to protest and bargain with God recalls Abraham's conversations with God, but God deals with Moses more harshly than he ever did with Abraham. Even though God became angry with him, Moses continued to protest all the rest of his life! (Maimonides said that God neither spoke nor had emotions to become angry. Seen through the logic of Maimonides, God's master plan, which Moses was able to perceive, became colored by Moses' own personality.)
Aish.com, quoting Pesikta Rabbasi 15:8, says Moses knew the Israelites expected 400 years of slavery and would doubt him because only 210 had passed. God gave Moses powers to perform three signs to show he was sent by God; later, as we shall see, Pharaoh's sorcerers call these signs mere magic. So I wonder why God would give signs to Moses that could be duplicated by others. Did the Israelites really need these signs? Didn't the righteous among them know the stories of the matriarchs and patriarchs? Is it possible that either they have been so crushed by slavery that they think God has deserted them? Or, as I think, is it possible that God gave these signs to Moses to increase Moses' confidence?
God told Moses He would be with him, the Israelites would believe him and they would come worship Him at this very mountain. The holy ground, where God revealed himself in a burning bush, is the same ground where God, in a cloud of smoke and fire, would give the Commandments and Torah.
Moses returned home and asked his father in law to let him see his kinsmen in Egypt. Jethro said, "Go in peace!" After God told Moses the men who wanted to kill him had died, Moses gathered his wife and sons and began traveling to Egypt. God was still angry, however, and sought to kill Moses while they were encamped. Zipporah, Moses' wife and a convert, knew exactly what to do. She quickly circumcised her son. (How could the liberator of Jews leave his own sons uncircumcised?) God then left Moses alone.
God told Aaron to meet Moses in the wilderness. Moses and Aaron kissed and talked about their instructions, then went on to meet the elders of the Israelites. Aaron did the talking and Moses performed the signs, to the Israelite's satisfaction.
Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh together to ask for permission to take their people to worship God in the wilderness. Pharaoh mocked them, "Who is the Lord that I should heed Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go." Aaron and Moses said that they had seen God, and that God might smite their people with pestilence or sword if they did not worship and sacrifice to Him.
In spite, the following day, Pharaoh ordered the taskmasters to stop providing straw for the bricks the Israelites were building. Not only were the Israelites to gather their own straw, but also they must still make as many bricks as before. Of course, the Israelites, who could not keep up and were beaten, were angry with Moses and Aaron. Moses called out to God, "Oh, Lord, why did You bring harm upon this people? Why did You send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has dealt worse with this people, and still You have not delivered Your people."
Thus this parsha ends.
Rabbi David Wolpe (the author of In Speech and Silence, which among other subjects, discusses Moses' speech impediment) was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying that the Exodus couldn't have happened. Saying the Exodus didn't happen is almost like saying the reason for the Jews' cohesive peoplehood is a lie, like saying we didn't receive and agree to God's Covenant and did not struggle and support each other during nearly unendurable hardship. It is like denying our martyrs the reason they chose death rather than forced conversion through multiple persecutions.
Aish.com says that for most of ancient history (until Herodotus, the first relatively impartial historian, who lived 800 years after the Exodus), recorded "history" was largely propaganda, meant to support the politics of whoever was in power. Egyptians would not want to admit that escaping Hebrew slaves virtually destroyed Egypt and drowned the Pharaoh himself with God's help. Aish uses to support their argument a war in which both sides claimed to be victorious and also the fact that unlike other ancient documents, Torah presents its heroes as real people, with both strengths and faults.
This objective portrayal lends the Torah great credibility. As the writer Israel Zangwill said: "The Bible is an anti-Semitic book. Israel is the villain, not the hero, of his own story. Alone among the epics, it is out for truth, not heroics."
I have read essays and books that refute that Israelites were ever in Egypt or ever conquered Canaan, and also essays and books that say that everything in the Bible is the word for word truth from God. I am inclined to believe that the Bible contains truth that was edited by the rabbis in exile and suffered occasionally from mistranslations. It appears from archaeological evidence that perhaps the Judges version of the takeover of Canaan (which admits that all the Canaanites were not ousted or killed) is more realistic than the Joshua version. I am not inclined to believe the entire Exodus story is fiction. So I was pleased to find the following in Aish.com:
Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner said of Egyptian archaeology: "It must never be forgotten that we are dealing with a civilization thousands of years old and one of which only tiny remnants have survived. What is proudly advertised as Egyptian history is merely a collection of rags and tatters." This sketchy archaeological record makes a document preserved from the Israelite slavery period even more astounding. Known as the Brooklyn Papyrus (because it is in the Brooklyn Museum), this document portrays Israelite names from the Bible as the names of domestic slaves: Asher, Yissachar, and Shifra. The document also includes the term "hapiru" which many scholars agree has clear historical affinity to the biblical term "ivrim," meaning "Hebrews."
The Bible records that Jews built the storage cities of Pitom and Ramses. Austrian archaeologist Manfred Bietak has succeeded in positively identifying the city of Pi-Ramesse. This city he found dates exactly to the period of the sojourn in Egypt, and even contains many Asiatic (of Canaanite origin) remains at the area of the slave residences. Egyptian records also tell how Pharaoh Rameses II built a new capital called Pi-Ramesse (the House of Rameses) on the eastern Nile delta, near the ancient area known as Goshen, the precise geographic area where the Bible places the Israelites.
Further, the Leiden Papyrus (another Egyptian document of that era) reports that an official for the construction of Ramasses II ordered to "distribute grain rations to the soldiers and to the Apiru who transport stones to the great pylon of Ramasses." (Apiru, as we said, is related to Hebrews.) Professor Abraham Malamat of Hebrew University infers from this that the Hebrews were forced to build the city of Ramasses. "This evidence is circumstantial at best," notes Malamat, "but it's as much as a historian can argue."
EXODUS AND DESERT WANDERING
"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land Philistines, although that was near; For God said: "Lest the people repent when they see war and return to Egypt." (Exodus 13:17) Prof. Malamat explains the reason for this detour: At that time in Egyptian history, and lasting for only about 200 years, there was a massive, nearly impenetrable network of fortresses situated along the northern Sinai coastal route to Canaan. Yet these same defenses were absent near Egypt's access to southern Sinai -- because the Egyptians felt the southern route was certain death in the desert. Therefore, when Moses tells the Israelites to encamp at a site that will mislead Pharaoh, the Egyptians will conclude that the Israelites "are entangled in the land, the wilderness has closed in on them" (Exodus 14:3). This, according to Malamat, "reflects a distinctly Egyptian viewpoint that must have been common at the time: In view of the fortresses on the northern coast, anyone seeking to flee Egypt would necessarily make a detour south into the desert, where they might well perish."
...Biblical criticism comes from the late archaeologist Gosta Ahlstrom. He declares: "It is quite clear that the biblical writers knew nothing about events in Palestine before the 10th century BCE, and they certainly didn't know anything of the geography of Palestine in the Late Bronze age," the time of the desert wandering and subsequent conquest of the land of Canaan. Ahlstrom's proof? He cites the biblical listing of cities along the alleged route that the Israelites traveled immediately before reaching the Jordan River -- Iyyim, Divon, Almon-divlatayim, Nevo, and Avel Shittim (Numbers 33:45-50), and reports that most of these locations have not been located, and those that were excavated did not exist at the time the Bible reports.
In the meantime, writings from the walls of Egyptian Temples say differently. It is well known that Egypt had much reason to travel to Canaan in those days; trade, exploitation, military conquest. These routes are recorded in three different Egyptian Temples -- listed in the same order as provided in the Bible, and dated to the exact period of the Israelite conquest of Canaan.
Another piece of outside verification is an ancient inscription housed in the Amman Museum. Dating to the 8th century BCE (at least), it was found in the Jordanian village of Deir Alla, which was Moabite territory in biblical times. This inscription tells of a person by the name of Bilaam ben Beor, known to the locals as a prophet who would receive his prophecies at night. These features match precisely the Bilaam described in the Bible (Numbers 21) -- his full name, occupation, nighttime prophecies. And of course, Bilaam was a Moabite.
CONQUEST OF CANAAN
...Rarely can an archaeologist claim that "this is the very item the Bible spoke about." Yet Dr. Adam Zartal, chairman of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, may have done it. Joshua 8:30-35 tells of the fulfillment of Moses' command to build an altar on Mount Eval (Deut. 27). Zartal reports that his excavation team found this very altar. The place is right, the time is right, and the animal bones are consistent with the biblical offerings. Even the style of the altar is right, in such detail, says Zartal, that it looks nearly identical to the description of the Temple's altar as described in the Talmud -- a uniquely Israelite design that no Canaanite temples used then or later.
Revisionists insist there was no such entity as "Israel" until at least the 9th century BCE. Yet a well known Egyptian inscription dated to about 1210 BCE clearly identifies an Israel in the land of Canaan as a people that had to be reckoned with. The inscription, which depicts the victories of Pharaoh Merneptah in Canaan, reads in part: "Israel is laid waste, his seed is no more." How do revisionists react to this inscription? Dismissively. Says Dever: "They denigrate it as our only known reference. But one unimpeachable witness in the court of history is sufficient. There does exist in Canaan a people calling themselves Israel, who are thus called Israel by the Egyptians -- who after all are hardly biblically biased, and who cannot have invented such a specific and unique people for their own propaganda purposes."
More: In the book of Samuel, the Philistines are reported to be expert metal workers, and in the Book of Jeremiah they are reported to have originated in Crete. Both of these details concerning the Philistines, who were off the political map by the 9th century BCE, are corroborated through archaeology. Furthermore, 1-Samuel 13:19-21 records the Israelites relying on the metal smiths of the Philistines, and a 'pym' used in the tool-sharpening process. But what this 'pym' was has been a mystery. Recent excavations found that an ancient coin weight called a "pym," which was used exclusively during the Israelite settlement period, was apparently the payment for the service of sharpening. Posits Dever: "Is it possible that a writer in the 2nd century BCE could have known of the existence of these pym weights which... would have disappeared for 5 centuries before his time? It is not possible."
Additionally, in the hill regions of Judea and Samaria (the heartland of ancient Israel), approximately 300 small agricultural villages were found, built between the 13-11th centuries BCE, the time period of the Israelite conquest of the land. According to Dever, this represented a large population increase that did not come from the native population. He writes, “Such a dramatic population increase cannot be accounted for by natural increase alone, much less by positing small groups of pastoral nomads settling down. Large numbers of people must have migrated here from somewhere else, strongly motivated to colonize an under populated fringe area of urban Canaan now in decline at the end of the Late Bronze Age.” Also, the type of house structure was unique, and matched descriptions in the books of Judges and Samuel. Additionally, all of the settlements lacked any pig remnants amongst animal bones left in the area; only the Jews had a pigless diet.
There is more; to read it for yourself, go to Aish.com, Archaeology and the Bible, Parts I and II
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Torah portion Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah portion Genesis 41:1-44:17
Two years later, Pharaoh had dreams in which 7 sturdy, healthy cows came up out of a river were devoured by 7 gaunt cows and also that 7 fat ears of grain growing on a single stalk were eaten by 7 scorched ears. He sent for all the magicians and wise men, but none could interpret the dreams. In the more disturbing dream, seven fat and happy cows come up out of the river, to be followed by seven skinny and ugly cows, who after a small hesitation while they are all side by side, DEVOUR THE FAT COWS ALIVE! Even though the USDA once fed cow parts to cows and still insists it is ok to feeding chicken litter to cows (after the chickens have eaten cow parts themselves), cows are neither carnivores nor cannibals.
There is a subtle anti-idolatry message: the Pharaoh considered himself a diety, the river was also divine AND he called all the magicians in. Then the cupbearer remembered Joseph and they sent for him. Joseph said he did not interpret dreams, but God did through him. Joseph interpreted that there would be seven good years and seven years of famine. He recommended that a man be appointed to oversee the harvest so that food may be stored in advance for the famine years. Pharaoh must have realized by now that his ways weren't working and was ready to seek another way; he saw that God was known to Joseph. He made Joseph this overseer, the second in command over all Egypt. Someone in Torah study asked if this was opportunism or a true turning. It does seem to me that this Pharaoh, presented as a minor hero, did have a true turning; in the very next parsha, it says the next Pharaoh did not know Joseph.
Pharaoh gave Joseph his own signet ring as well as gold chains, linen garments, a chariot and a wife who was the daughter of a priest. (Some say this wife was the daughter of Potiphar, which would be interesting not only on a sexual level, but also because a steward/priest is an unusual combination, but my JPS text shows the names are similar but not the same; this girl is the daughter of Poti-phera. Not being able to read Hebrew, I don't know which is correct.) The children of this union were named Ephraim and Manasseh. Pharaoh also gave Joseph the name of Zaphenath-paneah, which my JPS edition says means "God speaks; he lives." "Joseph" means "increase."
Joseph traveled the country, gathering food during the seven years of plenty, and storing it in the cities closest to the fields that grew it. Joseph gathered grain in such plenty it (echoing the promise of God to his ancestors) was like the grains of the sea, beyond counting.
When the famine came, Joseph rationed out the food. The famine spread throughout the world so all the world came to Joseph to procure ration. Jacob urged his sons to go to Egypt to secure food, also. (Jacob said, "Why do you keep looking at one another!" like they were really slow- witted. Another translation says, "Why are you showing off?" This may be a better translation; it was around during Rashi's time and Rashi said the brothers were acting as if they had plenty to eat when their stores were running low.) Jacob sent all the brothers except Benjamin, the youngest, fearing that he would come to a bad end if he went with the others. He must have understood in his heart that the older brothers were at least somewhat responsible for what happened to Joseph.
Joseph recognized the brothers, but the brothers did not recognize him as they bowed low to him, like the wheat sheaves of Joseph's dream when he was young. Joseph spoke harshly to them, accusing them of being spies. He demanded to know who they were and where they were from. He said he would give them nothing unless they bring the youngest brother to him. He confined them all in the guardhouse for three days to think about it, then came back and said if they left one remaining, the rest could go to bring back the brother. As long as they brought back the brother, they would come to no harm. Reuben chastised the others; he had told them not to do wrong to Joseph and now they were paying the price. Joseph heard and wept.
Joseph took Simeon and bound him. (Why Simeon, the second son, who has already displeased Jacob? Perhaps he remembered that Reuben and Judah, the other two oldest, had both not wanted to kill him.) Joseph then gave orders that the brothers' sacks be filled with grain, that their money be quietly placed within the sacks and they be given provisions for the journey. The brothers were afraid when they saw their money had been returned; they feared being accused of thievery.
The brothers went home and told Jacob what transpired. They said they must return with Benjamin in order to rescue Simeon and ensure they could all move freely about the land. Jacob, of course, answered, "Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more and now you would take away Benjamin!" Reuben offered his father, "You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care and I will return him to you." Jacob refused. He appeared to wallow in self pity: "It is always me that you bereave; these things always happen to me!" He said, in an obvious slight to the other brothers, "My son must not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left."
The famine worsened and the family ran out of rations. Eventually Jacob asked the brothers to go back for more food, but Judah reminded him that they could not return without Benjamin. Jacob (called Israel here) was angry with them for even mentioning they had another brother! (And who can blame him?) Judah said he would himself be surety for Benjamin, and that they must go, they could already have been there and back twice if they had not dawdled. So Jacob asked them to take gifts for the man, as well as double the money. (The gifts included nuts during a time of famine; Jacob was sending what was very precious to him and what was most precious, Benjamin.)
So the brothers took gifts, double the money and Benjamin. Joseph had his house steward bring the brothers into the house and prepare a feast. They were afraid and pleaded with the steward that they did not know how the money got back in their bags the last time. The steward said all was well, that he got their money and God must have gifted them. He returned Simeon to them. The steward brought water for them to bathe their feet and he fed their asses.
The brothers waited for Joseph, gifts laid out conspicuously. They bowed low before Joseph. Joseph saw Benjamin and was so overcome, he had to hurry out of the room to weep. He washed his face, regained control of himself and ordered that the meal be served. Benjamin's serving was three times that of anyone else.
Note here that the Egyptians could not dine with the Hebrews, not even with Joseph, who ate at a table alone. Joseph ate by himself; the brothers ate by themselves and the Egyptians ate by themselves!
Joseph sent all the brothers off with plentiful grain and all the money they came with. He had his silver goblet sneaked into Benjamin's bag. Then he had his steward overtake them, pretending to think they had stolen his silver goblet. The brothers all protested that they would never do such a thing and if anyone among them be found with any silver or gold, let that person die and the rest of them become slaves of Josephs! The steward replied only the one with whom the silver was found would be a slave; the rest would go free. The brothers rent their clothes when Benjamin's bag held the goblet. This story is reminiscent of the one in which Jacob protested to Laban that he did not have the idols, when his favorite wife did, in fact, have them.
The brothers all returned to Joseph and threw themselves on the ground before him. He demanded to know why they would take an object he needed for divination! Judah pleaded that they would all serve as his slaves, but Joseph said he would only keep the younger.
In Torah study, we were fascinated by the psychology of the tale. Could Joseph have sent notice to his father that he was alive and doing well? What if he thought his father were part of the scheme to remove him from the household? After all, his father sent him far away to look for the brothers. My fiance wondered if maybe the living mothers even were responsible. Joseph's mother was long dead. He had no protector at home. We know that Joseph "brought bad reports" of the brothers to his father. We also know his father favored him and would give him a double portion, even though the next in line once Reuben was removed from his position of power would have been a concubine's son, certainly not Joseph, who was born tenth. We know Joseph had good reason to fear his brothers.
It's hard to know why Joseph insisted on framing Benjamin, and there are no clues as to how Benjamin felt about it. Like Dinah earlier, his reactions are deemed unimportant. It is Judah who matters. Two people in Torah study brought up a spiritual reason for Joseph's strange and cruel seeming plan to entrap Benjamin. He was able to orchestrate a similar scenario with taking him from his father and making him a slave in a foreign land. Instead of Joseph being merely spiteful, he is giving the brothers the chance to redeem themselves. And Judah, who by now has grown significantly, does.
Two Torah study members, looking forward to whether Joseph foreshadowed Moses, looked backwards at the previous parsha and discussed whether Joseph was shepherding with the brothers or whether he was shepherding the brothers themselves. Cain said, "Am I my brothers keeper?" In the story of Joseph, the answer clearly is yes, we must be our brothers' keepers.
Another message in this parsha is that we must remember to plan ahead; we may not have the gift of prescience like Joseph did. Joseph's brothers mistreated their own during times of plenty and were unusually blessed that Joseph treated them well during times of scarcity. This is not the way the world usually works. It is much harder (and we see this in the Torah over and over) for people to remember to serve God and their fellows in good times.
Two years later, Pharaoh had dreams in which 7 sturdy, healthy cows came up out of a river were devoured by 7 gaunt cows and also that 7 fat ears of grain growing on a single stalk were eaten by 7 scorched ears. He sent for all the magicians and wise men, but none could interpret the dreams. In the more disturbing dream, seven fat and happy cows come up out of the river, to be followed by seven skinny and ugly cows, who after a small hesitation while they are all side by side, DEVOUR THE FAT COWS ALIVE! Even though the USDA once fed cow parts to cows and still insists it is ok to feeding chicken litter to cows (after the chickens have eaten cow parts themselves), cows are neither carnivores nor cannibals.
There is a subtle anti-idolatry message: the Pharaoh considered himself a diety, the river was also divine AND he called all the magicians in. Then the cupbearer remembered Joseph and they sent for him. Joseph said he did not interpret dreams, but God did through him. Joseph interpreted that there would be seven good years and seven years of famine. He recommended that a man be appointed to oversee the harvest so that food may be stored in advance for the famine years. Pharaoh must have realized by now that his ways weren't working and was ready to seek another way; he saw that God was known to Joseph. He made Joseph this overseer, the second in command over all Egypt. Someone in Torah study asked if this was opportunism or a true turning. It does seem to me that this Pharaoh, presented as a minor hero, did have a true turning; in the very next parsha, it says the next Pharaoh did not know Joseph.
Pharaoh gave Joseph his own signet ring as well as gold chains, linen garments, a chariot and a wife who was the daughter of a priest. (Some say this wife was the daughter of Potiphar, which would be interesting not only on a sexual level, but also because a steward/priest is an unusual combination, but my JPS text shows the names are similar but not the same; this girl is the daughter of Poti-phera. Not being able to read Hebrew, I don't know which is correct.) The children of this union were named Ephraim and Manasseh. Pharaoh also gave Joseph the name of Zaphenath-paneah, which my JPS edition says means "God speaks; he lives." "Joseph" means "increase."
Joseph traveled the country, gathering food during the seven years of plenty, and storing it in the cities closest to the fields that grew it. Joseph gathered grain in such plenty it (echoing the promise of God to his ancestors) was like the grains of the sea, beyond counting.
When the famine came, Joseph rationed out the food. The famine spread throughout the world so all the world came to Joseph to procure ration. Jacob urged his sons to go to Egypt to secure food, also. (Jacob said, "Why do you keep looking at one another!" like they were really slow- witted. Another translation says, "Why are you showing off?" This may be a better translation; it was around during Rashi's time and Rashi said the brothers were acting as if they had plenty to eat when their stores were running low.) Jacob sent all the brothers except Benjamin, the youngest, fearing that he would come to a bad end if he went with the others. He must have understood in his heart that the older brothers were at least somewhat responsible for what happened to Joseph.
Joseph recognized the brothers, but the brothers did not recognize him as they bowed low to him, like the wheat sheaves of Joseph's dream when he was young. Joseph spoke harshly to them, accusing them of being spies. He demanded to know who they were and where they were from. He said he would give them nothing unless they bring the youngest brother to him. He confined them all in the guardhouse for three days to think about it, then came back and said if they left one remaining, the rest could go to bring back the brother. As long as they brought back the brother, they would come to no harm. Reuben chastised the others; he had told them not to do wrong to Joseph and now they were paying the price. Joseph heard and wept.
Joseph took Simeon and bound him. (Why Simeon, the second son, who has already displeased Jacob? Perhaps he remembered that Reuben and Judah, the other two oldest, had both not wanted to kill him.) Joseph then gave orders that the brothers' sacks be filled with grain, that their money be quietly placed within the sacks and they be given provisions for the journey. The brothers were afraid when they saw their money had been returned; they feared being accused of thievery.
The brothers went home and told Jacob what transpired. They said they must return with Benjamin in order to rescue Simeon and ensure they could all move freely about the land. Jacob, of course, answered, "Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more and now you would take away Benjamin!" Reuben offered his father, "You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care and I will return him to you." Jacob refused. He appeared to wallow in self pity: "It is always me that you bereave; these things always happen to me!" He said, in an obvious slight to the other brothers, "My son must not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left."
The famine worsened and the family ran out of rations. Eventually Jacob asked the brothers to go back for more food, but Judah reminded him that they could not return without Benjamin. Jacob (called Israel here) was angry with them for even mentioning they had another brother! (And who can blame him?) Judah said he would himself be surety for Benjamin, and that they must go, they could already have been there and back twice if they had not dawdled. So Jacob asked them to take gifts for the man, as well as double the money. (The gifts included nuts during a time of famine; Jacob was sending what was very precious to him and what was most precious, Benjamin.)
So the brothers took gifts, double the money and Benjamin. Joseph had his house steward bring the brothers into the house and prepare a feast. They were afraid and pleaded with the steward that they did not know how the money got back in their bags the last time. The steward said all was well, that he got their money and God must have gifted them. He returned Simeon to them. The steward brought water for them to bathe their feet and he fed their asses.
The brothers waited for Joseph, gifts laid out conspicuously. They bowed low before Joseph. Joseph saw Benjamin and was so overcome, he had to hurry out of the room to weep. He washed his face, regained control of himself and ordered that the meal be served. Benjamin's serving was three times that of anyone else.
Note here that the Egyptians could not dine with the Hebrews, not even with Joseph, who ate at a table alone. Joseph ate by himself; the brothers ate by themselves and the Egyptians ate by themselves!
Joseph sent all the brothers off with plentiful grain and all the money they came with. He had his silver goblet sneaked into Benjamin's bag. Then he had his steward overtake them, pretending to think they had stolen his silver goblet. The brothers all protested that they would never do such a thing and if anyone among them be found with any silver or gold, let that person die and the rest of them become slaves of Josephs! The steward replied only the one with whom the silver was found would be a slave; the rest would go free. The brothers rent their clothes when Benjamin's bag held the goblet. This story is reminiscent of the one in which Jacob protested to Laban that he did not have the idols, when his favorite wife did, in fact, have them.
The brothers all returned to Joseph and threw themselves on the ground before him. He demanded to know why they would take an object he needed for divination! Judah pleaded that they would all serve as his slaves, but Joseph said he would only keep the younger.
In Torah study, we were fascinated by the psychology of the tale. Could Joseph have sent notice to his father that he was alive and doing well? What if he thought his father were part of the scheme to remove him from the household? After all, his father sent him far away to look for the brothers. My fiance wondered if maybe the living mothers even were responsible. Joseph's mother was long dead. He had no protector at home. We know that Joseph "brought bad reports" of the brothers to his father. We also know his father favored him and would give him a double portion, even though the next in line once Reuben was removed from his position of power would have been a concubine's son, certainly not Joseph, who was born tenth. We know Joseph had good reason to fear his brothers.
It's hard to know why Joseph insisted on framing Benjamin, and there are no clues as to how Benjamin felt about it. Like Dinah earlier, his reactions are deemed unimportant. It is Judah who matters. Two people in Torah study brought up a spiritual reason for Joseph's strange and cruel seeming plan to entrap Benjamin. He was able to orchestrate a similar scenario with taking him from his father and making him a slave in a foreign land. Instead of Joseph being merely spiteful, he is giving the brothers the chance to redeem themselves. And Judah, who by now has grown significantly, does.
Two Torah study members, looking forward to whether Joseph foreshadowed Moses, looked backwards at the previous parsha and discussed whether Joseph was shepherding with the brothers or whether he was shepherding the brothers themselves. Cain said, "Am I my brothers keeper?" In the story of Joseph, the answer clearly is yes, we must be our brothers' keepers.
Another message in this parsha is that we must remember to plan ahead; we may not have the gift of prescience like Joseph did. Joseph's brothers mistreated their own during times of plenty and were unusually blessed that Joseph treated them well during times of scarcity. This is not the way the world usually works. It is much harder (and we see this in the Torah over and over) for people to remember to serve God and their fellows in good times.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Speech Given About The Spiritual and Emotional Growth of Jacob, Joseph and Judah
The assignment for the last speech of Speech 111 was to deliver a 5 minute speech on any subject we wished, off an outline only, with nearly non-stop eye contact and feeling. My first thought was to do the story of Joseph, and then I thought maybe not, because my classmates are secular or Christian, and nearly all are at least 20 years younger than I and look bored most of the time. Could I interest them in a Biblical story?
I ended up deciding that I could interest others in what interested me, and I loved studying these two parshas. The trick would be to use an opening that would appeal to bored 20 year olds, so when you read my introduction, please do not take offense.
Below is my five minute speech.
Have you ever wondered how Bible stories are supposed to inspire when many characters who did good deeds were punished anyway? And the matriarchs and patriarchs entire lives seemed dominated by jealous, destructive and manipulative behavior? In a sea of soap opera story lines, one dysfunctional family not only grew emotionally and spiritually, but also shared a happy ending! Today I will show how Jacob and his sons Judah and Joseph evolved by telling of their behavior before and after Joseph was sold into slavery.
The patriarch Jacob was the second born twin in a society that gave first born sons a majority of the inheritance. He and his brother were both physically strong, but he was smarter and tricked his brother out of both his birthright and his father’s blessing. Later in his life he remained unable to solve problems without brute strength or trickery. He let his young sons make very poor choices.
Joseph was the tenth born son, but favored because he was the first born of his father’s favorite and most beautiful wife. He was precocious and handsome, but socially inept. He was somehow unaware that his brothers would resent his tattling on them and boasting of dreams in which he became their master. When Jacob gifted him with an expensive multicolored coat, Joseph did not even have the sense to wear it only for special occasions. He wore it everywhere, even out in the fields with his brothers while they herded sheep.
The brothers already proved themselves violent over reactors by previously killing every male in a town because one man violated their sister. They threw Joseph into a pit and sat down to eat their lunch, discussing how to kill him. Judah suggested they sell him as a slave rather than kill him themselves. They smeared the blood of a goat on Joseph’s coat, returned home and asked Jacob, “Please examine this; is it your son’s tunic or not?”
Jacob’s own behavior to his father was being brought back to haunt him. When his father was old and blind, Jacob applied goat kid hair to his skin so his father would think he was his hairy twin Esau.
Years pass, during which it seems that Jacob, Joseph and Judah all reflect on what they have done wrong and how they have hurt others. During this time Judah has trouble with his own sons, two of whom displease God and die young.
Joseph still has growing to do before he has enough wisdom and empathy to save the entire world known to the Israelites at that time. So we shall move on to his life after he was sold into slavery by his brothers.
Joseph was purchased by the chief steward of the Pharaoh, Potiphar, who quickly noticed that everything Joseph did went exceptionally well. He placed Joseph in charge of his entire household.
God was with Joseph, but Joseph was still vain. The rabbis of the Talmud said Joseph slicked down his eyebrows and curled his hair! Joseph’s beauty attracted Potiphar’s wife; she repeatedly tried to seduce him. Finally she commanded him, “Lie with me!” She grabbed him by his coat and tore it. Repeating the behavior of his brothers, she used the coat in a lie, claiming that Joseph had tried to rape her.
Joseph was thrown into another sort of pit, a dungeon. While imprisoned, he was given more management training; he was put in charge of all the other inmates. He noticed that the Pharaoh’s imprisoned baker and wine steward were particularly downcast one day and he asked them why.
They had dreams that no one else could interpret. When Joseph was a child, he did not credit God for his dreams. In jail, however, he learned not only compassion, but also humility. He made it clear that God sent dreams and he, Joseph, was merely interpreting them with God’s help. The Wine Steward would be forgiven by Pharaoh and restored to his post. However, the Baker would be put to death. The dreams came to pass as he said.
But although Joseph gave credit to God for the interpretations, he had not yet learned to admit he needed God’s help. Instead, he asked the Wine Steward to get him out of jail.
The steward forgot him. Joseph languished another two years, giving him ample time to reflect.
Then the Pharaoh himself had two dreams no one could interpret. The steward remembered him and Joseph was brought to the court. Again he gave God credit for both the dreams and his interpretation of them. Seven years of famine in Egypt would follow seven years of plenty. Joseph recommended that food be stored during the years of plenty. His wisdom and direct line to God pleased the Pharaoh, who made Joseph second in command.
Joseph traveled throughout Egypt to gather and store grain. When the famine came, Joseph doled out grain in exchange for money, livestock and human labor. Not only did he ensure the continuance of the Egyptian race, but he also made the Pharaoh very rich.
By the time his own brothers arrived to procure food, they did not even recognize him. Joseph fed them well, taking no payment, but pressing them for information about his father and youngest brother Benjamin. He demanded Benjamin be brought to him.
Judah, who knew how greatly Jacob doted on Benjamin, offered himself as a slave to Joseph rather than taking Benjamin from his father. Judah, who showed only a shred of empathy for Joseph and none for his father when the brothers wanted to kill Joseph, had learned to love and to put his own welfare last.
Joseph finally revealed his identity. He assured the brothers they need not fear retribution, because God intended he be sold into slavery in order to give him the opportunity to save them all from famine. As a child favored only by his father, he was conceited. Favored by the entire known world, he had learned humility.
Jacob, now over 100 years old, had never been a very involved parent. However, when he heard that not only was Joseph alive and well, but forgave his brothers and would guarantee their survival, Jacob rejoiced and finally became a wise leader of his family.
From the most inspirational family story in the Bible, we learn that hardship and time can help teach even the toughest and most self centered characters humility and kindness.
I ended up deciding that I could interest others in what interested me, and I loved studying these two parshas. The trick would be to use an opening that would appeal to bored 20 year olds, so when you read my introduction, please do not take offense.
Below is my five minute speech.
Have you ever wondered how Bible stories are supposed to inspire when many characters who did good deeds were punished anyway? And the matriarchs and patriarchs entire lives seemed dominated by jealous, destructive and manipulative behavior? In a sea of soap opera story lines, one dysfunctional family not only grew emotionally and spiritually, but also shared a happy ending! Today I will show how Jacob and his sons Judah and Joseph evolved by telling of their behavior before and after Joseph was sold into slavery.
The patriarch Jacob was the second born twin in a society that gave first born sons a majority of the inheritance. He and his brother were both physically strong, but he was smarter and tricked his brother out of both his birthright and his father’s blessing. Later in his life he remained unable to solve problems without brute strength or trickery. He let his young sons make very poor choices.
Joseph was the tenth born son, but favored because he was the first born of his father’s favorite and most beautiful wife. He was precocious and handsome, but socially inept. He was somehow unaware that his brothers would resent his tattling on them and boasting of dreams in which he became their master. When Jacob gifted him with an expensive multicolored coat, Joseph did not even have the sense to wear it only for special occasions. He wore it everywhere, even out in the fields with his brothers while they herded sheep.
The brothers already proved themselves violent over reactors by previously killing every male in a town because one man violated their sister. They threw Joseph into a pit and sat down to eat their lunch, discussing how to kill him. Judah suggested they sell him as a slave rather than kill him themselves. They smeared the blood of a goat on Joseph’s coat, returned home and asked Jacob, “Please examine this; is it your son’s tunic or not?”
Jacob’s own behavior to his father was being brought back to haunt him. When his father was old and blind, Jacob applied goat kid hair to his skin so his father would think he was his hairy twin Esau.
Years pass, during which it seems that Jacob, Joseph and Judah all reflect on what they have done wrong and how they have hurt others. During this time Judah has trouble with his own sons, two of whom displease God and die young.
Joseph still has growing to do before he has enough wisdom and empathy to save the entire world known to the Israelites at that time. So we shall move on to his life after he was sold into slavery by his brothers.
Joseph was purchased by the chief steward of the Pharaoh, Potiphar, who quickly noticed that everything Joseph did went exceptionally well. He placed Joseph in charge of his entire household.
God was with Joseph, but Joseph was still vain. The rabbis of the Talmud said Joseph slicked down his eyebrows and curled his hair! Joseph’s beauty attracted Potiphar’s wife; she repeatedly tried to seduce him. Finally she commanded him, “Lie with me!” She grabbed him by his coat and tore it. Repeating the behavior of his brothers, she used the coat in a lie, claiming that Joseph had tried to rape her.
Joseph was thrown into another sort of pit, a dungeon. While imprisoned, he was given more management training; he was put in charge of all the other inmates. He noticed that the Pharaoh’s imprisoned baker and wine steward were particularly downcast one day and he asked them why.
They had dreams that no one else could interpret. When Joseph was a child, he did not credit God for his dreams. In jail, however, he learned not only compassion, but also humility. He made it clear that God sent dreams and he, Joseph, was merely interpreting them with God’s help. The Wine Steward would be forgiven by Pharaoh and restored to his post. However, the Baker would be put to death. The dreams came to pass as he said.
But although Joseph gave credit to God for the interpretations, he had not yet learned to admit he needed God’s help. Instead, he asked the Wine Steward to get him out of jail.
The steward forgot him. Joseph languished another two years, giving him ample time to reflect.
Then the Pharaoh himself had two dreams no one could interpret. The steward remembered him and Joseph was brought to the court. Again he gave God credit for both the dreams and his interpretation of them. Seven years of famine in Egypt would follow seven years of plenty. Joseph recommended that food be stored during the years of plenty. His wisdom and direct line to God pleased the Pharaoh, who made Joseph second in command.
Joseph traveled throughout Egypt to gather and store grain. When the famine came, Joseph doled out grain in exchange for money, livestock and human labor. Not only did he ensure the continuance of the Egyptian race, but he also made the Pharaoh very rich.
By the time his own brothers arrived to procure food, they did not even recognize him. Joseph fed them well, taking no payment, but pressing them for information about his father and youngest brother Benjamin. He demanded Benjamin be brought to him.
Judah, who knew how greatly Jacob doted on Benjamin, offered himself as a slave to Joseph rather than taking Benjamin from his father. Judah, who showed only a shred of empathy for Joseph and none for his father when the brothers wanted to kill Joseph, had learned to love and to put his own welfare last.
Joseph finally revealed his identity. He assured the brothers they need not fear retribution, because God intended he be sold into slavery in order to give him the opportunity to save them all from famine. As a child favored only by his father, he was conceited. Favored by the entire known world, he had learned humility.
Jacob, now over 100 years old, had never been a very involved parent. However, when he heard that not only was Joseph alive and well, but forgave his brothers and would guarantee their survival, Jacob rejoiced and finally became a wise leader of his family.
From the most inspirational family story in the Bible, we learn that hardship and time can help teach even the toughest and most self centered characters humility and kindness.
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