This Week’s Readings:
Torah: Exodus 10:1-13:16

On the Chabad website the following question was asked: “Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is this world so unfair? Please don't tell me ‘We can't understand G‑d's ways.’ I am sick of hearing that. I want an explanation.”  We all struggle with the suffering of the innocent, and we have all heard reasons why God allows such situations to occur. But what about when God decides to actually destroy someone: is this justice?

In the Torah portion we read a very peculiar situation with the opening verses. God Himself is planning to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Perhaps, you have not noticed earlier, but throughout last week’s parasha, Va’era, Pharaoh was hardening his own heart (or his heart was “hardened”). God was not involved according to the text until the beginning of Parshat Bo. So, one might ask: How could God do this to Pharaoh? What was Pharaoh supposed to do now!? God was planning to destroy him! This is true. There was nothing that Pharaoh could do at this point. He had “passed…the point of no return…the final threshold…”m It was only when God completely decimated Pharaoh and his household that he let the people go (not including what happens at the Red Sea in next week’s parasha). It appears that Pharaoh’s continuation in pursuinf sin resulted in God using Pharaoh for His glory … to Pharaoh’s own demise.

by Mark Rantz, leader of Congregation Rosh Pina, Maryland

Beginning with Parashat Shemot, and continuing into Parashat Va'era, the theme of rescue and redemption is established as not only a motif for the Book of Exodus, but also as a model for the rest of Scripture. In Parashat Shemot we hear God's heart, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering" (Ex. 3:7). Likewise in Va'era Adonai continues, "I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving and I will remember my covenant" (Ex. 6:5).

Theologian Dr. Forrest Weiland summarizes this central biblical theme: "The redemption, formation and preparation of the Hebrews to worship God comprise the major theme of the Book of Shemot. Whereas Bereshit reveals the origins of the chosen nation, the Book of Shemot explains how the Abrahamic family came to be a nation. God created the nation by supernaturally redeeming and delivering Abraham's family from slavery in Egypt. He delivered the Hebrews (Exodus 1-18) in order to establish His own rule (Exodus 19-24) and to be worshipped by His chosen people (Exodus 25-40)."

Whether it be in the Akedah with the ram in the thicket, in our deliverance from Egypt after 400 years of servitude under Pharaoh, or culminating with the coming of Yeshua our Mashiach as Hashem's final sacrifice, this theme of rescue and redemption is replete throughout the whole of Scripture.

When Adonai saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, “Moshe! Moshe!” He answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov.” Moshe hid his face, because he was afraid to look upon God. Exodus 3:4–6

We sometimes like to think that we’re on a spiritual quest, searching for God, and this idea fits right into the ethos of our day, which would make spirituality into an accessory for a full and satisfying life. Torah turns this idea on its head to reveal that we flatter ourselves with the idea that we’re looking for God; in reality it’s God who is looking for us. Indeed, God’s search for humankind is one of his distinguishing marks in Scripture.

So, early in Exodus, the hero of the story, Moshe, is herding his father-in-law’s sheep “on the far side of the desert”—a nice way of saying “in the middle of nowhere”—when God reveals himself to him out of a burning bush.  Moshe has to turn aside from his own way to see what’s going on (Ex. 3:1–3). And when he does, he realizes that he’s encountering God and he hides his face in fear.

The significance that this week’s parshah, Vayechi,is bookended by two deaths, those of Jacob and Joseph, is both unavoidable and undeniable. But the events concerning the burial of both patriarchs, and the emphasis on their skeletal remains, are both enigmatic and intriguing.  Both men make their successors swear to lay their bones to rest in the land of Israel, and these promises are ultimately fulfilled.So, what significance can be found in the return of Jacob and Joseph's bones to the land of Israel?

Perhaps an interesting alliteration might shed some light on this question. The Torah is written without nikkudim, the vowel pointing that often helps us to distinguish between similar words. The absence of nikkudim can make for some interesting and evocative wordplay when reading the text. When the text of the Torah is not vocalized, the word for bones (atzamot) can also be read as essence (atzmut).  Also the word for independence (atzma’ut) is derived from the root word for bone (etzem). 

So the removing of Joseph and Jacob's bones might be read as liberation of both their bodies and their spirits from Egypt.

Each year we celebrate the heroics of a few individuals who chose to stand up for God. The Maccabim are those individuals, and we remember their willingness to keep their focus on God's calling and purpose for their lives, regardless of the personal costs. It would have been very easy for Judah and the others to just keep their eyes on meeting their own needs for food, clothing and comfort, but they saw their lives as part of God's eternal plan for Israel. They willingly and sacrificially submitted themselves to serving that plan, which they considered far more meaningful than simply serving themselves. As followers of Messiah Yeshua within the Jewish community, we can easily become preoccupied with all kinds of things in the course of life that might seem interesting and meaningful for us personally, but we must never lose sight of the fact that in God's eyes our job, like that of the Maccabim, consists of one simple thing: being ready and prepared for God's eternally important spiritual service!

This Motsei Shabbat (Hebrew for the “end of Shabbat”, on Saturday evening) marks the beginning of Hanukkah.  This year, as our celebration of Shabbat ends, our celebration of Hanukkah begins. Today I stood in my windy, drizzly backyard, looking towards the north, seeing the very area where the first battles of the war that sparked our holiday of Hanukkah began. These hills are sometimes called the “Gophna Hills.” It was here that Judah led a Jewish militia in what was a tremendous set of military upsets. These battles against the Hellenizing Seleucid Empire pitted a Jewish army led by loyal priests against an elephant-riding cavalry made up of professional soldiers. These early military confrontations in the Gophna Hills (from the Bet Horon to Givat Ze’ev area of today’s Israel, along the #443 road) paved the way for the retaking of the Holy City and the rededication of our Temple, led by Judah’s family.

All around us are the sites of the Hanukkah story, bringing the memories of those days into greater focus. As I look south, I can make out the biblical site of Mitspah, a mere kilometer from my home. It is the highest point in the Jerusalem area. King Solomon had given a thousand offerings from that height, and had his incredible, God-inspired dream as recorded in 1 Kings 3.4-16. My son and I have climbed that hill a few times together, to ask HaShem for wisdom, and to pray from its blustery heights for our people.

Hanukkah at the Western Wall, photo by D. Friedman