This week, our family will be
boarding a plane and heading to the West Coast. Even though Winter barely
officially begun, the cold and the snow makes it seem like we are in the middle
of February. So a visit to sunny (hopefully) Southern California is an eagerly
anticipated break from the cold and the snow.
Besides visiting Los Angeles, the home of my wife’s sister, her husband
and their four children; we also make it a point to visit San Diego and the
community in which we lived prior to moving to Toronto. Our visit to San Diego
is as much as a desire to visit as it is a sense of obligation to our chevre (our
community). This obligation runs both
ways: when members of our community are in Toronto, or are making their way to
the East Coast, quite frequently, our friends make it a point to visit us. We
feel that as long as we are on the West Coast and less than 150 miles away, we
make it a point to visit them. For me, at least, it is important to remind
myself that I am connected to a past, and to a community that was quite unique.
Not only were these friends; they were my surrogate family since most of our
families were back East. Our visit to
San Diego is always a connection to our past.
This week’s Parsha is the first
Parsha of the second book of the Torah: Exodus or Shmot. Parsha Shmot In this
week’s Parsha,
Shmot, we encounter a man who is born a Jew, but he grows up in the Pharaoh’s
Palace. He is a totally assimilated Jew. Pharaoh’s daughter
gives him an Egyptian name, “Moshe” (Ex 2:10). After
fleeing Egypt, this well-bred, noble Egyptian, is befriended by a non-Jewish
(Midian) priest, and marries his non-Jewish daughter (Ex 2:21). While
shepherding his father-in-law’s flocks (Ex. 3:1), he experiences a revelation. Through an insignificant thorn
bush that burns, he sees an angel and then God (Ex.3:1-3). God tells Moshe of the covenant and that he has been hired
to lead B’nai Yisroel out of Egypt. Moshe humbly explains that he is the wrong
person for the job. Eventually God convinces and then tells Moshe that
he has been designated as the person who will fulfill the plan. Moshe goes to
Egypt, and the first steps in the freeing of Bnai Yisroel from slavery begin.
Throughout the Parsha, we encounter
several moments where we are reminded that this second book, Shmot is deeply
connected to Breishit. The Torah reminds us of this connection linguistically,
literarily and thematically. The first letter of the Parsha, “vav” connects
Shmot to the previous book. The Parsha should have begun with the words Eilah Shmot – these are the names. Because the Parsha begins with V’Eilah Shmot – And these are the names; we are reminded that something came before
what we are about to read (Yetziat
Mitzrayim- Exodus). We are
reminded that the Exodus is deeply connected to Genesis. Moshe makes his way up to a “Mountain of God”
(Sinai/Horev) in search of a lamb only to experience God calling out to him
twice and experiencing a revelation; we are reminded of Avraham Avinu heading
toward a “Mountain of God” (Har Moriah), with his son Yitzchak, experiencing
God calling out to him twice, a revelation and search for a lamb/offering that
happened to be stuck in a thicket. We are reminded that both Avraham and Moshe
experienced a private revelation and were privy to God’s plan/prophecy
concerning Bnai Yisroel. Later, when God has to convince Moshe to go to Egypt
in order to fulfill God’s plan; we are reminded of Yaakov Avinu’s hesitancy to
descend to Egypt and fulfill God’s plan. In both cases, God needs to explain
and re-assure both leaders that everything will be for the good.
The subtle reminders and
connections between Sefer Shmot and Sefer Breishit serve two functions. For the
Moshe and Bnai Yisroel who was enslaved at the time, the covenant made between
God and the Patriarchs in Breishit served as a source of strength for their
enslaved descendants. For Moshe, even though he was raised in the Egyptian
palace, he was also a descendant of these patriarchs, and therefore a
beneficiary and custodian of God’s Brit. For us, the readers of the text, we
understand that our past connects us to our present and provides us insight
into shaping our future. Revisiting our
past gives us perspective as we make our way in the present and head towards the
future. Sure we will enjoy the physical warmth of San Diego, as well as the
spiritual warmth of our Chevre. It will serve as a reminder of how blessed we
are that we have such wonderful friends as well as give us perspective to
appreciate the Jewish vibrancy of Toronto and the path of our family’s life.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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