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Pesach-Exodus 12

3/29/2015

3 Comments

 
SUMMARY:
·         12:21-23: Mosses, following the direction previously given to him and Aaron from G-d, offers the Israelites a recipe to have the forthcoming plague of death of the first born “pass over” their homes
·         2:24:27 – Mosses further informs the Israelites that what is about to occur, the destruction of the enemy without any collateral damage, will forever be observed as an annual observation
·         12:29-30:  The first born of every family in Egypt, both child and cattle, is killed during the night  
·         12:31-33:  Pharaoh orders Mosses and Aaron to take the Israelites out of Egypt
·         12:33-36:  The Israelites essentially loot the Egyptians prior to their departure
·         12:37-40:  After exactly 430 years of living in Egypt, the Israelites depart from its soil
·         12:43-50:  The laws regarding whom may observe  “Passover” are laid out
D'var Torah
Daniel Levine


I can think of nothing more heartbreaking than the death of one’s child, not to mention having a holiday in which that is celebrated.    But there it is, laid out for us to read and commemorate annually (as commanded by Exodus 12:24).   It seems odd to have such a solemn event, the death of thousands of people, the majority children, be a highlight of our Passover story.  None-the-less, Exodus 12:29-30 is just that.  

There are many schools of thought as to why we celebrate the annihilation of an entire generation of children.   Among them are the concept of retribution and a related notion of a preemptive warning to future enemies of the Israelites.   While we know from earlier biblical readings that the Israelites initially did well in Egypt, they eventually became indentured and then totally enslaved.   The brutality the Egyptians brought upon the Israelites was so extreme and brutal that it is tempting to interpret the death of our enemy’s first born as G-d’s vengeance for the violence against the Israelites, his “first born” – that is to write, the first people to accept his covenant.   Furthermore, because children are universally treasured, the death of the first born children can clearly be seen as a cautionary tale for the enemies of the Jewish people in perpetuity.  

If the tenth plague -- the death of every first born in Egypt whose house was not protected by blood ritually applied to “the lintel and to the two doorposts” -- was to be a death knell from a “Vengeful G-d” or a warning from a “Protective  G-d,” then it could be nothing less than a surgical strike directly to the heart of the body Egypt.  

The death of one child in every household would be bad enough but insufficient to break the foundation of an entire culture.  For that reason, the tenth plague was far more than what it may seem on its surface.  

To understand the nature of the tenth plague, we must first look at the hierarchal structure of Egyptian society - the fact that the oldest child had an exalted place in Egyptian family unit.   The entire Egyptian legal and social structure was built upon the principle of the rights and privileges of the first born.   In fact, Pharaoh himself claimed his power and authority from being the first born (as did his father and grandfather both claim their right as absolute rulers of Egypt by way of being “first born”).   This begs a related question – if Pharaoh was the ultimate Egyptian first born, why was he, clearly the most culpable of all Egyptians, spared from the tenth plague while those clearly innocent of any transgressions against the Israelites (such as babies, prisoners and animals) were slaughtered?   For the purposes of brevity I will offer but one Midrash of many that could possibly answer as to why G-d spared Pharaoh:
“What does the Torah teach us by saying that the evil Pharaoh was himself a first-born son, yet the punishment was not inflicted upon him?  In order to tempt the Egyptians into saying, Pharaoh is tough, which is why he overcame the plague…” (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai 12).  

Why, one might ask, after landing this tenth and final plague, would G-d want the Pharaoh to continue to carry sway over the Egyptian people?   As we know from just a few verses more in Exodus, the ten plagues were not the end of the assault to Egypt.  Yet one more blow was to be struck and that was the total destruction of Egypt’s military in the Sea of Reeds.  G-d required Egypt’s military leaders to continue to respect the direction of Pharaoh so that he may lead them into their final annihilation. 

A second reason the plague of the death of the first born was exceedingly harsh to the Egyptians was the fact that contrary to the surface reading of the text, many scholars believe that it was not just one child per a family that was taken but rather the first born child of each father.   Thus, the infidelities and declining morality of Egyptian society were exposed when, previously unknown to the father, the illegitimate children in their household perished along with the biological first born.   

As told in Midrash:  “…and the Egyptians urged the people that they might send them out of the land in haste, for they said, We shall all be dead men. They said, ‘This is not what Moses had decreed, Moses said only the firstborn of Egypt will die.’ They thought whoever had four or five children would only lose the first. They didn't know that their wives were suspected of sexual immorality, and each of "their" children were actually fathered by different young men. They had transgressed secretly, yet God caused it to become known.” (Mechilta Bo)

The tenth plague attacked Egypt on multiple levels – the universal human tragedy of losing one’s child; the hierarchal power structure which was the basis of Egyptian legal system; and the decaying social foundation which was underpinned by the morally corrupt Egyptian family structure.  Thus, the death of the “first born” was not simply the death of one child per family – it was in fact the death of Egypt itself.   

As your family observes Passover this year, pause at the portion of the Haggadah that recounts the tenth plague and reflect upon the power, awe and mindfulness of G-d.  Understand that the Almighty does not kill indiscriminately as illustrated by the tenth and final plague-.  The death of the first born child was not simply an assault on Egypt’s youngest children but rather the last punishing blow necessary to collapse an entire civilization.
3 Comments

Vayakhel/Pekudei

3/8/2015

0 Comments

 
SUMMARY: 
  • Moses teaches the rules of Shabbat. (35:1-3)
  • Moses asks the Israelites for a donation of gifts and those who are skilled help build the Mishkan [Tabernacle] under the direction of Bezalel and Oholiab. (35:4-38:20)
  • A statistical summary of the materials used for the Tabernacle and an account of producing the priestly vestments are recorded. Moses blesses the Israelites for the work they did. (38:21-39:42)
  • Upon God's instruction, Moses sets up the Mishkan and the priests are anointed and consecrated. (40:1-33)
  • A description is given of a cloud that covers the Mishkan by day and a fire that burns by night, indicating God's Presence therein. (40:33-38)
D'var Torah
Rabbi Laura Geller

This week’s double Torah portion, Vayak’heil and P’kudei, is very familiar because much in it repeats what we read several weeks ago. In the earlier portions, God commands Moses to erect a Mishkan, a portable sanctuary, with all the ritual objects furnishing it?the Ark, the menorah, the sinks for the priests to wash before they begin their daily tasks?and then gives detailed instructions about the priestly vestments.

In this week’s portion, the Torah tells us that the people did exactly as God commanded Moses. But instead of reporting: “And Moses did as God commanded,” the text provides another very detailed description of each of the objects and clothes, repeating with great specificity everything we’ve already heard. Dr. Carol Meyers labels the earlier instructions “prescriptive Tabernacle texts” because they prescribe what is to be done, while our portions, which describe the implementation of the instructions, are called “descriptive Tabernacle texts” (see The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, ed. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss [New York: URJ Press, 2008], p. 521). What separates the two accounts is the sin of the Golden Calf.

Why does there need to be such detail? Maybe it is to reassure us that even after such an egregious sin as the idol worship of the Golden Calf, not only has God forgiven us, but also, we’ve finally gotten it right. We shouldn’t worship a golden idol, but we can use gold and other valuable resources to symbolize God’s presence among us through the Mishkan. And apparently we did, as we read: “. . . all the artisans who were engaged in the tasks of the sanctuary came . . . and said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing more than is needed for the task entailed in the work that YHVH has commanded to be done.’ Moses thereupon had this proclamation made throughout the camp: ‘Let no man or woman make further effort toward gifts for the sanctuary’ ” (Exodus 36:4–6).

But perhaps we are simply meant to learn that attention to detail is important. Anyone who has ever remodeled a home or redecorated a room knows how many details are involved: color, texture, shape, size, material, and so on.

There is one detail that I have always found fascinating. “He made the laver [sink] of copper and its stand of copper, from the mirrors [mar’ot] of the women who performed tasks at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting” (38:8). B’mar’ot hatzov’ot literally means “the mirrors of legions,” but as The Women’s Torah Commentary explains, because hatzov’ot is grammatically feminine, the text must be talking about women (see The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, p. 536).

Rashi, the famous eleventh century commentator, notices that only here in the whole story of the making of the Mishkan do we have an account of a specific gift and what it was used for. He imagines a dialogue between Moses and God:

“Mirrors?” Moses demands of God, “The women are bringing mirrors? How dare they bring these trinkets of vanity into a holy place? I forbid it! Mirrors just lead to lustful thoughts!”

But God intervenes: “Accept them, for these are more precious to me than anything because through them the women set up many legions [i.e., through the children they gave birth to] in Egypt.” When their husbands were weary from backbreaking labor, the women would go and bring them food and drink. Then the women would take the mirrors and each one would see herself with her husband in the mirror, and she would seduce him with words, saying, “I am more beautiful than you.” And in this way they aroused their husbands’ desire and would copulate with them, conceiving and giving birth there, as it is said: “Under the apple tree I aroused you” (Song 8:5). This is [what is meant by] that which is said, “with the mirrors of those who set up legions, that is, the mirrors of those who had lots of children” (see Rashi on Exodus 38:8).

Imagine what it must have been like for the Israelite men forced to do backbreaking, demeaning work. Their spirits were destroyed; they had lost all hope for the future. It was the women who kept the men’s will to live alive. Even in those horrible circumstances, the women would beautify themselves with the help of these mirrors, using makeup from with whatever dyes and rouges they could find, making themselves attractive to their partner. When the men came home, exhausted and dehumanized, their wives would arouse them by flirting, by playing erotic games, by looking with their husbands into the mirrors, by teasing “which one of us is more attractive?”

These women didn’t give up hope for a different future. They were responsible for our spiritual survival. It was their initiative, courage, and faith that led to the next generation. Perhaps because of that the Talmud tells us: “It was because of the righteousness of the women that we were redeemed from Egypt” (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 11b).

That detail about the mirrors reminds us of the special role that women played in the liberation of our people, and that detail links this story to Passover.

That link is important because this is a special Shabbat, Shabbat HaChodesh, the Shabbat when we announce the upcoming month of Nisan, which begins on Tuesday. Nisan is the month in which we celebrate Passover.

The Book of Exodus concludes with P’kudei. The portable Tabernacle is ready. A cloud rests on it by day; by night a pillar of fire, “in the view of all the house of Israel through their journeys” (Exodus 40:38).The journey continues.

And we take with us on that journey the attention to detail that reminds us about hopefulness even in dark times. We carry God with us as we look forward to the future.

Chazak chazak v’nit’chazeik.

From strength to strength, may we strengthen each other.
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    A d'var Torah is an essay based on the parashah.

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