The Power of Perspective

In the aftermath of the splitting of the Red Sea and the ensuing drowning of the Egyptians, The Torah uses these three words to introduce the Shirat Hayam. The Midrash offers a perplexing comment on the choice of the word Az:

Amar Moshe Lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu: “Yodeia Ani Shechatati lefanecha b”Az” …… l’kach ani meshabeichacha b’Az’.”

          The Midrash refers back to the beginning of the Exodus story in Parshat Shemot (5:23). At that time Moshe was reluctant to represent Hashem in the process of redemption. Only after Hashem promises Moshe that his efforts will be met with success does he agree to embark on the mission. However his first meeting with Pharaoh was a complete disaster. Instead of things getting better for the Jews Pharaoh decrees that the slavery will intensify; no longer will the Jews be provided straw, and their output of bricks must remain at the same level. Moshe, feeling dejected and embarrassed, turned to God and says, “Why have you caused evil to this nation? Why have you sent me?” “Umei’Az bati el Paro ledaber bishmecha, heirah l’am hazeh- Since I went to speak to Pharaoh in Your name, God, things have just gotten worse.”

          Fast forward to today’s Torah reading, Beshalach. After the Egyptian army has been decimated and the Jews are free, the Torah chooses to use the word Az once again to introduce the Song at the Sea, indicating that Moshe wishes to atone for his usage of the word Az at the beginning of the story by using it again here.

          Rabbi Moshe Amiel, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv in the 1930’s explained that this Midrash is teaching us a lesson about the power of perspective. Our perspective can be a description or an aspiration. Sometimes our perspective is based on the reality as it seems. That is how Moshe used the word “Az” at the beginning of the story. After initially meeting Pharaoh Moshe could only see the reality as he confronted it; his meeting met with utter failure.

          The Torah comes back to the word “Az” to introduce the Shirat Hayam- once again spoken by Moshe but this time with a completely different meaning. Here Moshe is leading a people that is tasting its first moments of freedom. The possibilities at that moment are endless and Moshe capitalizes on the moment by using the word Az, but this time to indicate the potential that Bnei Yisrael now have under the direction and protection of Hashem. Using the word Az here indicates Moshe’s realization that man has the capacity to see the world not only as it is, but also as it can be.

          We all experience moments of inspiration and insight. Moments when we are inspired to take action. Moments when we realize change is in order. Moments when we understand that the way things have been need not be the way that things continue to be. By noting the word Az here and how it is compensating for its earlier usage, Chazal want us to understand that Moshe (and Bnei Yisrael) experienced such a moment of inspiration and insight at the Yam Suf.

With Our Youth and Our Elders

At the beginning of Parshat Bo, Pharaoh’s advisers urge him to acquiesce to Moshe’s demand to allow the Jews a three day spiritual retreat. Taking their advice, Pharaoh tells Moshe that the Jews can go, but then he asks “Mi VaMi HaHolchim?” ie “Who are you taking with you on this three day journey?” Moshe responds (10:9): 

יֹּ֣אמֶר משֶׁ֔ה בִּנְעָרֵ֥ינוּ וּבִזְקֵנֵ֖ינוּ נֵלֵ֑ךְ בְּבָנֵ֨ינוּ וּבִבְנוֹתֵ֜נוּ בְּצֹאנֵ֤נוּ וּבִבְקָרֵ֨נוּ֙ נֵלֵ֔ךְ כִּ֥י חַג־ה, לָֽנוּ:

Moses said, “With our youth and with our elders we will go, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our cattle we will go, for it is a festival of the Lord to us.”

      In Egyptian society, knowledge and religious service was reserved for the elite class. Knowledge is power. Spirituality provides meaning and purpose to one’s life. In a democracy, we have come to expect everyone to have the freedom to learn as they wish and to worship as they wish.  Yet we know that that is not the case, even today, in many parts of the world. That was certainly not the case in ancient Egypt. The Egyptian nobility wanted to keep the masses ignorant so that they would not challenge their authority. Even when Pharaoh agrees to allow the Jews to leave, he assumes that Moshe will be going with just a select group of the Jewish men. Even if Moshe was proposing the radical notion that all men should be allowed on this excursion, Pharaoh could not fathom any good reason to include women and children. In his response, Moshe makes clear the difference between Egyptian and Jewish society. In Egyptian society, there are important people who rule and the rest of the people are forced into an obedient, lesser role. In Judaism, everyone is important. Different people may have different roles, different specialties, and different focuses, but everyone is special and integral and needed: men, women and children.

      Moshe’s call for inclusion and the importance of every member of the community resonates with me each year on this Shabbat. According to Halacha once ten men gather in prayer they can constitute a minyan. Do we care if an eleventh or twelfth man comes to shul? What about women who do not count towards the minyan? Is there any reason for them to attend? Do we care if children (of either gender) participate in Jewish communal life, or do we not care until they reach Bar/ Bat Mitzvah? From Moshe’s response to Pharaoh the answers are clear. We were not leaving Egypt without everyone. We need everyone’s presence and participation in order to function our best as a community.

      Many people have not been to shul since last March. Due to the pandemic we are still unable to offer youth groups and babysitting on Shabbat morning.  Much of our programming has been moved online. Some who have returned to shul like it the way it is now. There are no “noisy kids” in shul. There’s no noise at all, as people sit too far apart to talk to their neighbor during davening, not to mention the masks. I am here to tell you that we committed to the charge, first expressed by Moshe in this morning’s Parsha. We will not be satisfied until we are able to welcome back all of our community members, men and women, young and old. We know that we must remain patient. It will take time for people to feel comfortable enough to come back. Others may have found alternate prayer arrangements for themselves during the pandemic. We must look to accommodate different prayer preferences as we invite everyone back to shul, over the weeks and months ahead. Only when we are able to accommodate all segments of our community can we declare a festival to Hashem, may it happen soon B’Ezrat Hashem.

The Power of Shabbat

 

In a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, US Congressman Chip Roy from Texas wrote that he is taking an indefinite leave from social media, inspired in part by how he saw Jews in Israel celebrate Shabbat. “We were inspired by seeing our Jewish brethren in Israel celebrate Shabbat, which reminded us of the Sundays we grew up with in the 1970s and ’80s,” he writes. “Ever since, one-seventh of our time has been immeasurably better, and Sunday dinner is a highlight of our week.” Congressman Roy continues, “I’m doing so not to make a political statement, but in the hope that America can return to kitchen tables, churches, taverns, coffee shops, dance halls (it’s a Texas thing) — whatever it takes to look others in the eye and rebuild our communities and humanity.”

      Shabbat is a gift that allows us to disconnect from lots of the noise and distraction that we encounter during the week. Shabbat provides us with the opportunity to be fully in the moment and fully present with others. Even Pharoah understood the power of Shabbat. The Midrash Rabbah writes that Moshe convinced Pharaoh to give the Jews a day off from their hard labor. He sold Pharoah on this idea by explaining that overall production will increase if the Jewish slaves were given a day off to rest and recuperate. Pharaoh agreed to this request, for his own self interest. In his wisdom, Moshe suggested Saturday as their day off. Soon enough Pharaoh had a change of heart (one of many that we read about):

תִּכְבַּ֧ד הָֽעֲבֹדָ֛ה עַל־הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֖ים וְיַֽעֲשׂוּ־בָ֑הּ וְאַל־יִשְׁע֖וּ בְּדִבְרֵי־שָֽׁקֶר:

Let the labor fall heavy upon the men and let them work at it, and let them not talk about false matters. (Shemot 5:8)

      Here the Midrash explains that Moshe had encouraged the Jews to utilize Shabbat not only for physical rest but for spiritual rejuvenation. To help with that, Moshe gave the Jews scrolls to learn. Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky suggests that these scrolls contained lessons about God’s dominion over the universe (even Pharaoh!) and the beauty of Shabbat. Pharaoh found out about this and realized that if the Jews were using Shabbat in this spiritually uplifting manner, then there was a significant risk that the Jews would no longer view themselves as slaves to Egypt, but rather servants to Hashem. In response, Pharaoh called these scrolls “false matters” and cancelled Shabbat, even though it was also to his detriment in terms of production. Pharaoh understood the power of Shabbat. Do we?

 

      Although Shabbat only occurs once a week, its lessons are meant to stay with us and influence our entire week, on an ongoing basis. This is Hashem’s message at the beginning of our Parsha

“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob with [the name] Almighty God, but [with] My name YHWH, I did not become known to them.”

      The name Sha-dai is derived from the word Dai – enough (like Dayeinu).

      The name Hashem (4 letter name that we do not pronounce as it is spelled) is a contraction of the words: Haya Hove Yihyeh. It refers to God’s Omnipresence- all the time; past present and future.

Hashem told Moshe that in the times of the Patriarchs, God appeared on an as-needed basis. But now that this clan has turned into a nation, it is necessary for God’s Presence to be manifest on an ongoing basis.

      We need Shabbat, today more than ever. Let us take advantage of the 25 hours of Shabbat and allow its lessons to influence and improve our lives during the other 143 hours per week of Chol (weekday).

 

 

Protecting and Strengthening Our Country

      On Wednesday a mob stormed the Capitol building, inflicted damage, and violently clashed with police. This riot was preceded by a protest rally featuring President Trump at which the results of the presidential election were questioned and rejected as fraudulent. January 6, 2021 will be a date that lives on in infamy. The events will be recorded in history books and taught to students. First political commentators and then historians will offer analysis and theories as to both the proximate and underlying causes of the unrest.

      Some have already declared the event to be a coup, an assault on our democracy and our country. These types of uprisings happen in other countries, not America. The world looks to the US as a beacon of democracy. One major indicator of the strength of American democracy has been the peaceful transfer of power, regardless of how heated the elections were or how much the candidates disagreed with one another.

      This peaceful transfer of presidential powers has always begun with the losing candidate conceding to the winning candidate. Until this year. There is no requirement for a concession to be offered, but it is a way for the losing candidate to demonstrate that the campaign was about a cause greater than him/herself. A concession indicates that win or lose, country, and the values upon which America was built, come first.

      We are living in hyper-political times. Extremism is too common and moderation is viewed as a weakness, along with compromise. Too many people live in echo chambers, never bothering to listen to different points of view. It starts with not listening, and it ends with demonizing those with whom you disagree.

      While there is still much to digest about the events of January 6, 2021, I’d like us to consider two thoughts that come to mind. First, we need to learn how to be good winners and good losers. In life we sometimes win and we sometimes lose. The rules of sportsmanship that we teach our kids when they’re young are no less important for us to live by as adults. Some might argue that when the stakes are high we are no longer bound by the proper conduct of winning and losing. The opposite is true: the higher the stakes, the more important it is for everyone to commit to not being sore losers or sore winners.

      Over the last two months I am reminded of what I would tell my kids all the time when they are playing games with others: Just because you lost, doesn’t mean that the other person cheated. Such a simple and basic lesson of sportsmanship has been lost on so many people today, with tragic outcomes for our democracy.

      Second, we should not always trust our feelings. In explaining why President Trump was pursuing legal challenges to the election, a campaign official said, “ Last time I checked the people were still in charge of the United States of America and there are about 74 million people out there who do not feel like the result of this election that's been presented is accurate.” Feelings can be terrible indicators of facts. We can acknowledge our feelings and try to understand why we are feeling the way we are. But before we trust our feelings we must investigate them and find facts that either support or challenge those feelings. Even after the facts prove your feelings wrong, it’s still Ok to feel a certain way, ie disappointed or angry. So long as you realize that your feelings are not consistent with the facts, because otherwise you enter into the dangerous arena of delusions.

      Every Shabbat we proudly pray for the welfare of the Unites States of America at each minyan. As we do so this Shabbat, let us remember that God helps those who help themselves. We must do what we can to protect and preserve a country and a form of government and political discourse that has been so beneficial for all American citizens and especially American Jews.