*Be the Change You Want to See In the World

Bo 5774

In this week’s parshat Bo we read The length of time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.(Exodus 12:40) This verse is problematic to the critical reader. Months ago in parshat Lech Lecha we read that Gd says to Avraham, Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. (Genesis 15:13) Additionally, the numbers of years the Israelites were physically in Egypt totals 210. How do we reconcile the contradictions of these numbers? Rashi explains that from the time of Isaac’s birth to the time of the Israelite exodus from Egypt was 400 years as calculated thusly: Isaac was 60 years old at the time of Jacob’s birth. Jacob was 130 years old upon his entering Egypt. The Israelites were in Egypt for 210 years which gives a total of 400 years. Gd’s prophecy to Avraham of 400 years takes place during the ‘brit betarim’ which occurs 30 years before the birth of Isaac. This week’s 430 is the number of years from Gd’s decree of Israelite homelessness; 400 is the number of years from the first of Avraham’s Jewish offspring to the Exodus, and 210 is the number of years the Israelites were in Egypt. For the curious, Rashi calculates the actual years of enslavement as 116.

 

Shmot 5774

A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Yoseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and strong than we.” There is no mention of the Israelites usurping power from the Egyptians. No word about Israel’s accumulating greater wealth or assets at the expense of the indigenous population. No indication of Israel’s being non-cooperative, rebellious, or causing problems. This Egyptian ruler simply saw the Jews as a potential threat which was enough to warrant our enslavement and the eventual slaughter of our newborn males. It is part of the human condition to suspect ‘the outsider’ as it is quite normal to have anxiety over that which is foreign to us. It was not Pharaoh’s fears of Israel that was his sin; it was the actualization of those fears expressed in action. An individual need not berate herself for her thoughts, but only for the resulting unkind acts. Incidentally, how is it that a relatively small number of Israelites are labeled ‘numerous and strong’? Teaches R’ Yisrael of Rejean: When the Children of Israel are united as one nation they are so strong and enormous that there is no nation that can dominate it. כן ירבו...

 

Vayechi 5774

For a visitor not familiar with the Shabbat dinner rituals, one of the most striking elements of the evening is the parents’ formal blessing of the children. As the parents place their hands on the head of each child, hopes and prayers for that child’s spiritual development and relationship with Gd are affirmed. When a daughter is blessed, the introductory words mention our matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. One would expect the blessing for boys to follow suit and mention our patriarchs Avraham, Isaac, and Jacob – yet they are absent from the blessing. The origin of the ritual is revealed in this week’s parsha, Vayechi, as we see Jacob saying to Joseph’s sons, “By you shall Israel invoke blessings, saying: Gd make you like Ephraim and Menashe.” Still, why ‘like Ephraim and Menashe’? What do these 2 possess that the patriarchs do not? Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, the twelve sons of Jacob….rivalry and enmity permeate the relationships. Ephraim and Menashe are the first brothers at peace among siblings; it is this peace that Jacob prays will be a blessed example for the Children of Israel.