Hold Our Hands Up

B'shalach

Exodus 13:17-17:16

Précis: And when Pharaoh “had let them go” (b’shalach), the story of the Exodus from Egypt is almost concluded. Carrying with them the bones of Joseph and the “spoils of Egypt,” Moses leads the Israelites by way of the Red (or Reed) Sea. They cross the sea ahead of Pharaoh’s pursuing army, which subsequently drowns in the returning waters. Moses sings his triumphant Song of the Sea, and Miriam’s song of joy follows. The Israelites begin to murmur against Moses and Aaron because of a lack of food and water. God provides heavenly “manna” to eat and provides water as well. The Shabbat is introduced as a day of rest, even before it appears in the Ten Commandments. In their first battle led by Joshua, with Amalek, the Israelites are successful as long as Moses’ hands remain in the air, and with the help of Aaron and Hur (who support Moses’ arms), they prevail.

Ex. 17:11-13  “Thus, whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; but whenever he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur, one on each side, supported his hands; thus his hands remained steady until the sun set. And Joshua overwhelmed the people of Amalek with the sword."

            

Arnold Eisen, Chancellor of JTS, has written ( 1/20/15 in a JTS weekly commentary), that a major theme of the story of the Exodus, reaching its climax this week, is God’s desire “that Egypt will come to know that I am YHWH.” The Egyptians never do learn, and it seems that the Israelites forget much of the time. As far as we can tell, part of God’s plan seems to require human intervention to carry it out, be it Moses and Aaron or Joshua and all of the People.

            Near the end of this week’s reading, we find the Israelites battling with Amalek. They fight, they die, but God provides mysterious assistance: when Moses’ hands are raised, they prevail, and when his hands drop, Amalek turns the tide of battle. Aaron and Hur raise Moses’ hands until the sun sets and the Israelites finally win the battle.  

            This miracle – if that’s what it was – is an important metaphor. At the Red Sea, God, the Mighty Warrior, fought Israel’s battle for them. Now, because Amalek is the symbol of all that is evil in the world, Israel fight’s God’s battle. Does God really needs help? Is Amalek a power so strong that God alone cannot defeat them? One can wonder at the question, and Eisen suggests that the answer is covenant. It is incumbent upon the Israelites to fight God’s battle – to do good -  and in return redemption will come. God promises to blot out the name of Amalek (meaning all evil) when life will become so sweet and compassionate that even the memory of evil will fade.

            Until that time, human beings like us must face the suffering in the world, as the modern Amalek wrecks hatred and injustice around the world. Like the Israelites at battle, we must oppose the modern Amalek with arms and with passion. The  covenant is still there. The observance of the covenant is a necessary prerequisite to next week’s reading, when we come face to face with Revelation. 

Collective Punishment?

Bo

Ex. 10:1-13:16

Précis: God sends the 8^th and 9^th plagues, locusts and darkness, and alerts Moses that the 10^th and final plague will follow. God instructs Moses on the institution of the Passover. Then, the final plague, the death of all of the first born, is wrecked on Egypt. The Israelites, accompanied by the “mixed multitudes,” leave Egypt, carrying with them the “spoils of Egypt” given to them by the Egyptians. The parasha ends with a repetition of the laws regarding Passover.

Ex. 11:4-5 “Moses said, ‘Thus says the Lord: Toward midnight I will go forth among the Egyptians, and every first born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits upon his thrown to the first born of the slave girl who is behind the millstones…’”

     Adina Gerver raises the issue of collective punishment in connection with these verses (MyJewishLearning.com, 1/20/15), noting that they force us to face up to the concept of collective punishment. It was Pharaoh who kept the Israelites enslaved, not all of the entire Egyptian population. As Abraham might have argued (but Moses didn’t!), were there not even 10 “good people” in all of Egypt? This collective punishment seems deeply unjust to us. 

     One may argue, however, that this collective punishment is intended to teach us that we have a collective responsibility to seek justice and to free the oppressed. At a time when immigrants are desperately seeking an escape from horrible warfare, does this not suggest that all free people have a responsibility to help them?

     On the other hand, one can reasonably claim that I am not responsible for the actions of others, nor for the terrible repercussions that arise from someone else’s evil acts. Am I responsible for the barrel bombs in Syria, or the terror in Africa, or the lawlessness of Palestinian attacks on civilians? Am I, or is America, responsible for shouldering the global burden for all that is wrong in the world? Such a role is impossible.

     As we know all too well, Israel today is castigated for its so-called "collective punishment" of Palestinians in the West Bank and in Gaza, when the "innocent civilians" in those territories are subjected to travel limitations, enhanced security requirements, and are harmed during armed conflict. How can that be squared with our understanding of what is right and just?

     The answer for Israel and for America as well is that silence in the face of these atrocities abets future atrocities. Here, we come full circle to this week’s parasha. Where is the outrage of the “good” Egyptians? Their silence damned them all. Where is the outrage of the "good Palestinians" in a society which glorifies suicide bombers? Their silence may not damn them all, but it certainly does not excuse them at all.

     The lesson: to be silent in the face of evil is to be implicated in the evil itself. It is the responsibility of each one of us to speak out and to call for action against injustice, wherever it may be taking place. Our voices may be small, and the effort may seem pointless, but we cannot ignore our responsibility to cry out against the evil we see around us, and take action whenever and wherever we can.