Two to Convince

 Vaera

Ex. 6:2 - 9:35

 

Précis: God reiterates His intention to free the Israelites from bondage and to create a covenant with them. Moses goes back to Pharaoh to seek release of the Israelites. Pharaoh refuses and we see the first of the fabled plagues: blood, frogs, fleas, beetles, cattle disease, boils, and hail. Pharaoh relents after each plague begins, deciding to let the people go, but then God “hardens Pharaoh’s heart” and he refuses to allow them to leave.

 

(2016) Ex. 7:8-9 “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘When Pharaoh speaks to you and says, ‘Produce your marvel,’ you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh.’”

          

As has been noted by Yossi Ziffer (MyJewishlearning.com,1/12/15) Moshe and Aaron had two important tasks hinted at by this verse: they must convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, and second, and they must convince the Israelites to accept them as leaders.

            Engaged as we are now in more than 100 days of war between Hamas and Israel, the pressures on the Israeli leadership cannot be ignored. They have two tasks: convince Hamas that further resistance is futile and will result only in the destruction of more of the Palestinians they claim to represent, and second, to pay heed to the just demands of the hostages’ families for the immediate return of their loved ones.

            The task before current Israeli leadership is great. They face mounting (if erroneous) condemnation from the world, particularly from younger people who tend to view (also erroneously) Israel as colonialist oppressors. Israeli leadership also lacks the cohesion of Moses and Aaron, with the incongruous coalition government, part of which calls for restraint, part of which demands the annexation of Gaza, and most of which has firmly rejected the concept of a two-state solution to a 100-year-old war.

            Contrary to our Biblical narrative, Israel is not led by a man who repeatedly sought to avoid leadership, but rather by a man who has sought to maintain his role by any way or means possible. Some time from now, whether it is months or years, we will find out how under the PM’s leadership such atrocities as those of a bit more than 100 days ago took place, how the IDF and various intelligence agencies failed in their missions, and whether the PM’s decision to enhance IDF presence in the West Bank to protect settlers while reducing manpower along the Gaza border was a factor in the tragedy which has led to war. History judged Moses as the greatest of Israeli leaders. We will see how history judges the current PM.

Nothing comes easily

Vayigash

Gen. 44:18 - 48:27

 

Précis: We approach the end of the Joseph saga. Benjamin is being held by Joseph as the alleged thief of a gold cup. Judah comes near (vayigash) Joseph, and begs for his brother’s life, offering himself as a substitute. Joseph is overcome and reveals himself to his brothers, forgiving them for selling him into slavery, stating that it was all part of God’s plan. Joseph sends them back home to bring Jacob and their families down to Egypt in order to survive the upcoming famine. They comply, and Joseph arranges for them to reside in the land of Goshen, living off “the fat of the land” at Pharaoh’s insistence. During the remainder of the famine, Joseph purchases land and cattle for Pharaoh, making serfs of the Egyptian people in exchange for the grain stored during the seven years of plenty. The Israelites prosper and multiply.

 

Gen. 47:8-9 “And Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The days of the years of my sojourning are a hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life…’”

            Meeting Pharaoh, Jacob’s response seems strange. He indeed had a long life, he received the blessing from Isaac in lieu of Esau (with whom he had a reunion), he had many sons, great wealth, and was even reunited with his long-lost son Joseph.

            Robert Alter, in his Genesis - Translation and Commentary, suggests that for Jacob, every positive outcome was achieved only through struggle, from his time in his mother’s womb, to his time as a servant to his uncle, to getting Leah instead of Rachel, to wrestling with an angel and to being injured before obtaining a new name, to a frightening reunion with his brother, and to the loss of his favorite son Joseph at the hands of Joseph’s brothers. Nothing came easily.

            Here we see a lesson for today. Israel’s war with Hamas is not and will not be resolved easily. The Jewish People’s struggle against Jew-hatred around the world will not be overcome easily. As Jacob reminds us, nothing worthwhile comes easily, but in the end, through courage, faith and commitment, our hopes can be assured.