Darkness before the Light

Bo

Ex.10:1-13:16

 

Précis: God sends additional 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 first born, is wrecked upon 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. 12:29 “In the middle of the night the Lord struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat upon the thrown to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of the cattle.”

 

            The final, terrible plague is visited upon Egypt. This year, some of us (all too many!) can feel a certain connection with the Egyptians as we ourselves enter another year of the COVID-19 plague. It has reached all too many of us in America, in Israel, and around the world. I myself just this week tested positive, but fortunately, so far, it seems to be very mild, thanks to my vaxing and booster. In the past several weeks, members of my immediate family have become infected, despite following protocols and being vaccinated and even boostered. 

            I have also spent quite a bit of time via Zoom with members of my congregation, trying to figure out how we can return together in safety. I wish all we needed to do was to paint our door posts with lambs’ blood to ward away the plague, but that doesn't seem to be of much use.

            And we as a country have the on-going plagues of hatred, anti-semitism, politicization of every common-sense way to lower the incidence of Covid, and a resulting tribalism which makes many of us fear for the future of our democracy. Having observed the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 insurrection just yesterday, it is clear that we all continual to live under the cloud of darkness which plagued the Egyptians in our reading this week.

            So 2022 has started with a plague of plagues, to which there are no easy or quick resolutions. Perhaps in this week’s reading, where the darkness of the final  plagues in Egypt finally result in the freeing of the Israelites, we can imagine a cure to so many of our present-day plagues. We can pray and hope that there will be a light ahead, that we can live in a world where people respect other people, and take care of each other regardless of politics, and where we can again find trust in the institutions which have served us so well for centuries and millennia. 

Blessings

 Vayechi

Gen. 47:28 - 50:26

 

Précis: As the Book of Genesis comes to a close, Jacob lived (vayechi) in the land of Egypt for 17 years and dies after giving a final, poetic, individualized ethical testament to each of his sons. In a great funeral procession, Joseph, his brothers, and Pharaoh and his court bring Jacob’s body to Machpela to be buried. At the end of the parasha, Joseph dies after exacting a promise to bring his remains to the land of Israel as well.

Gen. 49:1-27 “And Jacob called his sons and said, ‘Come together, I may tell you what is to befall you in the days to come. Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob. Harken to Israel your father. Reuben, you are my first-born…’”

  

Rabbi Yaakov Pollak has written about the idea of “blessing” in the Book of Genesis which we conclude this week (MyJewishLearning.com, 1/10/17).

            How seriously should we take blessings we receive from others? The Sages state, unsurprisingly, “it depends.” It depends on who gives the blessing, and it depends on who receives the blessing.

            Early in the family saga we encounter in this Book, God Himself says to Abraham that “You will be a blessing” and thereby provides Abraham the imprimatur of Divine authority, and with it, the ability to bless others and to be a role model as well.  At his death Abraham bequeathed Isaac “all he possessed” as well as gifts to his other descendants. Midrash states, according to Rabbi Pollak, that Abraham gave much more than material wealth to Isaac; he gave him his essence and his connection to God. Jacob received this same gift (through subterfuge) from Isaac. As Jacob lay dying, he made his prophetic testimony regarding each of his sons. In addition to the individualized statements, he passed on to each of them the spiritual inheritance which God had originally granted to Abraham. In effect, all of the Children of Israel are inheritors of the Divine blessing.

            Because each of us is indirectly an inheritor of this same blessing, we should recognize that it is more than a grant of goodness, but rather a challenge to live up to Abraham’s ability to bless others and to act as a role model. How are we to accomplish this? What spiritual legacy will we each leave behind?

            I submit it is through actions, both great and small, that we leave behind a legacy which others can follow. It is found in the foundations of our tradition: study of Torah, acts of personal kindheartedness, and charitable acts. It may be visiting the sick, donating to a charity, comforting the bereaved, celebrating with a bride and groom, or by showing our children that with age wisdom can come, and that we all have the ability to overcome to some small degree the human weaknesses which all of us share.