Parshat Va’era: Partners in Redemption

Dear Family & Friends

At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Va’era, God is reminded of God’s promise of settlement in Eretz Cna’an to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob after hearing the cries of Bnai Yisrael (the Children of Israel), who are enslaved under Pharaoh in Egypt. God speaks to Moses, telling him to relay to Bnai Yisrael that they will be freed from their bondage in Egypt, “through extraordinary measures” (Exodus 6:6). Our parsha goes on to tell us how the first seven of the ten plagues come upon the Egyptian people through the hand of God in an attempt to wear Pharaoh down and convince him to let Bnai Yisrael exit as free people from the land of Egypt, Eretz Mitzrayim.

As a student in the Educator Program at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, I often find that my studies in the beit midrash enrich my weekly parsha learning, and vice versa. This past semester, I learned the first six chapters of Mishna Brachot, the first tractate of the corpus of commentary derived from the written Torah, composed by the rabbinic sages of post-Temple Judaism. The tractate and it’s chapters focus on the blessings (brachot) that we say every day, ranging from what we say when we use the bathroom to when we smell something beautiful; when we wake up in the morning to when we go to sleep at night.

In Mishna Brachot Chapter Three Mishna Three, we see that women, slaves, and minors are exempt from reading the Shema, but are obligated in tefillah (prayer), mezuza (hanging the Shema prayer on the doorpost of one’s home), and Birkat Hamazon (blessing after the meal). In his commentary, Rashi tells us that the above categories of people are exempt from the “time-caused” mitzvah of saying Shema because of their lack of control over their own time while under someone else’s rule (רשי למסכת ברכות דף כ׳ עמוד א׳). The Jerusalem Talmud, however, tells us that to say Shema- the ultimate expression of the acceptance of God as a person’s sole master- would be untrue if said by people in any of the above categories, who were understood in their time and context as serving “masters” other than God. Minors served their parents, women in the rabbinic category of “nashim” served their husbands, and slaves served their employers (תלמוד ירושלמי מסכת ברכות פרק ג׳ דף ו׳ טור ב׳).

Why, then, are these categories of people obligated in tefillah, mezuza, and Birkat Hamazon? Each of these people are part of a larger category which transcends their subcategories. They are human beings, created by and in the image of the divine. Ultimately, their master is not another human being, but rather the divine source of their being. The Mishna makes clear for us that everyone is obligated to take action in order to be in relationship with the divine. The divine is our ultimate ruler, for even when we think we are slaves to another, we remain obligated in mezuzah, tefillah, and Birkat Hamazon, rituals that penetrate every sphere of our lives- our personal domains, the food we eat, and our spiritual practice. These obligations are the ultimate expression and acknowledgement of God in this world, and provide the pathways that enable us to relate and connect to the divine.

So, too, in our parsha we find Israelite slaves who are not only reminded that God is their ultimate master, but that they can, and must, take action to be in relationship with God, by being active agents in their own redemption. 

Exodus 7:7

וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִתַּ֖חַת סִבְל֥וֹת מִצְרָֽיִם׃ 

And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, the LORD, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. 

Exodus 7:13

וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר יְהוָה֮ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֒ וַיְצַוֵּם֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאֶל־פַּרְעֹ֖ה מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרָ֑יִם לְהוֹצִ֥יא אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (ס) 

So the LORD spoke to both Moses and Aaron, commanding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to deliver the Israelites from the land of Egypt.

In the first pasuk (verse) above, God reminds Bnai Yisrael that only the divine can be their ultimate redeemer. Yet just a few psukim later, God commands that Bnai Yisrael be included in the act of liberation from slavery in Egypt. In Jewish life and law, an obligation to do something is an invitation to be in partnership with the divine source of the universe in creating reality. Freedom is not simply the job of Bnai Yisrael’s masters God and Pharaoh. Rather, Bnai Yisrael are commanded and therefore obligated to be active agents in freeing themselves, too.

In being commanded to be active participants in our own redemption, we are invited to be partners with God in cultivating mastery over our lives. The Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitzraim/מצרים, shares it’s root letters with the verb Limtzor/למצור, to set a limit or boundary. Parshat Va’era and the story of Bnai Yisrael’s exodus from Egypt reminds me that I must always work to transcend the limits and boundaries that I place on myself. I can only do so with personal agency, and by cultivating my relationship with the divine.

In this new Gregorian year, may we respond to God’s command and enter into a relationship with the divine by working to free ourselves from our own personal boundaries and borders, and by holding ourselves accountable to freeing those who are oppressed in our midst. 

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom, 

Lara