The opening verses of Parshat Vaera are worth checking out.
The opening verses of Parshat Vaera are worth checking out. God, once again, the first time having been at the Burning Bush, addresses Moses. Moses is reminded of the Promise YHVH gave to the ancestors, the blessings and hopes for the future. God’s passion and core drive is directed to the freedom of the enslaved Israelites. God is the ultimate freedom fighter. The Ineffable’s passion to free the people from bondage is at the core of Moses’ identify as well. Moses is the instrument for making it happen.
The narrative goes on to tell us how Moses reminded the people of God’s promise to the founding ancestors and to call upon them to join in the struggle for freedom. But, they wanted no part of it “because of the disappointment and hard work” they suffered. “They would not listen to Moses.”
The Ineffable Force Within, then instructs Moses to go directly to Pharoah! Of course, Moses argues with his Inner Being, knowing how difficult that would be without the peoples' backing. Acknowledging his insecurity about this, he proceeds anyway.
So here we are today. With so many Pharaohs around us what do we do? With Pharoahs within us, what do we do? Many peoples have leaders and mentors that show us the way. We have Heschels and Kings and Mandelas. Friends and others. We stand behind the people of Ukraine. We stand behind the people of Iran. We stand behind the 90,000 Israelis that turned out last Saturday night, Motzei Shabbat, to protest the new repressive and anti-democratic Israeli government. We honor those who are engaged in the struggle here against Pharoanic forces. In our Shabbat and holiday Kiddush we remember our ancient struggle for freedom. It’s at the heart of who we are as a people. We are Moses.
Below, note that the Shalom Center is hosting a program on Heschel.
In faithful solidarity.
Reb David