When God doesn't play nice
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ShareFrom the Book of Esther I Filtered the Sediment (Yehuda Amichai)
From the Book of Esther I filtered the sediment
of vulgar joy, and from the Book of Jeremiah
the howl of pain in the guts. And from
the Song of Songs the endless
search for love,
and from Genesis the dreams
and Cain, and from Ecclesiastes
the despair, and from the Book of Job: Job.
And with what was left, I pasted myself a new Bible.
Now I live censored and pasted and limited and in peace.
A woman asked me last night on the dark street
how another woman was
who'd already died. Before her time - and not
in anyone else's time either.
Out of a great weariness I answered,
"She's fine, she's fine."
of vulgar joy, and from the Book of Jeremiah
the howl of pain in the guts. And from
the Song of Songs the endless
search for love,
and from Genesis the dreams
and Cain, and from Ecclesiastes
the despair, and from the Book of Job: Job.
And with what was left, I pasted myself a new Bible.
Now I live censored and pasted and limited and in peace.
A woman asked me last night on the dark street
how another woman was
who'd already died. Before her time - and not
in anyone else's time either.
Out of a great weariness I answered,
"She's fine, she's fine."
A contemporary view:
Many contemporary explanations of the ten plagues attempt to reconcile the presumed suffering of the Egyptians with modern-day conceptions of ethics and treatment of the other. Rabbi David Teutsch, a former president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, for example, suggests that God is not, in fact, the author of the harshest plague — that of the murder of the firstborn of Egypt. Rather, he says, it is human beings who interpret this event as divine:
How can we understand God’s role in the death of the firstborn? One explanation suggests that all who did not defend the Israelite slaves in Egypt are responsible for what Pharaoh imposed. Thus, God’s punishment of the Egyptians was justified. Another explanation holds that only in hindsight did the Israelites see the hand of God in the death of the Egyptians. God does not intervene in human history this way… By this reckoning, what is important is not whether the firstborn died, but whether we can see the power of human redemption in our lives as flowing from the divine.” (Rabbi Joy Levitt and Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, ed., A Night of Questions, 61).
Rather than justify the plagues, some modern-day commentators instead try to sharpen our awareness of the suffering caused by these plagues in order to help us empathize with others who are oppressed.
- Rabbi Jill Jacobs, The Ten Plagues (on My Jewish Learning, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-ten-plagues/)
Many contemporary explanations of the ten plagues attempt to reconcile the presumed suffering of the Egyptians with modern-day conceptions of ethics and treatment of the other. Rabbi David Teutsch, a former president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, for example, suggests that God is not, in fact, the author of the harshest plague — that of the murder of the firstborn of Egypt. Rather, he says, it is human beings who interpret this event as divine:
How can we understand God’s role in the death of the firstborn? One explanation suggests that all who did not defend the Israelite slaves in Egypt are responsible for what Pharaoh imposed. Thus, God’s punishment of the Egyptians was justified. Another explanation holds that only in hindsight did the Israelites see the hand of God in the death of the Egyptians. God does not intervene in human history this way… By this reckoning, what is important is not whether the firstborn died, but whether we can see the power of human redemption in our lives as flowing from the divine.” (Rabbi Joy Levitt and Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, ed., A Night of Questions, 61).
Rather than justify the plagues, some modern-day commentators instead try to sharpen our awareness of the suffering caused by these plagues in order to help us empathize with others who are oppressed.
- Rabbi Jill Jacobs, The Ten Plagues (on My Jewish Learning, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-ten-plagues/)
We know that G‑d created the world with His speech; to be precise, with 10 utterances. But Pharaoh denied these 10 Divine utterances.
And so, the 10 plagues corresponded with the various elements that G‑d created in the world, each one demonstrating that a seemingly stable and independent aspect of creation—something that could easily be attributed to “nature”—was entirely in G‑d’s hands.
Thus, the plagues proved that G‑d truly is the omniscient, all-powerful Creator.
- Malkie Janowski, "Why the need for all 10 plagues?" on chabad.org (https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1808634/jewish/Why-the-Need-for-All-10-Plagues.htm)
And so, the 10 plagues corresponded with the various elements that G‑d created in the world, each one demonstrating that a seemingly stable and independent aspect of creation—something that could easily be attributed to “nature”—was entirely in G‑d’s hands.
Thus, the plagues proved that G‑d truly is the omniscient, all-powerful Creator.
- Malkie Janowski, "Why the need for all 10 plagues?" on chabad.org (https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1808634/jewish/Why-the-Need-for-All-10-Plagues.htm)
ויאמר ה' וגו' לא ישמע. הכוונה בזה אולי שחשב משה כי פרעה בראותו כל המופתים והפלאים אשר עשה משה בזה הגם שיראה כי הלכו ישראל ולא חזרו שמא תפול עליו אימתה ופחד ולא ירדוף אחרי בני ישראל, לזה הודיעו כי לא ישמע פירוש לא יקבל אליכם פירוש למה שאתם חושבים שהחליט דעתו מישראל. ואמר לשון עתיד לומר אפילו אחר מכת בכורות לא אכניע לבו לקצה האחרון לקבל לשלוח בהחלט, והטעם למען רבות מופתי בארץ מצרים כשירדפו אחריהם, ואומרו ארץ כבר אמרו ז''ל (מכילתא י''ד) בפסוק כי ה' נלחם להם במצרים וגו' יעויין שם דבריו:
ויאמר ה׳ אל משה לא ישמע אליכם פרעה, G'd said: "Pharaoh will not listen to you, etc." Perhaps G'd answered a privately held belief by Moses that after Pharaoh would experience this dreadful plague he would not only free the Israelites but not pursue them even when he became aware that they had no intention of returning. This would also explain the use of the future tense by G'd. The reason that Pharaoh would remain obstinate was to give G'd an opportunity to perform still more miracles in the land of Egypt. Compare Mechilta 14 which explains why the word ארץ was needed and it was not enough to speak about מצרים.
וחזקתי את לב פרעה ורדף אחריהם בעבור שפחד פרעה מהם במכת הבכורות ובקש מהם וברכתם גם אותי (לעיל יב לב), לא היה בלבו לרדוף אחריהם אפילו אם יברחו, אלא שיעשה משה בהם כרצונו, ועל כן הוצרך לומר כי הוא יחזק את לבו לרדוף אחריהם. ולמטה (פסוק יז) אמר פעם אחרת הנני מחזק את לב מצרים ויבאו אחריהם, כי בראותם שנקרע הים לפני בני ישראל והם הולכים ביבשה בתוכו איך ימלאם לבם לבא אחריהם להרע להם, ואין בכל המופתים כפלא הזה, וזה באמת שגעון להם, אבל סכל עצתם וחזק את לבם ליכנס בים:
I will harden Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh had been fearful of them ever since the striking of the first born, as evidenced by his request, “bless me too” (12:32), and did not intend on pursuing them even if they tried to flee. Therefore Hashem informed Moshe that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart to chase after them. He repeats this in verse 17 because after the Egyptians saw the sea split and B’nei Yisrael pass through on dry land they should have been too terrified to continue. Hashem, however, caused them to lose their senses and hardened their hearts to enter the sea.
ואמר רבי יוחנן מאי דכתיב (שמות יד, כ) ולא קרב זה אל זה כל הלילה בקשו מלאכי השרת לומר שירה אמר הקב"ה מעשה ידי טובעין בים ואתם אומרים שירה
And similarly, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And the one came not near the other all the night” (Exodus 14:20)? The ministering angels wanted to sing their song, for the angels would sing songs to each other, as it states: “And they called out to each other and said” (Isaiah 6:3), but the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: The work of My hands, the Egyptians, are drowning at sea, and you wish to say songs? This indicates that God does not rejoice over the downfall of the wicked.
אמר רבי אלעזר הוא אינו שש אבל אחרים משיש ודיקא נמי דכתיב כן ישיש ולא כתיב ישוש ש"מ
Rabbi Elazar said that this is how the matter is to be understood: Indeed, God Himself does not rejoice over the downfall of the wicked, but He causes others to rejoice. The Gemara comments: One can learn from the language of the verse as well, as it is written: “So the Lord will rejoice [ken yasis]” (Deuteronomy 28:63). And it is not written yasus, the grammatical form of the verb meaning: He will rejoice. Rather, it is written yasis. The grammatical form of this verb indicates that one causes another to rejoice. Consequently, these words are understood to mean that God will cause others to rejoice. The Gemara concludes: Indeed, learn from it that this is the case.
וינהגהו בכבדת. בְּהַנְהָגָה שֶׁהִיא כְבֵדָה וְקָשָׁה לָהֶם; בַּמִדָּה שֶׁמָּדְדוּ: "וַיַּכְבֵּד" לִבּוֹ הוּא וַעֲבָדָיו (שמות ט'), אַף כָּאן וַיְנַהֲגֵהוּ "בִּכְבֵדֻת":
וינהגהו בכבדות signifies: And He treated them with a treatment that was hard and harsh to them. In the measure that they (the Egyptians) had meted out to the Israelites was it meted out to them, for (9:34) “He hardened his heart, he and his servants”, and therefore here: “He treated them (the Egyptians) in a hard manner” (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 14:25).
וירא. כאשר ראו ישראל זו המכה הגדולה יראו מהשם. כמו ויירא דוד את ה' ביום ההוא במות עוזה אשר שלח ידו בארון
[B’nei] Yisrael saw. When the people saw the tremendous blow that befell the Egyptians they feared Hashem.
כי גאה גאה. נתגאה על הסוס שהוא מתגאה במלחמה ועל הגבור הרוכב עליו כי את שניהם רמה בים:
כי גאה גאה, “for He is exalted above the arrogant.” He is higher than the horse which deems itself to be above all those around it as well as its rider, who has a feeling of superiority, arrogance.
עזי וזמרת וגו'. הנה סדר העומדים לפני ה' לשורר ולשבח ולהתפלל הוא להתחיל בדברים המושכלים מה' אליו ואחר כך במושכל מה' לאבותיו, וכמו שמצינו שתקנו אנשי כנה''ג באבות אלהינו ואחר כך אלהי אבותינו, ולזה סדרו בהתחלת השיר מה שהגיעם מטובו ואמרו עזי וזמרת יה ויהי לי לישועה, והוא מה שנתחסד ה' עמהם להושיעם מהצרה שהיו בה קודם שיגיע הקץ, וזה היה לצד רחמיו אליהם, וכמו שכתבתי ענין זה באורך בפ' שמות (ג' ז'), ובפ' וארא (ו' ג'), ולזה גמרו אומר זה אלי ואחר כך אמרו אלהי אבי, והוא כסדר עצמו של כנסת הגדולה שקבעו לומר אלהינו ואלהי אבותינו, וכאן אמרו לשון יחיד כי נעשו כולם כאיש אחד כמו שפירשתי בפסוק ויאמרו לאמר:
עזי וזמרת כה, "The Lord is my strength and song." The normal procedure when one composes a song for G'd, praises Him or prays to Him, is to mention first how G'd relates to oneself before mentioning how G'd related to one's ancestors. Thus we find that the men of the Great Assembly who edited our major prayers began the עמידה by first referring to G'd as "our G'd," i.e. the G'd of the petitioner and only afterwards did they define G'd as also the G'd of the patriarchs. The Israelites were similarly motivated when they first referred to what G'd meant to them (each individual Jew), how G'd had proven a Saviour for them in their present situation acting as the merciful G'd (tetragram). They concluded the statement referring to their personal relationship with G'd by saying זה אלי ואנוהו, "this is my G'd and I will glorify Him," and only afterwards did they describe the same G'd in His capacity as the G'd of their fathers. Our sages copied this pattern when they formulated our prayers where we say אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו, "our G'd who was already the G'd of our ancestors." I have already explained why the Israelites in this instance chose to describe G'd in the singular as "my G'd" instead of as "our G'd."
עזי וזמרת יה. קראו עזי כענין שכתוב (תהלים סח) צוה אלהיך עזך, וזמרת יה, וזמרתי ליה מלשון (שמואל ב כג) ונעים זמירות ישראל וכתיב (תהלים מז) זמרו אלהים זמרו.
ויהי לי לישועה. נקראת גאולת מצרים ישועה לפי שאחריה גלות, אבל גאולה העתידה שאין אחריה גלות נקראת ישועות, שנאמר (שם נג) מי יתן מציון ישועות ישראל, וכן נקרא תשועת עולמים שנאמר (ישעיה מה) ישראל נושע בה' תשועת עולמים. וכן שירה הזאת נקראת שירה בלשון נקבה על שם שעתיד לבא אחריה גלות כשם שהנקבה מתעברת ויולדת וחוזרת ומתעברת, אבל לעתיד מצינו שיר בלשון זכר הוא שכתוב (תהלים צח) שירו לה' שיר חדש כי נפלאות עשה וגו', וכתיב (ישעיה כו) ביום ההוא יושר השיר הזה וגו'.
ויהי לי לישועה. נקראת גאולת מצרים ישועה לפי שאחריה גלות, אבל גאולה העתידה שאין אחריה גלות נקראת ישועות, שנאמר (שם נג) מי יתן מציון ישועות ישראל, וכן נקרא תשועת עולמים שנאמר (ישעיה מה) ישראל נושע בה' תשועת עולמים. וכן שירה הזאת נקראת שירה בלשון נקבה על שם שעתיד לבא אחריה גלות כשם שהנקבה מתעברת ויולדת וחוזרת ומתעברת, אבל לעתיד מצינו שיר בלשון זכר הוא שכתוב (תהלים צח) שירו לה' שיר חדש כי נפלאות עשה וגו', וכתיב (ישעיה כו) ביום ההוא יושר השיר הזה וגו'.
עזי וזמרת י-ה, “G’d’s might and vengeance was my salvation.” When Moses referred to G’d by the term עזי, he paraphrased what is written in Psalms 68,29: צוך אלו-היך עזך, “your G’d has ordained might for you.” The words זמרת י-ה are related to Samuel II 23,1 ונעים זמירות ישראל, “the favorite of the songs of Israel.” This term also occurs in Psalms, 47,7 זמרו לאלו-הים זמרו, “Sing, O sing to G’d; O sing.”
ויהי לי לישועה, “G’d became my salvation.” The reason the redemption from Egypt is always referred to as ישועה, is because it was followed by another exile. The redemption of the future which will not be followed by another exile, will become known as ישועות, (plural). This is why we have David (Psalms 53,7) express his hope for מי יתן מציון ישועות ישראל, “O that the deliverance of Israel might come from Zion!” On another occasion the final redemption is called תשועת עולמים, in Isaiah 45,17: ישראל נושע בה' תשועת עולמים, “But Israel has won through the Lord triumph everlasting.” In a parallel sense the “song” Moses sang at the Sea of Reeds is known as שירה, “a song (feminine),” whereas the song that will be sung after the final redemption will be known as שיר, “a song (masculine),” reflecting the permanent nature of that redemption; compare Isaiah 26,1 ביום ההוא יושר השיר הזה,”On that day this song which will be sung will be masculine.”
ויהי לי לישועה, “G’d became my salvation.” The reason the redemption from Egypt is always referred to as ישועה, is because it was followed by another exile. The redemption of the future which will not be followed by another exile, will become known as ישועות, (plural). This is why we have David (Psalms 53,7) express his hope for מי יתן מציון ישועות ישראל, “O that the deliverance of Israel might come from Zion!” On another occasion the final redemption is called תשועת עולמים, in Isaiah 45,17: ישראל נושע בה' תשועת עולמים, “But Israel has won through the Lord triumph everlasting.” In a parallel sense the “song” Moses sang at the Sea of Reeds is known as שירה, “a song (feminine),” whereas the song that will be sung after the final redemption will be known as שיר, “a song (masculine),” reflecting the permanent nature of that redemption; compare Isaiah 26,1 ביום ההוא יושר השיר הזה,”On that day this song which will be sung will be masculine.”
דסגינן בשלימותא כתיב בן תמת ישרים תנחם הנך אינשי דסגן בעלילותא כתיב בהו וסלף בוגדים ישדם:
who proceed wholeheartedly and with integrity, it is written: “The integrity of the upright will guide them” (Proverbs 11:3), whereas about those people who walk in deceit, it is written at the end of the same verse: “And the perverseness of the faithless will destroy them.”
