^{18 Tevet 5775 | January 9, 2015}

Parshat Shemot

Rabba Sara Hurwitz

President and Co-Founder

The beginning of parshat Shemot (1:1) opens:

This sentence represents a transition from Bereishit; the conjunctive vav in the word v’aleh indicates a connection between the previous chapter and this one. Bereishit ends with Yaakov’s individual sons gathering together with their brother, Yosef. A potential rift between the brothers has been averted and they have reached a point of reconciliation, of togetherness and brotherhood. It is as one family, united, that Sefer Shemot begins.

The Torah goes on to describe the proliferation of the Jewish people as they grow from 70 souls to a nation. It is at this moment, when Bnei Yisrael is at its most abundant and most united that Pharaoh looks out at the nation of Israel, and panics.

Pharoah understood that the Jewish community would inevitably defeat the Mitzrim (Egyptians) because these previously disparate individuals were turning into a united force. In a magnificent interpretation, the Alshich, a 16th century Biblical commentator, says that when nations contend with one another, those that possess one or more of four qualities will decide the outcome: national unity, superior intelligence, physical superiority, and support by a supernatural force.

And when Pharaoh looked out at the nation of Israel, Pharoah’s undeniable anxiety emerges, as he realizes that the Jewish people had all four of the Alshich’s suggested qualities, ultimately rendering them undefeatable. He subtly references each in the following verse (1:9):

1. National unity: “ הִנֵּה- behold,” says Pharoah, “עַם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל” we are dealing with a united force—with an am (nation).

2. Superior intelligence: They are a people who are רַב. Although “rav” is often translated as great or many, a midrash in Eicha Raba (1:4) suggests that the word rav implies greater intelligence. After all, it was a people who produced Yosef, who used his intelligence to prevent a famine in Egypt.

3. Physical superiority: וְעָצוּם—Pharaoh calls the Jewish people “mighty,” acknowledging that they are stronger and more powerful than the Egyptians

4. Support by a Supernatural force: Pharaoh understood that the Jewish people had clear support from the Divine. They were “Bnei Yisrael,” a people who were formed and protected by God, so much so that the proliferation of Jewish people was indeed miraculous. Pharoah’s decrees did not diminish their numbers, instead, with God’s help, Bnei Yisrael continued to increase.

Right before his eyes, a previously diverse and disparate people were developing into a united, intelligent, strong people, protected by God.

This was a nation whose growth must be negated through affliction and enslavement. Therefore, each of Pharaoh's cruel enactments was meant to eliminate one of the four attributes that the people were blessed with. He tried to destroy their sense of nationhood by disrupting family life, as the Talmud (Sotah 11b) describes how men and women were kept apart by taskmasters. Pharaoh tried to limit their work to hard labor, thereby stunting any intellectual growth. He tried to limit their numbers by asking the midwives to kill all male born children, and he tried to destroy their faith by enslaving and embittering their lives.

For a time, Pharaoh was successful. But the story ends with the nation coming together to call out to God in prayer. And with an outstretched arm, God takes Am Yisrael out of Egypt, and the nation is brought to stand at Mount Sinai.

Pharaoh’s anxiety was indeed well founded. Just as he predicted, Am Yisrael, the nation of Israel, proved to be indestructible. And, it was the very qualities that he envisaged-- unity, growth in numbers, intellectual rigor, and connection to the Divine -- that helped Am Yisrael withstand adversity, and ultimately flourish.

Rabba Sara's Overarching Theme:

Feeling God’s presence, shouldn’t be that difficult. “You shall walk after the Lord your God,”(Devarim 12:5) we are told; seek out God’s presence. And yet, astonished, R. Hama son of R. Hanina (Talmud Bavli, Sotah 14a) asks, how is it possible to walk with the Shechina? Rav Hama quotes an early pasuk from Devarim that describes “... the Lord your God as a devouring Fire.”(Devarim 4:24). How is it possible to get close to God without being scorched? R. Hama answers his own question: We must walk after the midot, after the attributes of God, not his immediate presence.

In Hebrew, good attributes, midot, are translated as “good measures.” Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz in The Thirteen Petalled Rose, suggests that a quality is determined by its proportion. In other words our midot are the balance of our varied characteristic traits. To act Godly is to put our best spiritual essence forward, while trying to keep in check the inevitability of negative attributes. We are at once both good and bad, compassionate and injurious.

At Yeshivat Maharat, our students are ordained with the ability to lead, pasken, and teach. But, they must also be finely attuned to the nuances of the human condition. Spiritual leaders are most effective when they have confronted and understand their own midot, their own balance of human traits. Our Torah narratives bring to bare the multi-layers of the characteristic traits that individuals must learn to balance within themselves.

And so, I offer this weekly parsha column as a model of Yeshivat Maharat’s Pastoral Torah curriculum, where we will explore the rich and varies layers of the human condition.