Friday, January 23, 2009
Va'era Verses 6:2-9:35
Jewish pride. That is what this portion is all about. Now you may be surprised when I tell you this portion is about the first seven plagues. We start off with Moses and his brother/spokesman, Aaron politely asking pharaoh for the Israelites to pray just outside the Ancient Egyptian kingdom and sacrifice at an altar. As God warned Moses, pharaoh denied his request. Showing His wonders, God turned Moses’ staff into a serpent. Pharaoh was amazed, but IGNORANT (see last week’s interpretation) by saying his magicians can do the same. The Egyptians laughed and chuckled of Moses and his “God”. They asked politely. No plagues, no nothing. Just politely. Pharaoh would regret his ignorant words. We start our plagues at the Nile River as Moses puts out his staff and the entire Nile was turned to blood. Plague one! Ignorant pharaoh turns to his magicians once more. The Israelite mockery continued as pharaoh laughed at the thought of letting them go. Nobody knew it, but this was the beginning of a Jewish rise in morale. Frogs rose out of the bloody Nile and spread through the Egyptian empire. A few Egyptians did not laugh as much when pharaoh denied the thought of letting them go. Less and less people sided with pharaoh as he denied Israelite freedom through lice, through swarms of insects, through livestock disease, and through boils. By the time plague seven rolls around, Moses tells everybody (even the Egyptians) to take cover for a hail storm although pharaoh ignores it. On the other hand, the Egyptians go indoors quite franticly. This is a very miniature detail, but to me it shows Jewish pride, the power of God, and the ignorance of anti-Semitism. I am proud to be Jewish, are you?
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One othe things that Beth and I have taught Adam and his sister Rachel is to be proud that they are Jewish and to be good people which is a part of being Jewish. It is very obvious that Adam is proud to be Jewish. He takes the time to self teach himself the Tanach and to share his views with you all.
ReplyDeleteI applaud Adam's writing. His wisdom is beyond years. Talmudic study came from ongoing dialogue between scholars. Adam's points encourage such dialogue.
ReplyDeleteSo I want to have one on this topic. I think Adam is right on in his interpretation. I want to explore it further though.
Is there a point where Jewish pride becomes arrogance? Is the tipping point when pride shifts to arrogance?
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield recently wrote a book "You Don't Have to be Wrong for me to be Right" and in my work with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, at the UN and even in local small claims court cases and other disputes, the key to resolving the conflict is when the people involved recognize that they both can be right.
Failure to reach that understanding is what I believe arrogance looks like.
Mitch Gordon