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YITRO/BESHALACH 5786
How Every Torah Portion Informs Us About Our World
It alwas amazes me how relevant each Torah portion of the week is to our lives. I prepared this sermon for last week, but the weather had other ideas. Before I share with you how relevant last week’s parsha Beshalach was, let me give you a small taste of this from the beginning of this week’s parsha. Yitro, Moses’ non-Jewish father-in-law, comes to him from Midian along with Moses’ wife and children. The text begins: Vayishma Yitro (Yitro heard).
What did he hear that made him come? The Torah tells us he heard about the wonders Gd performed to free the Jewish people from Egypt: the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea. He had to check it out for himself to see how amazing this people were to merit such deliverance. He did and ultimately, he and his family convert.
In our time, since October 7, 2023, Jewish communities all over the world are reporting a surge in conversions to Judaism, along with an increasing religious engagement among Jews. If you think about it, it’s counter intuitive! You would think—especially in light of the dramatic rise in global antisemitism today—people would want to stay away from any Jewish connection and not put a target on their backs. But now, more than ever, people are lining up proclaiming: “I want to be a part of this people. I want to follow the Torah. Let me in!” Perhaps they saw the many miracles Gd performed for Israel since Oct. 7th—like the tens of thousands of missiles and drones fired at Israel with virtually no casualties—statistically impossible! Those who saw this, are the Jethros of our time.
There’s much more in today’s Torah reading, but the 1st 3 verses of last week’s parsha—Beshalach—are absolutely amazing, so I want to go there now. It begins (Ex. 13:17), Ya-y’hi b’shalach Paro et ha-am (It happened when Pharoah sent out the people). The Midrash tells us that whenever we see the word va-y’hi (it happened), it refers to a tzar or, as we say in Yiddish, tzoros—I don’t know if there’s a connection to George Soros—but it means something negative, sad or troubling. This verse depicts the story of our freedom—Pharoah set us free—so why begin with va-y’hi? What was the sadness, the negativity about leaving Egypt? With miracle after miracle the Jewish people were freed from the most powerful nation in the world. Where was the pain, the discomfort? Wasn’t this good news?
The Or Hachaim, in his commentary, answers: Perhaps the answer can be found in another question on this verse: Who does this verse tell us took us out of Egypt? Listen again: “It happened when Pharoah sent out the people.” The verse says it was Pharoah, but it wasn’t Pharoah. It was Hashem Who struck Egypt with the 10 Plagues to secure our freedom.
The Or Hachaim tells us that the use of the word Va-y’hi in this verse is telling us that this is how it was perceived both by Pharoah and the world—i.e. that our freedom did not happen by Gd’s intervention, that the pundits, the newspaper journalists, the headlines all read that it was Pharaoh who sent the Jewish people out. They didn’t hear what Yitro heard. So even though our freedom should have been cause for celebration, there was this negative connotation that it was not Gd Who saved us.
The verse is poignant every year we read it—but especially last week. Last week the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] announced that it had, at last, found the remains of the last hostage of Oct. 7—Master Sgt. Ran Gvili. But the headlines that followed mirrored the NY Times’ headline: “Hamas Hands Over Body of Ran Gvili!” Returned by Hamas??? It’s mindboggling. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read this. It’s the language of va-y’hi. On the one hand, for the 1st time in 10 years, Israel doesn’t have a hostage in Gaza. You see, long before October 7th, Hamas held 2 Israeli bodies which were only returned recently.
The return of Ran Gvili’s body last week should have been a source of joy and closure—not exasperation. It also says something about our Jewish world today that when we get back a murdered hero who saved countless lives, who was the 1st one in and the last one out of every operation … that we’re so grateful just to get back a dead body! How horrible that this is our condition. It’s a source of joy tainted by the awful headlines that told the world that Gvili’s body was sent back due to the goodness of Hamas. Even Fox News’ Trey Yingst described it as Hamas handing over the last remaining body of an Israeli hostage as part of the 1st phase of the Gaza Peace Plan.
Do you know that for 24 hours, based on Israeli intelligence, the IDF dug up body after body in a Gaza Muslim cemetery. With the help of 20 Israeli forensic dentists, the 250th body was found to be a match for Gvili. The world found it hard to give credit to Gd and Moses for the miraculous Exodus, and today it fails to give credit to Israel for the return of its last hostage. The Or Hachaim wrote this about the miracle of the Exodus of Egypt, but sadly it’s still true!
With this we can better understand the 4th blessing of the Birkat Hamazon (the Grace after Meals) when we say: Hu heytiv umeytiv … lanu (He [Gd] is good and does good for us). This blessing was instituted by the rabbis of the Talmud (Berachot 48b) after the Bar Kochba revolt, when the Romans—after many years—finally allowed the Jews to bury the victims of the massacre at Beitar. We say this blessing thanking Gd every time we recite the Grace after Meals.
So let me understand this. We bless Gd because we were able to bury bodies? That’s bracha worthy? Burying bodies is worthy of joy and gratitude and blessing Hashem? Now, when we finally have closure, and there are no more hostages being held, we can understand! We can say: Hu heytiv umeytiv … lanu (Gd is good, does good for us)! But it’s laced with a va-y’hi—with a sadness—because the world still gets it so wrong, saying, “Pharoah sent us out … or that it was Hamas that returned the last body.” No, it was Gd that took us out from Egypt along with his servant Moses, and it was the IDF with Gd’s help—despite Hamas’ obstinacy—that brought Ran Gvili home!
The 2nd verse in last week’s parsha informs us: V’chamushim alu v’ney Yisrael mey-eretz Mitzrayim (The Children of Israel were chamushim when they went up from Egypt). What does chamushim mean? Rashi suggests 2 meanings. One is based on the Midrash that suggests it may be derived from chamisha (five), telling us that only “1 out of 5 Jews left Egypt.” That means 80% of the Jews chose to stay back!
See how divided the Jewish people were then. Look at our world now and ask: “What percentage of the Jewish people are on the wrong side of Jewish issues?” How many of us are standing with, protesting, advocating and voting for the wrong side of those issues that threaten our very survival? Are they like the Jews who choose to stay back … choose to identify with … and choose to march and protest with those who seek our demise?
Rashi also suggests that the word chamushim can mean “armed.” What were the Jews armed with as they left Egypt? Rabbi Yosef Dovid Halevi Soloveitchik, of the Brisker Yeshiva in Jerusalem, tells us to look at the 3rd verse: Vayikach Moshe et atzmot Yosef imo (Moses took the bones of Joseph with him). Joseph—on his deathbed—made the Jews promise not to leave him in Egypt, but to take him out with them and bury him in the Promised Land. Here Moses fulfilled that promise. So, that’s what were we armed with? Bones???
Rabbi Yosef Dovid Halevi suggests that while physical weapons are important, our greatest weapon is knowing our identity: standing tall and proud as Jews. Jewish tradition, Jewish observance—that’s our greatest weapon! Atzmot are bones, but the expression, “the bones of something” can also refer to its essence—and so in Hebrew atzmot also means “essence.”
My friends, when we know our essence … where we come from, and who we are, and where we are meant to go … when we have a strong and powerful sense of identity, and a pride, and a purpose, and practice as Jews … then we are armed to face any challenge.
The Midrash (Raba 87:1) commenting on a passage in Psalm 114, [familiar to us from the Hallel service] Hayam ra-a vayanos (The [Red] Sea saw and fled). The Midrash tells us that when the Red Sea saw the bones of Joseph, it split. Why? Because of the power of Joseph. What was his power?
Jewish tradition calls Joseph tazdik (the righteous one) because he was able to overcome his nature. The nature of a healthy young man would be to give into the urge and submit to the relentless seductions of the gorgeous wife of his master. Joseph did not give in to Potifar’s wife and thus taught us we can overcome our nature; we can say “No” to the seductions of the world. Thus, by carrying Joseph bones towards the Red Sea, Moses was saying, “In the merit of Joseph—who counteracted his nature—please Gd counteract the nature of the sea and split it on behalf of the Jewish people.”
My friends, last week, Israel—as promised—brought Ran Gvili’s body home—closing a circle that began on October 7th—just as Moses brought Joseph’s bones back from Egypt as promised. The Egyptians wanted to claim Joseph’s identity by keeping his bones. Hamas wanted to break Israel’s spirit by holding our dead. Both failed!
As Gd saved the Jewish people in the merit of Joseph’s bones, may He save and bring peace to Israel and the Jewish people in the merit of Ran Gvili’s bones. Amen!
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