Published January 07, 2010
Parshat Sh’mot has two personalities at its center: Moshe Rabeinu, and the Jewish nation. In this Dvar Torah the focus will be the Jewish nation.
We learn a number of things about the nation Israel in the parsha:
1. Being outside of their land does not result in their being swallowed up by their surroundings. They remain distinct.
2. They are irrationally perceived as a threat by their hosts, despite their own naive gentility and tranquility.
3. Discrimination and tortuous treatment does not level them. On the contrary, they bounce back from such treatment with increase and proiferation.
4. When in tortuous pain, they inevitably turn to God.
5. Their leadership, including the greatest, does not have confidence in the nation. They accuse them of not believing in the truth of God’s sending them, of being unworthy of redemption, of not believing in prophecy, and of over-demanding proof of God’s willingness to intervene.
6. Their worthy leadership will sometimes irrationally refuse the call, and need be coerced into accepting the resposibility.
7. The truth eventually comes out. They are anxious for worthy leadership. They are awaiting to be called upon by the universal God their patriarchs worshiped.
They are ready to return to the land of their forefathers, if just given the chance.
May God bless us with our ancestors qualities.
The following Chizuk & Idud Dvar Torah was omitted from last week’s Torah Tidbits due to lack of space. Here it is now. Remember: Think VAYCHI.
Our parsha contains some of the most beautiful verses about Eretz Yisrael, its scenery, its flora, and its fauna found in the Tanach. As Ya’akov Avinu looks into the his sons’ future, he describes the vineyards of the land and the red and white wine that flow from them; the bountiful wheat fields, and the fruitful trees; the seashores and the sailing ships; the sheep and the donkeys, the deer and their fawns, the horses and their foals; the blessings of heaven bring with them the blessings to man “blessings of the breast and womb” so that Israel will multiply and be numerous in the land.
Being here in Eretz Yisrael means experiencing the vibrancy, vitality and vigor of the land, of every road, every field, every mountain and valley and every river and waterfall; indeed of every stone and grain of sand. In every breath that we breathe, the grandeur of Eretz Yisrael is experienced.
Our connection with Eretz Yisrael is established in our parsha not only in this physical and existential way but historically as well. Ya’akov Avinu, before he dies, repeats to his sons a lesson that was handed down to him from his grandfather Avraham. When Sarah Imeinu dies, Avraham ensures that the burial place for Sarah will be his own legal possession. Despite all of the efforts of Efron to prevent Avraham from purchasing the land, Avraham in the end succeeds to insure that this first legal purchase of a part of Eretz Yisrael will remain as a reminder to his children to keep the DERECH HASHEM that he founded. In our parsha, Ya’akov Avinu exhorts his children, “Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Efron the Hittite, the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre. In the land of Canaan, the field that Avraham bought from Efron the Hittite for a burial site - there Avraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Yitzchak and his wife Rivka were buried, and there I buried Leah - the field and the cave in it bought from the Hittites.”
It sounds like a legal document, but Ya’akov wanted to be as sure as Avraham was, that this first kinyan in Eretz Yisrael is indeed reaffirmed, and that the memory of the Derech HaShem established by Avraham and continued by his sons will not be forgotten. This historical connection, this continuing memory, reaffirms to this day our devotion and allegiance to Derech HaShem and to Eretz Yisrael.
Prof. Carmi Horowitz, Jerusalem
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