Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 6 Shevat 5784
Parsha Bo’: (Exodus 10:1 – 13:16)
Third Portion: Exodus 10:24 – 11:23

Good morning! We are moving towards the end of the first quarter of this moon cycle. The light of the full moon is about a week away. The trees are being uprooted. New trees are coming in.

Where are we working within us?

A year ago, I wrote this, and it feels very salient for today:

I really encourage us to reflect on our own processes of freedom and liberation – while at the same time imagine how we may be blocking someone ELSE’s path to freedom and liberation.

Let’s dig in!  We left off with darkness.  Yesterday was all about darkness.  We are in the dark about our grief:

24Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go! Worship the Lord, but your flocks and your cattle shall be left. Your young children may also go with you.”

Again – Pharaoh is still bargaining. Moses responds:

25But Moses said, “You too shall give sacrifices and burnt offerings into our hands, and we will make them for the Lord our God.

26And also our cattle will go with us; not a [single] hoof will remain, for we will take from it to worship the Lord our God, and we do not know how [much] we will worship the Lord until we arrive there.”

27The Lord strengthened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them out.

There is no bargain to be made with grief.

This is the message. We cannot bargain with grief. It’s all or nothing. If we want to be free with our grief, we need to embrace it, let go of the past, let go of the root. The only way we can be free is the grief. To be free. Clean slate. In this moment.

And how does Pharaoh respond?

28Pharaoh said to him, “Go away from me! Beware! You shall no longer see my face, for on the day that you see my face, you shall die!”

Sounds like Pharaoh is getting angry to me. Pharaoh hasn’t really experienced anger or sadness (part of the Kubler Ross grief model) but it seems like he is starting to, doesn’t it?

Here’s Moses response:

29[Thereupon,] Moses said, “You have spoken correctly; I shall no longer see your face.”

These are (I think) the last words Moses says to Pharaoh. Let’s keep going:

11:1The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here. When he lets you out, he will completely drive you out of here.

2Please, speak into the ears of the people, and let them borrow, each man from his friend and each woman from her friend, silver vessels and golden vessels.”

3So the Lord gave the people favor in the Egyptians’ eyes; also the man Moses was highly esteemed in the land of Egypt in the eyes of Pharaoh’s servants and in the eyes of the people.

Pharaoh is unaware of what is happening here – Hashem is telling Moses – get the people ready. And Hashem did his part – he got Egypt ready to release.

What are your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 2 Tevet, 5783

A year ago, we were reading this passage leading up to MLK day. As I read the portion today and reflect on what I wrote a year ago? I’m not sure much needs to be added. I really encourage us to reflect on our own processes of freedom and liberation – while at the same time imagine how we may be blocking someone ELSE’s path to freedom and liberation.

It’s hard to imagine holding those two thoughts at the same time. We tend to be binary. Yet, it is critical for us to be able to do both.

To see ourselves as both oppressed and the oppressor.

This is our work as we not only liberate ourselves spiritually – but we work to help others liberate themselves.

What are your thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for Shevat 2, 5782

Todays portion picks up right after Moses casts darkness upon Egypt; except for the houses of the Jews – who had light in all their homes.

Pharaoh summons Moses and tells him everyone can go worship God, but they need to leave the cattle and flocks behind.

Moses doubles down even more and tells Pharaoh; not only will we take our own cattle, but you (Egypt) will provide us animals as well. Moses tells pharaoh- we don’t know how much God will ask us to sacrifice and worship there until we get there.

Remembering that Egyptians worshiped the flocks and cattle; this was an incredible request because Pharaoh would have to give up a component of what he was using to claim his godhood. Pharaoh keeps trying to keep every shred of power he has despite evidence that he is not in charge; God is.

God hardened Pharoah’s heart and he did not wish to send them out. And in one last act of defiance he tells Moses to go away. And he makes one last threat; “Beware not to look at my face again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die!”

Moses’ response here is interesting; “well said! I will never see your face again.”

I can’t imagine what went through Pharaoh’s brain at this point. Or his servants. Moses continues to demonstrate he is right and Pharaoh continues to show he is wrong. The evidence is overwhelming- his country is in shambles. And it’s not like an invading army has destroyed Egypt. Natural disasters did.

Why did Moses respond this way? Because God was speaking to him at the same time Pharaoh was!

God tells Moses (while he was standing in Pharaoh’s presence); “I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. And afterwards he will send you away from here. When he sends you our, he will drive you out of here completely.”

Rabbi Judah Aryeh Alter of Gur writes:

The children of Israel, after living in Egypt for so many years, had absorbed many of its negative influences. When God took them out, He wanted them to reject all traces of the Egyptian culture and become “a kingdom of ministers and a holy nation” (19:6). This would only be possible if they cut all ties with the land of Egypt. So God ensured that Pharaoh would drive the Jews out of Egypt, making a complete break between the children of Israel and the land of Egypt- “When he sends you out, he will drive you out of here completely,” The children of Israel could then become a “legion of God”

All of this was happening because God knew the process to lead the Jews out of slavery and restore their identity was to eschew their generational connection to Egypt.

I reflect on our country and our past history to slavery. If we look upon ourselves as Egyptians; we never really freed the slaves in our country. We held on as long as we could. The legal process of freedom started (with the Emancipation Proclamation) on September 22, 1862. It took three years to legally free the slaves from that point as Texas finally capitulated and declared the slaves free in that state in June 19, 1865. Consider that. Three years it took to free the slaves in America. In Egypt – it was fast. In America, the slaves continued to live in “Egypt” after they gained their freedom. You can imagine what would have happened in the exodus if the Jews never left Egypt under a Pharaoh who was willing to destroy their country to avoid JUST LETTING the Jews worship for a few days and then returning.

The idea of slaves and “slave culture” is in the Torah. It’s something we don’t often talk about as Americans. We need to speak more about this; because we are Egypt. But there is one big difference. Black folx didn’t come to America on their own the way the Jews went to Egypt. Black folx were taken from their homes and land and brought here AGAINST THEIR WILL. We recognize the Exodus story as a story of freedom and liberation; but we don’t connect it to our own history. Just something I’m reflecting on here.

Ok back to the passage.

God also tells Moses (while he is standing in front of Pharaoh) to speak to the Jews and tell them to request from their friends silver and gold.

God granted favor in the eyes of the Egyptians – although Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, the Egyptians knew what was happening – they saw how the Jews were protected from the plagues. The Egyptians (including Pharaoh’s servants) had high respect for Moses. I mean; you would too if he was calling his shots like he did.

Anyway; some interesting thoughts today.

Especially as we are coming upon the day our country celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Our country teaches about his “I have a dream” speech; which is a very watered down version of his message. It’s comfortable for us as “Egyptians” to hear after holding the “Jews” as slaves that we should just look at one another and judge by the content of one’s character instead of the color of one’s skin. Failing to recognize the IMPACT of slavery on a people group. I could only imagine in Egypt; had Pharaoh “freed” the Jews but then told all Egyptians to ignore the Jews as an identity and just treat everyone “the same” how that would have worked out. If Pharaoh had said “fine – y’all are free, but we are going to ignore your identity and what has happened over the past 400 years, and when you aren’t as successful as the Egyptians, we will blame you for not working hard enough.

I mean; the Jews were afforded the silver and gold of the Egyptians. There was a collective understanding in Egypt (and from God) of the need for reparations and restoration beyond a “freedom.” And still, we would never expect the Jews to participate in Egypt at a level of the Egyptians had they stayed in Egypt AND the Egyptians started to ignore their Jewish heritage and the impact 400 years of slavery had.

And; imagine growing up as a young Jew and reading about how pharaoh “freed” the slaves and not learning that Moses and Aaron and God himself worked to free them? That would really be problematic. So why do we accept this in America?

Just something to think about.

What do you think?