Thoughts on Parashat Shemot 5785
Menachem Mirski
Why did we (i.e. our ancestors) settle in Egypt?
Because of the natural disaster – there was a drought and famine in the land of Canaan and that forced Jacob and his family to go to Egypt. Thank God, one of our brothers – Joseph – was already there. We know that he ended up there out of nefarious actions, yet God used these actions and turned them into our blessing. That’s one of His powers – to turn a wicked act into something good. But we should never provoke God to use this power.
Why did we (i.e. what forced out ancestors to) leave Egypt?
It was a political disaster caused by the regime change:
A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are much too numerous for us.Let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they may not increase; otherwise in the event of war they may join our enemies in fighting against us and rise from the ground.” So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor; and they built garrison cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they increased and spread out, so that the [Egyptians] came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians ruthlessly imposed upon the Israelites the various labors that they made them perform. Ruthlessly they made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field. (Exodus 1:8-14)
So, it looks like disasters are major forces determining our fate as people. There is nothing particularly unique about it: it applies to all peoples, doesn’t it? Yes, but it seems that there has always been something unique in it, namely, our response to these disasters. There is a pattern in it: while other nations stay there and suffer, often unimaginable, torture, we have developed the ability to leave these terrible places behind us and move to another place, both literally or spiritually. Why? Because of our faith and one of its core principles, namely, we don’t believe that suffering as such is of unavoidable, cosmic nature and we just need to accept it. That’s a pagan view: because you have sinned against Gaia, you have to accept the punishment imposed on you by her. And there is no forgiveness, nor way out of it: it belongs to the nature of the Universe. Christianity partly adopted this pagan view; partly, because it modified it: you have to suffer first and then through suffering you may be forgiven. Or not.
We, Jews, have never believed that. Yes, there are forms of suffering we cannot overcome – like psychological consequences of the death of our loved ones. But that’s probably the only one that Judaism sees as of unavoidable, cosmic nature and still, our tradition created numerous practices to mitigate it.
We, human beings, are called to live in happiness and blessing. Almost every suffering, almost every tragedy is, by definition, avoidable (we also don’t believe in the cosmic nature of tragedy, as the Ancient Greeks did). This is at the same time one of most optimistic and at the same time one of most difficult messages Judaism brought to the world; a message that boils down to two principles:
- There is hope in every situation, as long as you are alive.
- There is responsibility, for you, in every situation. Therefore, always try to see it, in every moment of your life, even if you’re simply having fun.
Be always vigilant; if you can’t, make sure someone in your environment is.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Mirski
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