After twelve weeks, we conclude our weekly inquiries into the first book of the Torah. This Shabbat, we open a new book. Many of us know this book by its anglicized name, Exodus, ascribed to the text as a reflection of the major thrust of the narrative—the redemption of an oppressed people and their going out from Egypt. The Hebrew name of the second book of the Bible is Shemot, ‘names.’ Shemot is taken from the beginning of the text, an enumeration of the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob and all their households. The discrepancy between these two titles of the book we begin this week underlines a foundational question about the nature of Scripture: is it essentially person-centered or mission-driven?
The first book of the Bible seems to embody the former frame: the story of Creation is focused on the creation of humanity, with the whole of the cosmos and the Garden seemingly planted for our benefit; the parshiot that follow chronicle the many myriad failures and successes of the human family, eventually honing in on the particular story of Abraham and his progeny. From Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Joseph, we have been focused on the trials and triumphs of individuals. But the book of Exodus offers a revolutionary disruption: A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph (Ex. 1:8). In a single, radical line, the locus of the story shifts from a person to a nation. Shortly thereafter, however, the Egyptians allow themselves to become overcome by fear and a scarcity mindset. They choose to oppress the Israelites rather than risk their societal status quo. Unlike the previous volume of the Torah, the early heroes of Exodus are not defined by their exceptional pedigree. Shifra and Puah, two Hebrew midwives, saved untold numbers of children by virtue of their being willing to undertake a revolutionary act of civil disobedience. It is quiet acts of human resistance that define this week’s parsha just as much as, if not more than, any awesome divine act.
Moses, our teacher, will play the protagonist not only for the rest of this book but until the end of the Torah. He is born to an unnamed couple from the tribe of Levi. Levi, who was disinherited by his father at the end of last week’s parsha (Gen. 49:5-7). Moses’ mother, in her own act of resistance, hid him for three months at the beginning of his life to save him from being thrown into the Nile. When it became impossible for her to hide him any longer, she placed him in a basket on the bank of the river, and his sister kept a watchful eye so that when Pharaoh’s daughter discovered him and had mercy on him, she was there to suggest that the child be nursed by a Hebrew woman (his mother.) Parshat Shemot posits that salvation comes from the unlikeliest of places. But this Shabbat, we must also learn that no one can bring about redemption alone. When Moses tries to address the suffering of his kinsfolk single-handedly, he kills an Egyptian and is forced to flee into exile. He needs God’s help, beginning with his encounter with the burning bush, to reorient him and give him the necessary vision to return to Egypt and become more than a man. In order to liberate the people of Israel, Moses must become a movement. To do so, he has to acknowledge his own shortcomings and limitations. He must be humble enough to allow his brother Aaron to speak for him, resilient enough to remain undeterred by Pharaoh and his own people’s disbelief in his mission, Moses must have the vision to realize God’s self-definition of ehyeh asher ehyeh, he must be resolute in his commitment to lead his people come what may.
This Shabbat, we honor the life and legacy of another great leader. When we remember Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., we know that he was not alone in his strivings for a more just world. We know that the civil rights movement to which Dr. King devoted his life was and is defined by the acts of resistance and civil disobedience undertaken by the everyday unsung heroes who gave all that they had in pursuit of a better world. To bend the arc of the universe towards justice, we need dedicated, passionate, visionary leaders like Dr.King, Rosa Parks, and Rabbi William Braude, but a movement is people-powered. Not individuals, collaborative collectives. As we were reminded of the racial reckoning that was ignited by the murder of George Floyd, an individual can be a catalyst, but it takes all of us to make a change. This Shabbat, as we begin the book of our people’s redemption, let us remember that none of us is free until we are all free. Let us rededicate ourselves to the holy work of bridge building and planting seeds of peace and understanding. May we continue to strive for the day when everyone will sit under their own vine and fig tree with none to make them afraid. Shabbat Shalom, Preston
