"It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go" (Exodus 13:17)
A whole people leave their place of residence in Egypt for an unknown destination. Accompanied by God who directs the people on their way and makes sure that the way is one in which fear and confusion will not overwhelm them, and with Moses who brings Joseph's bones as previous generations had promised Joseph they would. God is careful to ensure that fear will not lead to their return to slavery to which they were accustomed, and they might feel safe, while Moses carries a memento of their past, their promise, their narrative, and their origins.
"So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea, and the children of Israel were armed when they went up out of Egypt. Moses took Joseph's bones with him, for he [Joseph] had adjured the sons of Israel, saying, God will surely remember you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you" (ibid, 18-19).
Are the children of Israel armed with weapons to confront the apparent threat of the unknown as God leads them away from potential battle grounds that might frighten them, or, perhaps, God arms them in order to strengthen their resolve and give them the feeling that they are not fleeing as slaves, but free people able to defend themselves?
Convoys of tribes march out in the exodus from Egypt. One can imagine how their being armed might help them have more confidence at this time, but in what way are Joseph's bones relevant here? I have often considered what I might take with me if…
To what do we pay attention at times of fear and anxiety, when it is unclear where we should go, what awaits us, and what will help us on our way? Moses takes Joseph's bones.
The Torah scholar Abraham Azulai, who wrote his commentary in Gaza in the 17th century suggested that the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea that will occur as their journey continues will happen because of Joseph: "Because the text reads So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea, (in Hebrew Yam suf ) and mentions the Suf Sea. They will need his credit at that time, that is the credit of Joseph (Yosef) as they said (midrash Genesis Raba, 80,87) The sea saw and fled;(Psalms,114,3) and the text tells us that they all came up armed and in haste, not paying attention to Joseph's coffin which was the most important thing but each was then concerned with his own concerns, and it was Moses, may he rest in peace, who took care of that, as the rabbis taught (Bab. Talmud, Sotah, 13) The wise one, takes mitzvot upon himself" (Baalei Brit Avraham, Beshalach, 9).
In bringing Joseph's bones, Moses kept the promise given at the end of the book of Genesis – the promise of Jacob's sons to return Joseph's remains to Canaan. Moses fulfills an ancient commitment and closes a circle. Joseph's bones, argues Azulai, were the important thing. The people were armed with weapons, but Moses with Joseph's remains.
In these times, when our hearts are in Gaza, our feet in the square of the abducted, and Tu beShvat is upon us, one can find a direction in the teaching of Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch:
"The existence of a tree is not rooted in its branches or leaves or beautiful fruit, rather in its roots, that are strongly implanted in a place where the winds and storms cannot reach. They grow stronger at their source, in the living waters of renewal. The tree is not worried by storms that sweep through it, shaking it and bending it: it does not move from its place. If it is not uprooted from its spot, it will survive and renew itself! And thus, we find that the tree has lost nothing, quite the contrary, in fact – it is strengthened in the struggle. So, too, a human being. As long as a person remains attached to their spiritual roots – no wind will be able to uproot him from his place. The opposite is the case, the storms will arouse the person's power of renewal" (The Cycles of the Year, T'u beShvat, Bnei Brak, 1966).
One verse in the Beshalach Torah reading describes how, in the upheaval and storm of the exodus, God protects the people from their natural desire to turn around, to roll the film back, and so to escape the difficulties of uncertainty and having to face an unknown future. "It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go, that God did not lead them [by] way of the land of the Philistines for it was near, because God said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt" (Exodus 13:17).
Rabbi Hirsch argues for strengthening the roots - "He whose heart is wise accepts commands" (Proverbs 10:8), to strengthen the place from which one draws power, the place where renewal occurs repeatedly, even if it is not seen. It is very challenging to have faith in the power of our roots at present, the roots we don't perceive. Perhaps that is why faith alone is not enough for Moses, the belief in a protective and instructive deity. He takes Joseph's bones, a symbol of those roots in which are to be found the memories of earlier generations that give meaning to the journey and the challenges it brings.
The word Beshalach - "when he sent out" might hint at a passive event – with Pharoah lies the key to the liberation of the people which is dependent on him, but it is also possible to interpret Beshaalch in the sense of mission (Shlichut), an internal awakening to a collective task, a new direction. A spring of waters of renewal, a mission that draws its strength from deep roots that are to be brought with us on our difficult journey.
I would like to conclude with a prayer, that we succeed, through the difficult storm of these long months, in awakening our own powers of renewal, that we pay attention to the bones of Joseph, to the belief that there are things that cannot be uprooted with force, that we reconnect to the roots that hold us beyond the reach of the storm which are like the anemones that wait below ground, knowing that the time will come for them to bloom.
Translation: Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann
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Chen Ben Or Zafoni, Rabbi, Kehilat Raanan, Reform Community of Raanana
A whole people leave their place of residence in Egypt for an unknown destination. Accompanied by God who directs the people on their way and makes sure that the way is one in which fear and confusion will not overwhelm them, and with Moses who brings Joseph's bones as previous generations had promised Joseph they would. God is careful to ensure that fear will not lead to their return to slavery to which they were accustomed, and they might feel safe, while Moses carries a memento of their past, their promise, their narrative, and their origins.
"So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea, and the children of Israel were armed when they went up out of Egypt. Moses took Joseph's bones with him, for he [Joseph] had adjured the sons of Israel, saying, God will surely remember you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you" (ibid, 18-19).
Are the children of Israel armed with weapons to confront the apparent threat of the unknown as God leads them away from potential battle grounds that might frighten them, or, perhaps, God arms them in order to strengthen their resolve and give them the feeling that they are not fleeing as slaves, but free people able to defend themselves?
Convoys of tribes march out in the exodus from Egypt. One can imagine how their being armed might help them have more confidence at this time, but in what way are Joseph's bones relevant here? I have often considered what I might take with me if…
To what do we pay attention at times of fear and anxiety, when it is unclear where we should go, what awaits us, and what will help us on our way? Moses takes Joseph's bones.
The Torah scholar Abraham Azulai, who wrote his commentary in Gaza in the 17th century suggested that the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea that will occur as their journey continues will happen because of Joseph: "Because the text reads So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea, (in Hebrew Yam suf ) and mentions the Suf Sea. They will need his credit at that time, that is the credit of Joseph (Yosef) as they said (midrash Genesis Raba, 80,87) The sea saw and fled;(Psalms,114,3) and the text tells us that they all came up armed and in haste, not paying attention to Joseph's coffin which was the most important thing but each was then concerned with his own concerns, and it was Moses, may he rest in peace, who took care of that, as the rabbis taught (Bab. Talmud, Sotah, 13) The wise one, takes mitzvot upon himself" (Baalei Brit Avraham, Beshalach, 9).
In bringing Joseph's bones, Moses kept the promise given at the end of the book of Genesis – the promise of Jacob's sons to return Joseph's remains to Canaan. Moses fulfills an ancient commitment and closes a circle. Joseph's bones, argues Azulai, were the important thing. The people were armed with weapons, but Moses with Joseph's remains.
In these times, when our hearts are in Gaza, our feet in the square of the abducted, and Tu beShvat is upon us, one can find a direction in the teaching of Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch:
"The existence of a tree is not rooted in its branches or leaves or beautiful fruit, rather in its roots, that are strongly implanted in a place where the winds and storms cannot reach. They grow stronger at their source, in the living waters of renewal. The tree is not worried by storms that sweep through it, shaking it and bending it: it does not move from its place. If it is not uprooted from its spot, it will survive and renew itself! And thus, we find that the tree has lost nothing, quite the contrary, in fact – it is strengthened in the struggle. So, too, a human being. As long as a person remains attached to their spiritual roots – no wind will be able to uproot him from his place. The opposite is the case, the storms will arouse the person's power of renewal" (The Cycles of the Year, T'u beShvat, Bnei Brak, 1966).
One verse in the Beshalach Torah reading describes how, in the upheaval and storm of the exodus, God protects the people from their natural desire to turn around, to roll the film back, and so to escape the difficulties of uncertainty and having to face an unknown future. "It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go, that God did not lead them [by] way of the land of the Philistines for it was near, because God said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt" (Exodus 13:17).
Rabbi Hirsch argues for strengthening the roots - "He whose heart is wise accepts commands" (Proverbs 10:8), to strengthen the place from which one draws power, the place where renewal occurs repeatedly, even if it is not seen. It is very challenging to have faith in the power of our roots at present, the roots we don't perceive. Perhaps that is why faith alone is not enough for Moses, the belief in a protective and instructive deity. He takes Joseph's bones, a symbol of those roots in which are to be found the memories of earlier generations that give meaning to the journey and the challenges it brings.
The word Beshalach - "when he sent out" might hint at a passive event – with Pharoah lies the key to the liberation of the people which is dependent on him, but it is also possible to interpret Beshaalch in the sense of mission (Shlichut), an internal awakening to a collective task, a new direction. A spring of waters of renewal, a mission that draws its strength from deep roots that are to be brought with us on our difficult journey.
I would like to conclude with a prayer, that we succeed, through the difficult storm of these long months, in awakening our own powers of renewal, that we pay attention to the bones of Joseph, to the belief that there are things that cannot be uprooted with force, that we reconnect to the roots that hold us beyond the reach of the storm which are like the anemones that wait below ground, knowing that the time will come for them to bloom.
Translation: Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann
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Chen Ben Or Zafoni, Rabbi, Kehilat Raanan, Reform Community of Raanana