Bo: Turn Me Loose

Parashat Bo continues the story of the ten plagues visited upon Egypt, culminating in the most horrific of all: the slaying of the Egyptian firstborn.  Finally, Pharaoh recognizes that he can no longer maintain his resistance against God (and Moses as God's agent) and agrees to release the Israelites.

As will be seen further in next week's parish, Pharaoh will soon enough regret his decision.  But much can be made about the way that he arrives at his decision in the first place.  Why did it take such extreme consequences for Pharaoh to relent and release the Israelites?  We saw during the plague of the locusts that Pharaoh's own courtiers are beginning to doubt the wisdom of his intransigence: "How long shall this one be a snare to us?" they ask, referring to Moses.  "Are you not yet aware that Egypt is lost?"  They have their eyes open to the desolation that has overtaken the land; Pharaoh has become so entrenched in his stubbornness that he refuses to recognize this for himself.

Many commenters argue that some of Pharaoh's stubbornness is self-imposed, while other elements of it are a result of God's interactions with him.  In the broader drama of the Exodus narrative, this makes sense.  God wishes to maximize the tension that Pharaoh and his people feel, in order to send a message to both the Israelites and the Egyptians about the nature and magnitude of God's power.

On the other hand, perhaps given human nature, God didn't have to push Pharaoh terribly hard to discover his stubborn streak.  Many of us are built in a way that makes it difficult for us to back down from a position for which we have argued strongly.  Pharaoh, having convinced himself that he is in the right, will not retreat easily from that position.

"I gotta do it my way, or no way at all."  This could easily be voiced by any of the players in this narrative.

Please note, I do not own-- nor do I claim to own-- these songs.  Copyrights are held by the various artists.  I include them here for illustrative purposes.
Turn Me Loose- (Bo, Exodus 10:1-13:16)

Music and lyrics by Paul Dean and Mike Reno, performed by Loverboy. From "Loverboy," Columbia Records, 1980.

VaEra: Burning Heart

Parashat VaEra begins the arc of Moses and Aaron appealing to Pharaoh to set the Israelites free, and Pharaoh's incessant refusals.  The plagues on Egypt then begin, each one compounding the misery within the land.

Each time that Pharaoh and his people have endured all of the suffering they can handle from a particular plague, Pharaoh pleads with Moses and Aaron to intercede with God and restore normalcy. A few times, it even appears that Pharaoh will relent and grant the Israelites their freedom.  Ultimately, however, each time we find Pharaoh's heart hardening.  Sometimes this takes place without an actor, and we merely read that Pharaoh's heart was hardened.  Sometimes, God intervenes and hardens Pharaoh's heart.  Sometimes, Pharaoh does the hardening all on his own.

Note that, most likely, the Bible intends "heart" to be understood as the seat of reason and decision making (as the ancient world understood it to be), not the seat of emotion.  Pharaoh's heart-hardening comes from a place of deliberation and rationalization.  He feels that he is making the best decisions for himself and his people, even as he experiences the divine wrath behind the plagues.

It begs a question, taken up in Midrash and other rabbinic literature by thinkers far more learned and eloquent than I: how much control does Pharaoh actually have over his heart?  How much do any of us?  the Bible seems to argue, at least in this episode, that God has already created a master plan wherein ten plagues must be visited on Egypt before the Exodus can take place.  Thus, Pharaoh possesses no free will-- no control over his heart to move things in a different direction.

Though this Survivor song was written for Rocky IV in order to highlight tensions between the Russian character (Ivan Drago)  and the American hero (Rocky), the conflict described in the opening lines also feels applicable to the Exodus narrative:

Two worlds collide
Rival nations
It's a primitive clash
Venting years of frustrations

Please note, I do not own-- nor do I claim to own-- these songs.  Copyrights are held by the various artists.  I include them here for illustrative purposes.
Burning Heart- (VaEra, Exodus 6:2-9:35)

Music and lyrics by Jim Peters and Frankie Sullivan, performed by Survivor. From the Rocky IV Soundtrack, Scotti Bros., 1985.

Shemot: The Name Game

This week, we begin the second book of the Torah.  In Greek, it is known as Exodus, alluding to the dominant theme of the entire book.  In Hebrew, however, the book (and the first parasha therein) is called Shemot, meaning "names."  This derives from the opening sentences which recount the names of the Jacob's sons who accompanied Jacob as he moved his family to Egypt in order to reunite with Joseph.  Each of Joseph's brothers is individually recounted, which helps to link this new book to the final chapters of Genesis which preceded it.

In contrast, chapter two does not provide us with proper names.  We read, "A certain man of the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman."  At first glance, there is absolutely nothing remarkable about this statement.  Most Israelites married within their own tribe; this expectation was particularly prominent among the Levites, some of whom (the Cohanim, or priests) were subject to even greater restrictions surrounding marriage.  But when we learn that the Levite man and woman were Moses' parents, the passage becomes more intriguing.  And when we note that in the first nine verses of chapter two, not a single proper name is mentioned, we are compelled to view this as a significant literary device.  Moses' name, bestowed upon him in chapter two, verse 10, is the first proper name we encounter in this chapter and it is not given to him by his biological parents.  Rather, Pharaoh's daughter, who will become his surrogate mother, takes responsibility for naming the infant Moses.

Jewish tradition, like many other cultural traditions, places great value on names.  Yet the sons of Jacob, whose lives and legacies will be all but forgotten in the early chapters of Exodus, are explicitly named, while Moses and his family are introduced to us anonymously.

Rabbinic tradition teaches that a person bears three names in life: the name bestowed by parents, the name given by one's friends and acquaintances, and the name one acquires for oneself.  I think perhaps the beginning of Exodus 2 is making the point that Moses, by growing into a position of leadership and authority, will come to acquire a name for himself, and need not worry about his given name, or what others might call him.

However one parses things here, one thing is for certain: a name is not something to play games with.

Please note, I do not own-- nor do I claim to own-- these songs.  Copyrights are held by the various artists.  I include them here for illustrative purposes.
The Name Game- (Shemot, Exodus 1:1-6:1)

Music and lyrics by Shirley Ellis and Lincoln Chase, performed by Shirley Ellis.  Single released on Congress Records, 1964.

VaYechi: May I Suggest...

Parashat VaYechi is the final portion in the book of Genesis.  There is much in the portion about legacies and preparations for old age: Jacob blesses his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, in addition to offering blessings to his own children.  We read of his death and burial, and the mourning period that follows.  Ultimately, we read the details of Joseph's death as well.

The manner in which Jacob imparts blessings (which, in many places, also serve as calls to action) inspired the custom of creating ethical wills.  In these documents, one can communicate instructions, hopes, and dreams for future generations.

Jacob's life has not always been easy (many would argue that his troubles are of his own making, but that's a conversation for a different time).  Even with the promise of God's protection, he has weathered quite a few challenges.  In last week's parasha, VaYigash, Jacob met with Pharaoh as he arrived in Egypt and told him, "Few and hard have been the years of my life..." (Genesis 47:9).  As he has aged, Jacob has become a bit more introspective and views his many (mis?)adventures as having hindered him from leading a full life.  His final comments to his sons seem designed to recast his life's story once and for all and to offer guidance in the hopes that his children may avoid some of the pitfalls that he experienced.

We've seen the themes of blessing and legacy run throughout Jacob's life and throughout the entire patriarchal story.  The combination of love and anguish and fear and hope-- sometimes articulated and sometimes only tacitly expressed-- that parents impart to their children are filled with beauty and meaning.

I first heard this song performed by Dan Nichols at a concert sometime around 2011, and found it to be one of the most exquisitely beautiful and prayerful pieces of poetry I've ever experienced.  I approached Dan afterward and told him that it expressed the very sentiments I hoped to articulate to our son when he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah; in 2018 we were honored to have Dan perform it for that occasion.  The original composer and artist is Susan Werner; while I thank her for her poetry, I still think Dan's version is best.

In my mind's eye, I can hear and see Jacob expressing these very thoughts to his children as they gather around his bed during his final moments.  I can even imagine the voices of the other patriarchs and matriarchs echoing the same ideas:
"There is a hope
That's been expressed in you
The hope of seven generations, maybe more
And this is the faith
That they invest in you
It's that you'll do one better than was done before
Inside you know
Inside you understand
Inside you know what's yours to finally set right
And I suggest
And I suggest to you
And I suggest this is the best part of your life"


Please note, I do not own-- nor do I claim to own-- these songs.  Copyrights are held by the various artists.  I include them here for illustrative purposes.
May I Suggest- (VaYechi, Genesis 47:28-50:26)

Music and lyrics by Susan Werner, performed by Dan Nichols.  From the album "Road to Eden (Music Inspired by the Film)," Dan Nichols and Eighteen, 2014.

VaYigash: (They Long to Be) Close to You

Parashat VaYigash begins with the phrase "VaYigash Yehudah-- and Judah drew close."  After the climax of Joseph's encounter with his brothers ended in a cliffhanger (with Joseph threatening to jail Benjamin) at the conclusion of Parashat Miketz, Judah now will attempt to appeal to Joseph person-to-person, father-to-father in an effort to defuse the situation and calm this Egyptian vizier, whom he does not yet recognize as his brother.

Commentators both classic and modern highlight this episode as proof that Judah (and perhaps Joseph as well) has undergone a dramatic shift in character.  No longer concerned only for the gratification of his personal needs and desires (seen most dramatically in Genesis 38), he is able to appreciate what the imprisonment of his youngest brother would mean to his father, and realizes that he must use all his powers of persuasion to try to resolve things.  Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, in their musical about the Joseph narrative, devotes one line to Judah's transformation: "And Joseph knew by this his brothers now were honest men..."

Certainly, the playwrights have oversimplified the situation in an effort to conclude their show on a happy note.  Neither the musical nor the Torah really take the time to unpack all of the feelings (spoken and unspoken) that would undoubtedly come to light following such a reunion.  We can only imagine that the closeness that Judah has the courage to initiate (which circumvents a decided imbalance of power that must have been palpable in the room) is merely the beginning of a series of conversations that will need to be had over the ensuing days and weeks so that true reconciliation can take hold.

While Carpenters' "Close to You" is speaking of romantic closeness, not a filial bond, it nonetheless feels fitting for this particular parasha.  Had Judah not let his guard down and sought this closeness, who knows how the narrative might have unfolded?

Please note, I do not own-- nor do I claim to own-- these songs.  Copyrights are held by the various artists.  I include them here for illustrative purposes.
(They Long to Be) Close to You- (VaYigash, Genesis 44:18-47:27)
Music and lyrics by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, performed by Carpenters.  From the album "Close to You," A & M Records, 1970.