Feature Tidbit REDEMPTION CHECKLIST ED. NOTE: This will probably remind people with good memories (or back issues) of last year's lead tidbit, but it's got a different slant and broader reference. The famous Four Terms of Redemption from the beginning of this week's sedra give us the four cups of wine at the Seder (so to speak). The fifth term of redemption is generally matched with the as-yet-undrunk fifth cup, the Cup of Eliyahu. Checking the relevant p'sukim will disclose that there are actually 8 verb-promisesin what G-d told Moshe to say to us (in Sh'mot 6:6-8) Therefore (says G-d to Moshe Rabeinu) say to Bnei Yisrael, "I Am HaShem", and I will [1] take you out from Egyptian oppression (burdens, forced labor), and I will [2] save you from their slavery, and I will [3] liberate you with a display of My power and with great acts of judgment. And I will [4] take you to Myself asa nation, and I will [5] be to you as a G-d. And you will [6] know that I Am G-d Who took you out... And I will [7] bring you into the Land I swore to give to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and I will [8] give it to you as a heritage... In these promises we see the DEAL, the one first presented in last week's sedra at the Burning Bush, the one repeated over and over again thoughout the book of D'varim. G-d's Plan: To take us out of Egypt, to give us the Torah, and to bring us to Eretz Yisrael so that we may live complete Torah lives. The Jews who came out of Egypt did not receive the list of promises to pick and choose from it. They could not say, "We'll take the first three so we can get out of here, but we're not sure about the others". In fact, they handled [4] and [5] very well by saying NA'ASEH V'NISHMA and experiencing Revelation at Sinai. Theydid not handle [7] well, and asked for spies to check things out first. This incomplete acceptance of the promises, and the betrayal of [4] and [5] during the idolatrous years of the first Beit HaMikdash, got us into deep trouble. And when the first exile ended with the call to return to Eretz Yisrael in fulfillment of promise [7] again, we seemed to have messed up again. Not to mention repeated lapses in [4] and [5] throughout our history. Notice that [1,2,3] are fairly one-sided on G-d's part. His taking us unto Him as a nation and His becoming our G-d require serious commitment on our part. So does [7,8]. So here we are again, still in the long Galut. And we look at the list of promises, not only as part of our background and history, but as our bright future. Do we want to be taken our of Galut, saved from the oppression and persecution of many of the places of our dispersion. Yes, of course. Right? Do we all feel that way? All Jews? What about being redeemed from the influences of the cultures of our host countries, the allure of modernity and prosperity, the temptations of assimilation. Do all Jews want that? Are we ready to commit ourselves to G-d and His Torah, so that we can truly be His nation? Do we really KNOW His role in everything that happens to us? And are there Jews - Torah observant and otherwise - who continue to say "no thanks" to the "offer" of being brought to the Land that G-d had promised to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, the Land that G-d has wanted to give to us as a heritage? If we look at the promises of the "Terms of Redemption" as a Redemption Checklist - how are we doing? What's our Redemption Probability score, as individuals and as a part of a community? Most importantly, what can each of us do to improve our score? Two things the Torah calls MORASHA - The Land of Israel and the Torah itself. Neither is given to us with no strings attached. G-d's gifts of the Torah and Eretz Yisrael were not one-sided gestures on G-d's part. (Even being taken out of Mitzrayim had to bemerited Somewhat. No one-sided gesture there either. To a point.) We have to want each gift, both gifts with a total passion. We have to work hard to earn the gifts, and we have to teach our fellow Jews, in a pleasant way, how to value these gifts too. To clarify the point about whether the Exodus was G-d's one-sided gift or not... On the one hand, we have the helplessness and hopelessness of having sunk to the 49th level of impurity. We have G-d's statement that He will fight for us and we are just to stand by silently (and observe). On the other hand, we have the notionof many Jews not meriting redemption and dying in Egypt (especially during the plague of Darkness). We have the concept of the merit of righteous women that got us out of Egypt. May we be privileged to the time, soon, that we will have sufficiently increased the Jewish commitments to Torah and Eretz Yisrael, that the Complete Geula will be the logical, obvious next step in G-d's Plan. [The Va'eira Homepage] |
