Feature Tidbit The Package Deal At the end of Parshat Sh'mot, Moshe Rabeinu had expressed his feelings to G-d that his mission has failed. Rather than help the people, Moshe has made their bitter lives more terrible. G-d's immediate response to Moshe is to reassure him that all is going according to plan and that what is happening to the people is a step towards redemption. Thus did Parshat Sh'mot end. In the opening words of Va'eira, we see the other part of G-d's reaction to Moshe's words. It is implied, rather than expressed, by the words VA'Y'DABEIR ELOKIM... And G-d (specifically with the "stricter" Name of Divine Justice) spoke (this particular verb is associated with harsh, stern words). Rashi explains that G-d was reprimanding Moshe for his "cutting" remark - Why did you make things worse for the people... Immediately, however, G-d's "demeanor" and words soften towards Moshe - within the same opening pasuk it says, VAYOMER EILAV ANI HASHEM. And He said to him (this verb is the softer "said", rather than "spoke to"), I Am HaShem (this Name of G-d is the "main" one, the Name that we associate with Midat HaRachamim, G-d's quality of Mercy. What follows is the beautifully stated promise of redemption and nationhood. G-d realizes, so to speak, that Moshe was only expressing his concern for the People and his frustration at his own perceived failure, not criticizing G-d. The Divine Promises are also the statement of the Package Deal that G-d is "offering" the people of Israel. Tell the people, G-d says to Moshe, that I will (1) take you out from under the oppression of Egypt, and I will (2) save you from their enslavement, and I will (3) redeem you with a mighty show of force. These three terms, let us say, make up Phase One - Y'tzi'at Mitzrayim, being taken out of Egypt. Phase Two is - And I will (4) take you unto Me as a nation, and I will (5) be to you as G-d, and you (6) will know that it was I Who took you out of Egypt. And then comes Phase Three - And I will (7) bring you to the Land that I swore I would give to your ancestors, and I will (8) give it to you as a heritage... The complete "offer" from G-d, this Package Deal, this series of Divine Promises, is sealed on both ends with G-d's statement, ANI HASHEM, I Am G-d. Perhaps the word "offer" is misleading, for it implies that we can take it or leave it, or that we can pick and choose among its different elements. And we cannot do that with Judaism. (Actually, we can do that, because G-d blessed us with Free Will, including the ability to choose to disregard what G-d wants us to do. But there are consequences of our choices.) Bnei Yisrael could not have said to G-d, "thanks for getting us out of Egypt, but we'll pass on the Torah and commitment." Nor can we say, "Thanks for the Torah; we'll stay here in the Wilderness." The Meraglim and Dor HaMidbar tried that and they ended up staying in the Wilderness - if you get my meaning. Nor are we supposed to accept the Torah except for some of the mitzvot that we think clash with modernity, or are inconvenient, or out of fashion, or aren't cool. It doesn't work like that. Package Deal. We were meant to take the whole deal. And the same should go for Eretz Yisrael, phase 3 of the Plan. Let's keep Tel Aviv but give away the Golan. Nope. Sorry. It doesn't work that way either. Piku'ach Nefesh, you say? Life threatening situation? Don't we "give up" most mitzvot of the Torah for Piku'ach Nefesh? Good point. We do. On a very temporary basis. That's first of all. But more to the point, where's the Piku'ach Nefesh in keeping the Golan, an integral part of Eretz Yisrael for thousands of years, and an integral part of the State of Israel for nearly 20 years. If we don't give Syria the Golan, we face war. Moshe Arens, former Defense Minister, says that is a pure, plain and simple lie. Syria has not been in any condition to fight Israel, nor is its army, air force, or economy in any way able to consider the idea of war. Give them the Golan, though, and they will be in a great position to drastically cut our water supply - which can lead to war. They will receive obscene amounts of money from the U.S. which will enable them to rearm so they will pose a threat to us. So I'd say (and I am not the only one - I'm sure more than half the Jews in this country feel the same way) it's life threatening to leave the Golan. TT Readers, you can react to my words any way you like, but don't tell me that I'm leaving Torah and talking politics. Not so. This is not politics. It is Life. It is Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, Torat Yisrael. [The Vaeira Homepage]
|
