This week's Torah portion begins the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Though Passover is only celebrated in April next year, the cycle of Torah readings always puts the Passover reading several months ahead of the actual holiday.
Moses is the central character, and his origin story is packed with symbolic meaning. One of the most interesting aspects is how he is nurtured by women in every possible role: the midwives who save Jewish boys; the mother who hides her son in a basket; the sister who watches over him; the bathing princess who takes pity on him, and raises him as her own, while giving him to a nurse (who is actually his mother). Here we see almost every aspect of womanhood.
We don't learn who the male influences may be in Moses's life until he meets his father-in-law, who goes on to play an outsized role. It's an interesting aspect of the story. Moses, though married, would often strike a lonely figure; his wife often seemed distant from him. Yet he owed so much to the women in his life
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
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