Shabat Table Talk
This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by Sr.Teresa Marie Healey O.P., D.Th. National Co-Coordinator S.P.R.E.D. Program, South Africa.
Week of 17-23 January 2010
Torah Portion: Ex.10: 1-13:16
Haftarah: Jer.46: 13-28
Readings for Sunday
Parashat Bo (go-enter) sees a shift in the narratives of the plagues. The last stage of confrontation begins and Pharaoh ‘enters’ into negotiation (Plaut). The overriding theme is God’s omnipotence. The final three plagues are meant to prove to Pharaoh, the Egyptians and the Israelites that God reigns supreme. Fox says that the Plague Narratives is a recounting of God’s power and of Pharaoh’s stubbornness, which starts out as a matter of will resisting change and eventually becomes impossible to revoke (Fox p.254). The Israelites who have been under bondage for so long need their faith in God’s omnipotence strengthened or reaffirmed so as to individually prepare for their liberation. These final plagues show the weakness of Pharaoh, eventually leading to his admission of guilt when he will implore the Israelites to leave his land. Rabbi Lucy Dinner points out that in this parashat ‘Master and slave alike struggle for identity and autonomy in a time of dramatic change’ (Woman’s Commentary p.133). Pharaoh up to now has lived and been seen as the Egyptian ruler with deity-like powers. The human ‘god’ comes begging for forgiveness before the God of Israel. This eighth plague serves as a catalyst for the Egyptians realization of God’s all-pervasive power.
Another aspect within the story of God’s omnipotence is the way Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. ‘I have hardened his heart’ (Ex.7: 3). Pharaoh hardens his own heart (Ex.8: 15). This expression has formed the basis of much discussion over the centuries about the aspect of free will and liberation. In Biblical times the heart was believed to be the seat of the intellect (Plaut). The assumption relating to this belief is that everyone has a choice between good and evil. Rambam, quoted in Liebowitz, stresses the mutuality of relationship between person and God. (Liebowitz p.157) Once a person chooses a course of action and repeats the action over and over again it becomes part of that person’s nature and cannot be easily extricated from the personality. Liebowitz herself mentions the person of Macbeth as an example of one who hardened himself to such an extent that he became in capable of altering his pattern of evil behavior (p.160). She also points out that it is not the Almighty who hampers a person’s freedom and makes the path of repentance difficult, rather it is the person who by his/her own persistent choices places obstacles in the way leading back to a positive relationship with God (Liebowitz p.156).
It is interesting to note that in Plaut’s commentary on the expression ‘hardened his heart’, he states that this is not the main point of the biblical narrative and one should not be sidetracked by discussion rather than recognize that certain aspects need to be accepted without trying to bring them to a permanent conclusion (p.366). The emphasis, or the main intent of the narrative, is to give praise and glory to God the Almighty because the focus is on God’s redemptive power. Through this whole experience of liberation from bondage Moses and the people of Israel will be secure and their faith strengthened knowing that God is with them no matter what may happen.
God gives the Israelites the command ‘to remember’ and pass on through recounting the story of their liberation ‘that you may recount in the hearing of your children and of your children’s children how I made a mockery of the Egyptians’ (Ex.10: 2). This telling and of their story of liberation from bondage and redemption from Egypt is central to Israel’s relationship with God. This recounting of the events will reaffirm that God is Almighty. ‘I am HaShem’. This name denotes God’s eternity because the letters comprise the words- He was, He is, and He will be (Chumash p.341). Pharaoh who was considered divine in Egypt is in the end forced to bend to a Higher, superior power.
Freedom for the Israelites went far beyond being physically released from Pharaoh’s grip. They first needed a spiritual and psychological metanoia. In seeking freedom from whatever situation one might find
Oneself in, the importance of inner change that must accompany liberation cannot be over emphasized. Parashat Bo teaches us that the quest for liberation has to extend beyond physical release from persecution. (Woman’s Commentary p 137). To be truly free a person needs to grow in faith before the exterior liberation from bondage can be fully realized in one’s life.
Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13-28.
Parashat Bo told of the power of God verses the power of Pharaoh a ‘human deity’. In Jeremiah we have a later Pharaoh fighting against the Babylonian Empire for supreme powers including that over Judah, which lay between the two countries. Jeremiah is called to prophecy about Pharaoh being overcome by the greater of the two powers. We read of God’s presence and the reminder to Israel to have faith and be assured of God’s eternal presence with them. The haftarah echoes the relationship to God and the growth of the person as seen in the parashah.
Sunday reading: Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Cor. 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21.
Nehemiah in the first reading reads and shares the Book of the Law, often explaining the meaning, so that each person may receive the word and grow through understanding it. It is the community sharing the word, remembering and celebrating God’s presence. Luke mentions the telling, relating and sharing of the good news to others (Luke1-4). The truth is read and told by various members of the community just as Paul in his letter to the Corinthians says, “the body has not just one member, but many” (1 Cor: 12). Jesus brings the good news to everyone “proclaiming liberty to captives” (Luke 4:14-21).
For Reflection and Discussion: 1) Liberty is obtained through internal change in attitudes and habits. Am I living in a situation that calls for me to change in order to bring about liberation? 2) The opposite of ‘hardened’ is ‘opened’. Share with your havrutah partner how one became the other in an area of your life.
Bibliography: Plaut, The Torah, A Modern Commentary (New York 1967); Fox The Five Books of Moses Shocken Books, New York 1995) Rabbi E. Goldstein, Woman’s Torah Commentary (Woodstock, Vermont 2000); Eskenazi\Weiss, The Torah- Woman’s Commentary (WRJ New York 2008); Stone Edition The Chumash; Leibowitz, New Studies in Shemot-Exodus (Jerusalem).
