Kurzkommentar zum Wochenabschnitt Shemot,Exodus 1:1-6:1

Sehr oft habe ich die Schülerinnen und Schüler in der Religions-Schule nach dem Namen der Mutter Jesu gefragt. Fast immer wussten sie es: Maria.

Wenn ich die gleichen jüdischen Schülerinnen und Schüler bitte, den Namen der Mutter des Mose zu nennen, können nur wenige antworten: Yocheved.

Aber Yocheveds Bedeutung ist unermesslich.

 Vor langer Zeit (2.Jh. n.Chr.) weckte Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi seine schläfrige Gemeinde, indem er ausrief: „Einmal hat eine Frau 600000 Kinder auf einmal zur Welt gebracht.“ „Wer?“ fragte seine Gemeinde. “Yocheved,” antwortet der Rabbi, “denn, als sie Mose gebar, gab sie allen 600,000, die die Sklaverei in Ägypten verließen, das Leben.“ (Song of Songs Rabbah 1:15, section 3)

Yocheved verdient es, mit Lob überhäuft zu werden, weil ihre Weisheit und ihr Unterricht Moses Charakter formten.

 Mutig widerstand sie dem grausamen Erlass des Pharao, dass jeder Hebräische Junge ertränkt werden solle, und rettete ihrem Sohn das Leben. Als Pharaos Tochter ihn aus dem Fluss zog, schlug Miriam ganz schnell Yocheved als Amme vor.

Sicherlich lehrte Yocheved Moses beim Stillen: Mein liebes Kind, du wirst alle Vorteile haben, derer sich ein Prinzen von Ägypten erfreuen kann. Saug das Wissen der Ägypter über Wissenschaft, Mathematik und Administration auf, lerne alles, was sie sich lehren. Aber denke daran, dass du ein Kind bis des Bundes Gottes mit Abraham und Sarah. Denke daran, dass du Gerechtigkeit und Rechtschaffenheit in die Welt bringen musst. Denk dran, du musst für die aufstehen, die nicht für sich selbst einsetzen können.

Wir können darauf wetten, dass Mose im Sinn hatte, was Yocheved ihn gelehrt hat, als er einen Aufseher einen hebräischen Sklaven schlagen sah. Warum sonst hätte Mose seine Machtstellung hinter sich lassen und sich für einen Sklaven einsetzen sollen?

Ja, er hat viel gelernt von den besten Lehrern Ägyptens. Aber er hatte auch das Mitgefühl aufgesaugt, das ihn genährt hatte zusammen mit der Muttermilch.

 

Translation: with thanks to Pastor Ursula Sieg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Comment Parashat Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1)

Many times I have asked religious school students to name Jesus’ mother, and almost always they can name Mary.

When I ask these same Jewish students to name Moses’ mother very few can name Yocheved.

Yet Yocheved’s significance is beyond measure.

Long ago Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi (second century CE) roused a sleepy congregation by exclaiming, “A woman once gave birth to 600,000 at one time.”

“Who,” a student asked?

“Yocheved,” answered the rabbi, “because when she gave birth to Moses, she also gave life to the 600,000 who left slavery in Egypt.” (Song of Songs Rabbah 1:15, section 3)**

Yocheved deserves every bit of praise we can heap on her, for her wisdom and teaching shaped Moses’ character.

She courageously would not give in to Pharaoh’s cruel decree that every Hebrew boy be drowned and saved her son alive. When Pharaoh’s daughter drew him from the river, Miriam quickly suggested Yocheved to nurse the baby.

Surely Yocheved taught Moses as she suckled him: “My precious child, you will have all the advantages a prince of Egypt can enjoy. Drink deeply of their knowledge of science, Mathematics, Administration and everything else they can teach.

But remember you are a child of the Covenant of Abraham and Sarah.

Remember that you must bring justice and righteousness into the world. Remember you must stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.”

We can safely bet that Yocheved’s teachings were in Moses’ mind when he saw a taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave. Why else would Moses throw away his power and position to stand up for a slave? Yes, he gained knowledge from the best tutors Egypt had. But he imbibed the compassion that made him great along with the milk from his mother’s breast.

**I first heard this story in a memorable address to the Central Conference of American Rabbis Convention by Rabbi Samuel Egal Karff in 1984.

 

 

 

 

 

Kurzkommentar zum Wochenabschnitt Va-yehi, Genesis 47,28-50,26

Im Film The Godfather II, der 1974 sechs Academy Awards einschließlich dem für die besten Bilder gewonnen hat, verrät der unfähige Fredo seinen Bruder Gängster-Boss Michael Corleone. Michael weiß, dass Fredo ihn verpfiffen hat und stellt ihn zur Rede. In einer Gänsehaut-Szene küsst Michael Fredo und sagt ihm Vergebung zu.

Aber die Zuschauer wissen, dass er nicht vergeben hat. Eine der letzten Szenen zeigt Mama Corleone im Sarg liegend und es ist klar, dass Michael nach dem Tod der Mutter Fredo’s Exekution befehlen wird. Der Film endet mit Michael, der alleine mit sich darüber nachdenkt, wer er ist und wer er hätte sein können.

Wie anders ist das Ende des Buches Genesis!

 Josephs Brüder werfen ihn in ein Loch und verkaufen ihn als Sklaven, aber er überwindet ihren Verrat und steigt auf bis zum zweiten, nur dem Pharao unterstellten Mann Ägyptens.

Obwohl Joseph seinen Brüdern vergeben hat, fürchten sie, dass Joseph nach dem Tod ihres Vaters Rache üben wird (Genesis 50,15).

Anders als Michael Corleone hat Joseph kein Interesse an Rache. Vielmehr erklärt er: „Stehe ich an Gottes Stelle? Obwohl ihr euch Böses beabsichtigt hattet, hat Gott es in Gutes verwandelt und mich befähigt, viele Menschenleben zu retten.” (Genesis 50,20)

Was für ein erstaunlicher Gegensatz!

 The Godfather II endet mit Rache aber das Buch Genesis – das mit Brudermord beginnt und einen traurigen Katalog von Rivalität unter Brüdern auflistet – endet mit aufrichtiger Vergebung und ehrlicher Versöhnung.

Wie die Charaktere in der Genesis erleiden wir Verrat und Täuschung. Wir können uns entscheiden, Ärger und Ressentiments anzusammeln, oder wir können an unserem Schmerz wachsen und bessere Menschen werden.

Genesis endet mit einer erlesenen Herausforderung:

Niemals die Hoffnung zu verlieren, dass unser Leben Zweck und Sinn hat und – wie Joseph dem Ewigen erlauben, das Böse, das uns trifft, in Gutes zu verwandeln!

 

Translation: with thanks to Pastor Ursula Sieg

 

 

Kurzcommentar Parashat Va-yehi, Genesis 47:28-50:26

In The Godfather II, winner of six Academy Awards including Best Picture in 1974), the weak older brother Fredo betrays his crime-boss brother Michael Corleone. Michael knows Fredo has set him up and confronts him. In a chilling scene Michael, kisses Fredo and declares that he forgives him.

But we know he does not. A scene at the end of the movie shows Mama Corleone lying in her coffin, and it is clear that with their mother dead Michael will order Fredo’s execution. The movie ends with Michael alone pondering who he is and who he might have been.

How different is the ending of the book of Genesis!

Joseph’s brothers throw him in a pit and sell him as a slave, but he overcomes their betrayal to rise to the position of second-only-to-Pharaoh in Egypt.

Although Joseph forgave his brothers, they fear that with their father Jacob dead, Joseph will exact revenge. (Genesis 50:15)

But unlike Michael Corleone Joseph has no interest in revenge. Rather he proclaims: “Am I in place of God? Although you thought to do me evil God has turned it to good enabling me to save many people.” (Genesis 50:20)

What an amazing contrast!

The Godfather II ends with retribution, but the Book of Genesis—which begins with fratricide and details a bitter catalogue of sibling rivalries—ends with genuine forgiveness and reconciliation.

Like Genesis’ characters we suffer betrayal and deceit. We can choose to harbor resentment and anger or, we can grow through our pain and become better people.

Genesis ends with an exquisite challenge: To never lose hope that our lives have purpose and meaning and—as Joseph does–allow the Eternal One to turn the evil that befalls us to good.

 

 

It gives me pleasure (but trepidation as well because I acknowledge it is self-promoting) to share that my book has just received its 30th AMAZON 5-star review.
http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Finding-O…/…/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
This affirmation and the reception the German translation has received encourage me that its message is worth sharing.
It would be a joy for me to visit your community in 2017 to discuss the book and its approach to Torah and/or my experiences spending ten weeks in Germany during each of the past two years.
I began my career as a solo (and sole employee) in a 58-family community that could not afford to pay speakers. Fortunately, we grew together over 13 years to nearly 400 family units and had greater resources.
Because I will always remember those early years, I consider it a privilege to make myself available to congregations and other groups regardless of their budget. If you are interested, please be in touch.

Kurzkommentar zum Wochenabschnitt Va-yigash  (Genesis 44,18 – 47,27)

Ein Erinnerungsschatz ist für mich das Jahr des Studiums der Joseph-Geschichte mit der wundervollen Nehama Leibowitz – gesegneten Andenkens – in Jerusalem. Jede Woche bannte sie meisterhaft die Aufmerksamkeit der 60 Menschen im Raum.

In der Diskussion des Abschnitts dieser Woche fragte sie: „Warum sagt Joseph: ‚Lebt mein Vater noch?‘“ (Oder wenn dir die moderne Übersetzung lieber ist, mir in diesem Fall nicht: „Geht es meinem Vater gut?“) Schließlich hatte er grade Juda sagen hören, dass sein Vater immer noch lebt.

Von den vielen Antworten auf ihre Frage, hat sich eine über die 44 Jahre hin bei mir festgesetzt. Ein junger Japaner auf der anderen Seite des Raumes antwortet in einer Weise, dass Prof. Leibowitz ausrief, dass sie das all die Jahre, in denen sie lehrt, nie gehört hätte und es lieben würde: „Er wollte die Worte „mein Vater“ laut aussprechen.“

 Wow! Als wir diese spezielle Unterrichtsstunde hatten, war ich grade einen Monat lang Zuhause in den Staaten gewesen, um meinen Vater zu begraben und zu betrauern.

Im November 2014 hatte ich die Gelegenheit zur Kristallnacht in Leipzig, Deutschland, drei Reden zu halten. Leipzig ist die Stadt, wo mein Vater verhaftet und misshandelt wurde in dieser verhängnisvollen Nacht 1938. (Dazu gibt es einen Blog auf www.rabbifuchs.com).

Alles, was Joseph tat, diente nicht der Rache, sondern er wollte herausfinden, ob seine Brüder, die ihn Jahre zuvor unbarmherzig als Sklaven verkauften, sich verändert hatten.

Als Juda anbot sich gegen seinen Bruder Benjamin auszutauschen, wusste Joseph, was er wissen musste. Er beendete seine Scharade und gab sich seinen Brüdern zu erkennen. Nun konnte der die wertvollen Worte laut aussprechen: „Mein Vater!“

Diese Worte waren tausende Jahre zuvor für Joseph wertvoll. Heute sind sie mir wertvoll.

 

Translation: with thanks to Pastor Ursula Sieg

   “It might be the greatest, most moving address in all literature.”

That is the way my eighth grade religious school teacher, Mr. Joseph Ehrenworth, z”l, described Judah’s appeal to Joseph, which begins parashat Va-yigash. The entire story of Joseph builds toward the moment when Joseph –so moved by Judah’s words- reveals himself to his brothers.

We wonder though, why Joseph treated his brothers so harshly? Why did he accuse them of being spies? Why did he demand Benjamin’s presence in Egypt, and why did he instruct his steward to put his special goblet into Benjamin’s bag?

Some commentators suggest that Joseph’s motive was revenge. The brothers sold Joseph as a slave, and so now Joseph is paying them back. Even W. Gunther Plaut in his masterful Torah commentary suggests revenge as one of Joseph’s motives. Plaut writes, “At first and understandably, Joseph thought of revenge . . . He still wants revenge more than he wants love . . .” (The Torah, A Modern Commentary, p. 271). Later, (P. 284) Plaut writes, “Joseph first faces his brothers in bitterness and devises a cat-and-mouse game in order to have his revenge . . .”

If, however, revenge had been Joseph’s goal, he could have exacted it without disguise, without delay, and without bringing the untold anguish upon his father that Benjamin’s journey to Egypt caused. If Joseph wanted revenge, he would not have said, “Now do not be distressed or reproach yourselves because you sold me hither; it was to save life that God sent me ahead of you . . . So it was not you who sent me her, but God.” (Genesis 45: 5,8)

No, revenge was not Joseph’s motive. Joseph acted as he did for only one reason: He wanted to see if his brothers had changed.

 Years before, Joseph had been their father’s favorite. He tattled on them, he bragged about his dreams, and he proudly wore the famous “coat of many colors” that their father gave to Joseph and Joseph alone. As a result, Joseph’s brothers hated him so much that they sold him into slavery.

 With Joseph gone, Benjamin, the only remaining son of Jacob’s beloved Rachel, became Jacob’s favorite. By putting his cup into Benjamin’s sack, Joseph places Benjamin in a position whereby he would be detained in Egypt as a slave and Jacob would once again suffer the loss of his favorite son.

 Judah knows what is at stake.   Although he was in no way responsible for Benjamin’s plight (in contrast to his pivotal role in the sale of Joseph as a slave years ago) Judah steps forward (Genesis 44:18-34) and stirringly describes the events that have transpired. He then tells his disguised brother that Benjamin’s imprisonment in Egypt will be too much for their aged father to bear, and he will die. Then, Judah offers himself as a substitute for Benjamin. That is all Joseph –who has already had to leave the room twice in his meetings with his brothers to avoid breaking down and weeping in their presence– needs to hear in order to end the charade.

Our tradition calls a person who repents for his or her sins a ba’al or ba’ alat teshuvah (literally, a “master of repentance”). The Jewish tradition accords even a greater honor to a person who commits a particular transgression but later, when he or she is put in a similar position, turns away from the same kind of wrongdoing. That person is a ba’al or ba’alat teshuvah shelemah (a “master of complete repentance”). This is the lofty designation Judah earns for his actions in Joseph’s presence. [See Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Sefer Bereshit, pp. 327-328 (Hebrew edition), pp. 460-461 (English edition)].

In Parashat Va-yigash, Judah becomes a true hero. The story discusses his emergence as the progenitor of Israel’s most enduring tribe. We can be proud that the words “Jew” and “Judaism” are derived from his name. More important, Judah’s example of repentance can inspire us to examine our own actions and help us to turn away from transgressions we have committed in the past.

I am deeply grateful for my studies with Professor Leibowitz in Jerusalem during the 1970-1971 academic year, which helped me develop the outlook I have shared in this commentary.

 

 

 

Quick comment Va-yigash Genesis 44:18 – 47:27

How I treasure the memory of my yearlong study of the Joseph story with the amazing Nehama Leibowitz, of blessed memory, in Jerusalem.

Each week she masterfully held a room of 60 people in the palm of her hand, and engaged us every minute we were in her classroom.

In discussing this week’s portion she asked, ”Why does Joseph say, ‘Is my father still alive?’” (Or if you like the modern translations, which in this case I do not, “Is my father still well?”) After all he had just heard Judah say that his father was indeed alive.

Among the many answers proffered to her query, one has stayed in my mind these 44 years. A young Japanese man on the other side of the room responded in a way that Professor Leibowitz exclaimed that she had never heard before in her long teaching career and which she loved: “He wanted to say the words, ‘my father’ out loud.”

Wow! When we had that particular lesson, I had just returned to Jerusalem from a month-long trip home to the states to bury and mourn my father.

In November 2014 on Kristallnacht I had the privilege of delivering three speeches, in Leipzig, Germany, the city where my father was arrested and abused on that fateful night in 1938. (See those blog posts at www.rabbifuchs.com),

Everything Joseph did, he did not for revenge but to see if his brother’s had changed from the men who callously sold him as a slave years ago. When Judah offers to exchange himself for his brother Benjamin, Joseph knows what he needs to know. He ends his charade and reveals himself to his brothers. He can say the precious words out loud: ”My father!” Those words were precious to Joseph thousands of years ago. They are precious to me today.

 

It is a recurring biblical pattern. Time and again it is the woman who gets and it, and the man who does not.

It started with Eve.

For millennia people have blamed Eve for the so-called fall of man, but really she is the heroine of the elevation of humanity (see my blog essay, The Pastor’s Convention). It was she not Adam who perceived that life in Eden–while idyllic–was sterile and essentially without meaning. It was she who saw (Genesis 3:6) “ונחמד העץ להשכיל the tree of knowledge was desirable as a source of wisdom, so she took of its fruit and ate.”

Rebekah

Later in Genesis, Rebekah (Genesis 25:19 ff) has far clearer sense of God’s will than her husband Isaac. She is the far stronger character as well.

Tamar

Judah–the reason we call ourselves Jews–transforms from a villain into a hero only after he matriculates at ”the Tamar Yeshiva of Timnah.” (See Genesis 38) At his “graduation ceremony” Judah acknowledges, “She has been more righteous than I.” (Genesis 38:26)

Moses is unquestionably the Bible’s most important figure, but he owes his entire career to the vital intervention of no fewer than six women. (See my essay, Six Women Made Passover Possible)

Shifrah and Puah

The first two are the wonderful midwives, whose actions rebut across the millennia, the cowardly Nazi war criminals who tried to excuse themselves by saying “I had no choice. I was just following orders. “ Shifrah and Puah received orders too, from their boss, their king, the most powerful man in the world who was worshipped as a god. “When you help the Hebrew women give birth and you see it is a boy, kill it.” (Exodus 1:16)

Shiphrah and Puah teach us all that we must never just follow orders. We must interpose our conscience and our human ability to determine what is right and what is wrong before we follow any orders.

Yocheved

Moses’ mother Yocheved refuses to submit to Pharaoh’s vile decree that every Hebrew baby boy be drowned. In desperation she floats him in a watertight basket down the Nile.

Miriam

Miriam, his sister, watches and with perfect timing runs up to Pharaoh’s daughter when she finds the baby and offers to provide a nursemaid for him.

Our Sages enhance Miriam’s role. A Talmudic tale (B.Sotah 12A) teaches that Amram, Moses’ father, was the leader of the Hebrew laves at that time. In order to avoid the pain of Pharaoh’s cruel decree, Amram ordered all the Hebrew men to divorce their wives, but Miriam convinced her father not to give in to Egyptian oppression.

Pharaoh’s Daughter

Then we come to the amazing act of heroism of Pharaoh’s daughter.By all logic as a “good” daughter, loyal subject of her King and worshipper like the Egyptians of her father as a god, she would have simply tipped Moses’ basket over and drowned him. But she answered to what she rightly perceived was a higher authority. Pharaoh’s daughter is unnamed in the Bible, but the Sages call her, “Bityah”, “”the daughter of the Almighty.” (Leviticus Rabbah 1:3)

Moses’ wife Zipporah also saves his life.

There is a strange but interesting passage in Exodus 4:24-26 that tells of Zipporah circumcising their son after Moses had neglected to do so. It is a passage the rabbis could have interpreted any way they wish, but the rabbis (Shmot Rabbah 5:8) credit Zipporah with saving Moses life by her quick thinking and decisive action!

The pattern of women who are savvier than males continues in the biblical books after the Torah.

In the Judges (Chapter 13) an angel announces to Manoah and his wife that she will bear a son, Samson. Manoah completely misunderstands the angel’s message and thinks they will die. Manoah’s wife must reassure him that is not the case.

After Moses, Samuel is arguably the Hebrew Bible’s most important figure. When his mother Hannah prays to give birth to a son. Eli, the clueless high priest at Shiloh thinks she is drunk. Of course she is not, and God grants her prayer. (I Samuel 1:10-20)

Deborah, Yael, Ruth, Esther, Vashti (yes, Vashti, see my essay The Adult Issues of Purim) are other biblical women who are smarter and greater than their male counterparts. We must tell their stories of  over and over. May their examples inspire us to struggle relentlessly for gender equality in Judaism and in our world.