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Parasha Va'era
by Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber
The Scripture readings for the Shabbat of January 4/1 Shevat are: Shemot/Exodus 6:2-9:35; Yechezkel/Ezekiel 28:25-29:21; Romim/Romans 9:14-26. Shemot {6:6} Therefore tell the Bnei Yisrael (Children of Israel), 'I am HaSHEM, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Mizrayim, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great mishpatim (judgments): {6:7} and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a G-D; and you shall know that I am HaSHEM your G-D, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Mizrayim (Egypt). {6:8} I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Avraham (Abraham), to Yitzak (Isaac), and to Ya'akov (Jacob); and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am HaSHEM.'" Almost 400 years had passed since HaShem told Avraham that his decedents were going to be oppressed and ultimately redeemed. Now the time of their redemption had finally arrived. Everything happened exactly as G-d said it would. Does it not make you wonder why this all had to happen as it did? If G-d is sovereign and He is in total control of our lives, and everything else that happens on the face of the earth, as well as in the universe, why did He have to put Israel through this? Why did He have to put them through hundreds of years of oppression, slavery and bondage before redeeming them and giving them the land He swore to our forefathers? Why did He put them in bondage so that He could redeem them from bondage? It just does not make sense. The answer I believe can be found by simply looking into the parent/father relationship. We are not called Bnei Yisrael for nothing! HaShem was in the process of creating a nation that would eventually become and island of righteousness in a sea of iniquity. However we were created with a free will, able to decide for ourselves, make choices. As creatures of free will sometimes (most of the times), we need to become aware of our depravity and helplessness in order for us to make the right choices in life. G-d did not create us to be robots, He created us with free will and he expects us to use that free will to choose Him. Choosing to follow G-d is life, for that reason He told us to choose life: Devarim (Deuteronmy) {30:19} I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed. Mankind was conceived in sin, as expressed to us by David HaMelech (King David). So it is natural for us not to make the right choices when it comes to choosing G-d. Tehilim (Psalms) {51:5} Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Therefore it is our nature to making the wrong choices in life, not because we are inherently bad, but because given the choice and left to our own devices we would much prefer to take the easy road than the hard, instant gratification rather than deferred gratification. For example you never have to teach a child how to be bad, you always have to teach them how to be good, how to share, to say I am sorry, how to be honest. That is why G-d had to command us to choose life because left to our own devices we would not. I am sure that everyone of us can attest to the fact that lessons are best learned during times of great difficulty, and that experience is the best teacher. HaShem moved Bnei Yisrael out of Caanan because they were beginning to intermarry with the Caananites, who found them to be good neighbours. Left to their own devices they would have assimilated into the Caananite population because they vastly outnumbered them. The people of Mitzrayim however considered shepherding, the occupation of Israel, to be lowly and preferred not to associate with them. This dislike was exactly what G-d needed to multiply His people into a nation. However Bnei Yisrael began to be too comfortable in Mitzrayim. They occupied some of the most prime real estate in the nation, Goshen, their flocks were increasing, their population was increasing and they were enjoying the good life in Mitzrayim. However HaShem did not send them there to settle, they knew their stay was to be temporary, but they chose the easy road. Is that not the way we do things as well. There are more Jews living in the Diaspora than in Israel. Why? Because we are more comfortable here, we are enjoying the fat of the land, but the truth of the matter is we are in exile, this is not our home and eventually HaShem will arrange the circumstances for us to leave or we will have to leave. If all things would have remained as they were Bnei Yisrael would have never left Mitzrayim so G-d made it so that they wanted to leave, they had to leave, they chose to leave. Would they have listened to Moshe had circumstances been different? Look at your own life, your own situation and answer that question for yourself!Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada. Copyright 2003
- Romans 1:16, NIV |