January 16th- parasha Shmot

This Shabbat, as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office, and we hope for peace in Eretz Israel, we begin the central story of the Jewish people with sefer Shmot- Exodus. Shmot opens with the children of Jacob becoming the people Israel enslaved in Egypt. Yet as quickly as chapter 2 we are introduced to Israel's saviour in the character of Moses. Moses is often referred to as the epitome of a leader, even with his speech impediment and outbursts of passion and impatience (which arguably prevent him from ultimately entering Eretz Yisrael). For me, what makes Moses such a compelling leader is his humanity. The Torah chronicles Moses' growth into leadership, enabling us to both connect with and learn from him.

In this parsha I am most struck by a set of events demonstrating Moses' leadership capability before God taps Moses as official saviour of Israel via a burning bush. In the second chapter of Exodus, verses 11 through 19 chronicle three encounters. In the first encounter Moses comes across an Egyptian smiting (מַכֶּה - could be beating or killing) a fellow Hebrew. Moses looks to make sure no one is around and then kills the Egyptian, hiding him in the sand. In the second encounter, the very next day, Moses comes upon two Hebrews fighting together. This time, in lieu of responding physically (as with the Egyptian), he asks the one who had committed the wrong (לָרָשָׁע) why he was hurting his fellow Hebrew (רֵעֶךָ) . The wrongdoer responds snidily, chiding "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses does not know how to react to this, and fearing for his safety he flees to Midian. There he has his third encounter. Sitting by a well Moses sees the daughters of Midian's priest being harassed by shepherds. Unlike in the first encounter, there is no mention of violence, and unlike the second encounter, there is no indication of indecision on Moses' part when challenged. Rather, the Torah reports that Moses saved the women from the shepherds (in the women's words), drew water for them and watered their flock. Later he takes one of the daughters, Zipporah, as his wife.

Late Israeli Biblical scholar Nechama Leibowitz (quoted in Etz Hayim- Torah and Commentary at p. 325) writes of how the three encounters demonstrate Moses' universal sense of justice: "Three times Moses interevenes on behalf of a weak person oppressed by a stronger one: first an Israelite beaten by an Egyptian, then an Israelite beaten by another Israelite, and finally the Midianite women harassed by the shepherds. Had we been told only of the first clash, we might have doubted the unselfishness of his motives. Perhaps he had been motivated by the sense of solidarity with his own people... Had we been faced with the second example, we might still have had our doubts. Perhaps he was revolted by the disgrace of witnessing internal strife among his own folk. Came the third clash, where both parties were outsiders... his sense of justice and fair play was exclusively involved." [emphasis added]

Certainly a universal sense of justice and fair play are key leadership attributes, but I see even more here. The three encounters show Moses growing and learning how to act and react in challenging situations. Moses first responds to injustice with violence and cover-up. The next day, though, he uses his voice instead- he challenges the Israelite's actions with words. At this point, though, he is not able to complete the conversation with persuasive communication. He fears what he hears from the Israelite and flees. Finally, in Midian, Moses seems to address conflict with success- he is able to fend off the shepherds without any indication of violence, and takes the further steps of caring for the Midianite women and their flock.

Moses, at this early stage, has displayed his capacity to 'stay alive through the dangers of leading' (the challenge raised in the book Leadership on the Line). He has shown his sense of justice, and also his ability to learn and cope with conflict. These leadership qualities indicate his readiness to take the helm of the Israelite people (despite his protestations to the contrary) when called to do so by God in the very next chapter. As Barack Obama prepares to take the helm of the United States, and world leaders work to resolve the current conflict in the Gaza strip, perhaps it would be worthwhile for all to open up parsha Shmot (along with Leadership on the Line !) and reflect on the models of leadership described therein.

Shabbat shalom,
Dara Lithwick

Time...

More than a month has passed since I have last posted here (sorry), and it is amazing what can happen in such a span of time. The first semester of HUC is over, and in just over half an hour I will be heading on a sherut to Ben Gurion Airport for a 1:00am flight to Toronto, and then on to M and home in Ottawa.

Three weeks ago I was preparing for another trip, albeit a much shorter one. I was preparing for a trip to Bethlehem through the Encounter program. Encounter is an "educational organization dedicated to providing Jewish Diaspora leaders from across the religious and political spectrum with exposure to Palestinian life." About 40 of us participated in this trip, and spent two days meeting with various Palestinians working for peace. We visited a school dedicated to peace, we walked around the separation wall dividing Bethlehem from Jerusalem, met with a UN worker, the deputy mayor of Bethlehem, a businessman, and community workers. We met with families and ate and danced with them. Many participants slept over at the houses of Palestinian hosts.

On the first day of the program I was asked to give a short dvar Torah, and this is roughly what I said:

"In a couple of days we will be celebrating Hanukkah. As noted by David R. Blumenthal, "The word 'Hanukkah' comes from the Hebrew word 'chinuch', meaning 'education'.

This week's Torah portion, Vayeshev, is full of dreams and intrigue- light and darkness, shadows and clarity.

Truth takes time.

This week's parsha begins with Jacob favouring Joseph, and Joseph sharing his dreams with his brothers, leading to the the story of Joseph's brothers' hatred towards him, a hatred that he himself would fuel by reporting to them his dreams of kingship over the family. After dreaming his first dream he tells his brothers "please listen"... Midrash Lekach Tov tells that Joseph approached his brothers to tell them of the dream but they refused to listen- he therefore had to implore them. Maybe they didn't want to listen because they didn't want to hear what he had to say, maybe because they knew what he'd say and thus didn't want to hear it. As noted by Rav David Silberg, people often hear only what they want to hear. We have a hard time accepting ideas that oppose previous assumptions and convictions. The brothers had written Joseph off for leadership and did not want to entertain what he had to say, so they tried to avoid him. We know how they were later proven wrong. The challenge is keeping our minds open to other views, to criticism and rebuke, to accept that we aren't always right and that we have much room to improve.

Challenges, difficult conversations and revelations abound throughout the rest of the parsha (Joseph is sold into slavery, then later is imprisoned and interprets dreams with very different outcomes for Pharoah's cupbearer and baker; in the meantime there is the challenging tale of Judah and Tamar). Joseph, for all that he goes through, keeps his chin up and ultimately does well- God is with him. He is an honest broker, a source of light among all the darkness around him. He does not give up- he sees that truth takes time, and he focuses on what he's able to do.

The British Reform siddur has a prayer for international understanding that speaks to the themes of education, light, and the ongoing pursuit of truth and justice (at p. 249):

Mekor Hashalom, Source of peace, be with those who guide the destinies of the world so that an end may come to boasting and vainglory, and the reign of arrogance dwindle in our time. Give them the courage to speak the truth and the humility to listen. Help us all to put the good of our fellow human beings above our own ambitions, and the truth which does not profit us above the lie which does. So may we stand upright, freed from the burden of fear and the weight of suspicion, learning to trust each other.

Help each one of us bring our own offering of understanding, and our own sacrifice for peace, so that we are at peace with ourselves and live in peace with those around us. Then in tranquility may we all go forward to build Your realm in the world, until the earth shall be filled with Your knowledge as the waters cover the sea." Amen.

Three weeks later war is raging now in the Gaza strip, though today there were signs of hope for a possible ceasefire. I pray that all is more quiet when I return.