Parshat Shemot; Exodus 1:1-6:1 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

In Parshat Shemot, the opening portion of the second book of the Torah, Exodus, we
meet Moses who will lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. Moses’ birth is recounted
by the portion, a Hebrew baby born into slavery who is rescued by none other than the
daughter of Pharaoh from a death sentence. In this portion Moses’ earliest years are described. The influences in his life are revealed and we meet the people who shape him into the leader of the Israelites. Many of the people who shape him into the person he will become are women: his mother, sister, adoptive mother, and wife.

Women play an important role in this week’s portion. Women act both behind the scenes and front and center to help shape and move Moses’ destiny forward. The women act as the hands of God. This emphasis on the strength and conviction of women to create a different reality than that of the ruling power begins with the story of Shifra and Puah.
The Pharaoh of Egypt had declared that all Hebrew male babies be killed at birth. We are told about two Hebrew midwives, Shifra and Puah, who defy the order of Pharaoh. These two brave and gutsy women engage in some of the first acts of civil disobedience in the Torah by delivering healthy Israelite children. Shifra and Puah, do all to keep life alive. They answer to a higher authority than Pharaoh. They place their trust in God. This is a radical idea in ancient Egypt. For the Pharaoh is not just the civil authority but also the divine authority. The Egyptians who oppress the Israelites with greater might and bitterness cannot possibly conceive that these simple women would delight in life. Shifra and Puah have a sense of justice that is rooted in something other than the Egyptian system and when called to account for why the children of Hebrew slaves are still alive they give the excuse that the Israelite women give birth too fast! Shifra and Puah are true heroines and foreshadow the idea that Pharaoh is a false god and false authority.
Moses’ birth is hidden from the authorities. But Moses’ mother called Yocheved then places Moses in a basket and sets him afloat in the river Nile. Moses’ sister, Miriam, ensures that Moses’ is discovered by the daughter of Pharaoh, known in Jewish tradition as Batya. Pharaoh’s daughter also defies the death sentence decreed by her father, the Pharaoh. She must realize that this child is a Hebrew baby afloat in the river and actually makes a deal to have baby Moses, nursed by his own mother! At a later time, Yocheved does take Moses to the palace to be raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. A network of women protects baby Moses.
They give him every advantage. The loving care of his own birth mother in the critical years of infant and toddler -hood and the privileges of being raised not in slavery but in the opulence of the Egyptian courts prepares Moses on many levels! Moses will have a foothold in many worlds. Moses will continue to span many worlds when he flees Egypt after murdering a cruel Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Hebrew slave mercilessly. Moses will come to reside with a Midianite family and will marry Tziporrah, the daughter of the Midian high priest. Interestingly, Moses is now part of many priestly families. His own birth parents are of the tribe of Levi who will become the Israelites priests. He was raised in the Egyptian courts of Pharaoh who was seen as Divine and he was the son-in- law of the High Priest Midian. Moses is preparing to be a different kind of leader. He is preparing to be the one that God will choose to lead the Israelites to freedom and his priestly connections in these various households give him unique training in leadership.
During this week of Parshat Shemot, let us give thanks for these strong women who courageously and faithfully help create a powerful safety net and web of protection for the future leader Moses. Yocheved, Miriam, Batya and Tzipporah inspire us and perhaps remind us to thank the women in our lives who do the same!

Parshat Vayechi; Genesis47:28 – 50:26 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

We come to the close of the book of Genesis with this week’s Parsha, Vayechi. The stories of our earliest ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah and Rachel and Joseph and his brothers conclude with the deaths of both Jacob and son, Joseph.

Joseph had resettled his father’s household in Egypt after revealing his true identity to his brothers who had come to find food during the famine. His father Jacob lived 17 years in Egypt. As Jacob’s life was coming to the end he didn’t shy away from communicating his final wishes. Jacob asks his son Joseph to make sure that he will be buried in the ancestral burial plot in the land of Canaan, the Cave of Machpelah. This is the plot of land that Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham bought from the Hittites upon the death of his wife Sarah. Many of the important ancestors of our people are buried there in the city of what is now Hebron.
Jacob does what so many of us shy away from doing. We don’t make the necessary plans for what will happen when we die. We plan parties and plan careers. But we don’t take the time to plan for our deaths or at least what our wishes are in terms of burial. All too often we shy away from the discussion with our loved ones as if talking about it and planning for the day will somehow bring it closer to reality!
But communicating with our loved ones about where we want to be buried and if we want to be organ donors and other end of life decisions is an important task and I believe it is a sacred obligation. Jacob is clear with his son Joseph that he wants to be buried with his ancestors. He doesn’t want to remain in Egypt in a foreign land. But makes Joseph swear to him that his wishes will be fulfilled.
Jacob is a wonderful example for us of “taking care of business”. Joseph the son now knows exactly what his father wants to have happen. How many of us can say we have communicated with loved ones about our end of life decisions? If we are incapacitated who do we want to make decisions on our behalf? Do you want extraordinary measures to keep you alive or would you prefer a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order? Do you want to be buried in the traditional Jewish manner, in the ground? Or in a crypt? Do you even own a plot in a Jewish cemetery? Do you wish to donate organs, skin, and corneas and give the gift of life to someone else? Or will your survivors have to guess your desires? This is a terrible burden to place on loved ones. At a time they are dealing with such great loss why encumber them with the additional layers of difficulties in trying to arrange your affairs.
This week’s portion reminds us that to truly walk in the shoes of our ancestors we must be willing as Jews to face even difficult discussions and difficult decisions. This week is a good time to review your own end of life wishes and make decisions about who you wish to take care of those very important details. Jacob certainly did. He didn’t summon the eldest, Rueben but his beloved Joseph who knew his way around the bureaucracy of Egypt! Jacob knew which of his sons would best be able to carry out his wishes.
As we read this week’s portion do yourself and your family and friends a great favor and whether you are healthy or not, younger or older, communicate in writing and verbally to someone what you would want to have happen at the end of your life. In many states there are legally binding forms that can be filed with your important papers and with your medical care team so that they know your wishes. A directive for health care or a medical power of attorney can help lay out all of your wishes legally. Your will may also be a vehicle for doing so. While I am not qualified to give any legal advice (other than Jewish halakhick advice) and the specifics vary from state to state even a simple letter can help your loved ones know your wishes. Parshat Vayechi is a good time to follow Jacob’s lead. I hope you will.

Parshat Vayigash; Genesis 44:18 -47:27 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Family reunions can be wonderful. They bring together family members from far and wide and reunite cousins, aunts, uncles, and brothers and sisters. At reunions family lore gets recounted and issues and long suppressed memories often come to the surface.

This week’s portion is a family reunion of sorts. In Parshat Vayigash, Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers. Amid tears of weeping and expressions of astonishment, Joseph insists that they return to the land of Canaan and bring his father back to Egypt with them. They do as he asks in part because they fear the powerful Joseph, vizier to Pharaoh. Will Joseph seek revenge upon the brothers who wronged him so long ago? Joseph tries to reassure them with his words that it was all part of God’s plan but one can’t help but feel the disbelief in the silence of the brothers. Joseph even warns the brothers that they should not become agitated on their journey back to get their father.

Once they arrived, their father Jacob could not believe that after all of these years of mourning, believing his son was dead, his beloved Joseph was alive. Jacob could not fathom that his son was such a powerful man in Egypt. Jacob only believed after he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to bring him to Egypt.

But this wasn’t just a trip of Jacob. It was a trip for the entire clan. All the children and wives and the servants accompany him to Egypt. This isn’t just packing up for a few days or a brief stay. This is Joseph’s invitation to re-settle in Egypt. Joseph wants to reunite the family and establish the house of Jacob in Egypt. Jacob relocates the entire family to Egypt. The Torah tells us 66 went down to Egypt and then when you add in Joseph, his wife and two sons who were born there Jacob’s entire household numbers 70.

As Jacob begins his journey to Egypt, God visits him in a vision at night while encamped in Beersheba. God tries to alleviate any fears Jacob has about his trek. Jacob who had established his domain in the land of Canaan must leave the land promised in the covenant to go down to Egypt. Perhaps Jacob fears that the covenant will be abrogated if he leaves the land of his ancestors. So God reassures him that not only will Jacob and the household of Israel become a “great nation there” but God reveals to Jacob that he will bring him back up from Egypt and that Joseph will be with him when he dies. This helps Jacob to believe that the covenant is still in effect and that Jacob will continue to receive the Divine blessing. Jacob can continue his journey to reunite with his son Joseph.

Family reunions bring all kinds of anxieties and fears.

Joseph goes by chariot to greet his father in the land of Goshen upon his arrival which is where they will settle. Joseph used his power to bring his family to the land of Egypt where he will watch out for them and protect them especially during the years of famine they are facing.

The Torah text is rather silent about these two reunions. In each case—Joseph with his brothers and Joseph and Jacob, their tears and weeping are recorded. The poignancy of these reunions is conveyed. But little is recorded of their interactions. We can only imagine the questions they asked of one another and the things they wished to learn from one another. But we can feel in their tears the joys, hopes, regrets, and years that passed. We can imagine the lost opportunities for creating memories together. In Jacob’s words of reconciliation, “Now I can die, after my having seen your face, because you are still alive,” we hear the relief and the feel the waves of peace wash over Jacob. In this family reunion Jacob attains a level of contentment. His family is made whole through coming together in Egypt.

With the winter holidays and school breaks upon us, many of us will be traveling to visit with family. We will be reunited with aunt and uncles, siblings and cousins. We will have a lot of catching up to do and memories to share and issues that will bubble up. How comforting to know that we are much like our ancestors of Joseph and Jacob and the brothers. We are still trying to attain that sense of unity and wholeness and contentment.
May we be inspired by Joseph and his brothers and his father that we can reach that sacred place!

Parshat Mikketz; Genesis 41:1-44:17; Shabbat Chanukah By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week we begin to celebrate Chanukah. This holiday celebrates post-Biblical events. The story of the Maccabees is not found in the Tanach, the Jewish Bible but in extra-biblical writings Maccabees I and II. These books written after the Hebrew Bible was codified are found in a collection of Bible –like stories called the Apocrypha. Ironically, Catholics will find the Apocrypha and the story of Judah Maccabee and the 3 year war to reclaim the Temple in Jerusalem for Jewish worship in their Bible!

Chanukah celebrates the triumph of dreams. The Greek-Syrians quashed the open observance of ancient Jewish worship by taking over the Temple in Jerusalem for their pagan religion. They oppressed the Jewish nation both overtly and covertly by putting pressure on Israelites to Hellenize and become more Greek in their ways. The result was often to the point of assimilation and loss of Jewish identity. The Maccabees clan, led by son Judah and his father Mattathias led a group to reclaim their Jewish identity and to fight the occupying army of Greek-Syrians who ruled the land of Israel in the centuries following the death of Alexander the Great. They dreamed of reclaiming Jewish life and Jewish self-rule. They dreamed of reclaiming the sacred temple in Jerusalem for Jewish worship to God. They challenged the greatest army of the time and in three years reclaimed and rededicated the nation and the Temple in Jerusalem to the worship of God.

Chanukah known as the Festival of Lights because of the rekindling of the menorah and Ner Tamid, eternal light in the ancient Temple, perhaps might be known as the Festival of Dreams Come True! But their dreams came true through organization and cooperation and being willing to challenge the status quo. The Maccabees led a revolt for freedom of worship that was ground breaking.

This week’s Torah portion in the book of Genesis, Miketz, is also about dreams that come true. Joseph, now in Egypt is rescued from the prison he found himself in because he refused the advances of his employer’s wife. Joseph was rescued because of dreams, specifically Pharaoh dreams. While in prison, Joseph interpreted correctly the dreams of fellow prisoners. One who was released, the chief cupbearer to Pharaoh remembered Joseph’s extraordinary talent when the Pharaoh of all Egypt begins to have dreams that haunt him. Not only does Joseph correctly interpret Pharaoh’s dreams of famine and plenty but Joseph goes one step further to suggest how Pharaoh ought to organize his response to the outcomes of the dreams. Pharaoh recognized Joseph’s God given talents and takes a lowly prisoner and former slave and charges him with the execution of his plan. Pharaoh elevates Joseph this week to the highest position in the land save for Pharaoh himself.

The confluence of this portion and Chanukah speak for themselves. The holiday and this portion are about dreams fulfilled. The Maccabees dream of reclaiming the Temple took battle but they with the blessing of God made this dream come true. So too, Joseph organized a plan of rescue for Egypt’s famine and he with the blessing of God was able to not only be rescued from prison but as we will see meet and reconcile with his family once again.

Faith in God combined with human endeavor can transform the world for good. This message is one we need to hear. Faith in our God can give us strength to overcome incredible odds. That is what both Joseph and the Maccabees were able to do. Their relationship with the Divine helped each of them focus their talents and strengths and their faith bolstered their weaknesses. Joseph had a strong faith that served him throughout his life. He was quick to recognize God’s blessings and offer gratitude for those gifts. Even as he participated in Egyptian culture, he never lost the spark of his Hebrew faith. The Maccabees’ faith led them to ensure that the Jewish way of life survived and thrived. They too were able to honor God and honor the Divine spark that dwells within each person.

Perhaps this year as we light the chanukiah we might rededicate our own lives to seeking and developing our faith in God. We might honor the Divine spark within us. As this holiday of Chanukah, celebrates the rededicated altar in the Temple, you might rededicate yourself to kindling your connections to the life of the Jewish people. Perhaps with the glow of the lights of your own menorah, you might begin with a small prayer of thanks for the faith of Joseph and Judah Maccabee and hope that their inspiration will help add to and help build your faith!

Happy Chanukah