In the video, I offer four possible places of origin for the Jewish people, beginning with the setting of this week's parasha, Va'era:
1. In Egypt, children of bondage
2. In the wilderness, as free men and women
3. In Canaan/Eretz Yisrael, land of promise and destiny
4. In Mesopotamia, as pre-Israelite wanderers
How does each possibility comment on our understanding of our origins?
Happy Studying!
Rabbi Jonathan Blake
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Today's Torah Study: More thoughts to address Kathy’s question of today’s Torah study, Did God need these plagues (to make his point)? Answer: Yes. Today during chevrutah study, a partner stated, [in the context of God being introduce to Pharaoh as the god of the Hebrews] “He did not say (God) was the god of creation.” However, the plagues, did.
ReplyDeleteI recalled a footnote in Etz Chaim stating that the plagues emphasized that God’s creations would submit to His will. Following this idea, I thought back to B’reshit, and saw clearly that the plagues can be mapped to the creation stories. Each plague (creation) demonstrates God can manipulate all of nature (his creations): Life-giving sources of water and blood can become life-destroying instruments directed at the Nile Life Force that sustains all of Egypt (sustenance, commerce-economy); Light & darkness (locust), creepy crawly things ( insects, vermin, lice, frogs) animals, and the last of God’s creation: humans. As the sequence of disasters unfolds with accelerating severity, the Hebrew god seals his supremacy over all gods and clearly HE reveals that HE is God of Creation
Good studying - learning, kll