Friday, January 15, 2010

Va'era 5770: Birthplace & Origin: One and the Same?

Join this week's conversation as I introduce us (via video below) to questions about birthplaces and origins. Where should we begin the story of the Jewish People, and what does our choice of birthplace/place of origin say about our understanding of our roots and innermost essence as a People?

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

Blogger's Video Uploader is acting buggy. Please see the video posted here, at YouTube.

1 comment:

  1. 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.
    I 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

    ReplyDelete