Vaeyra 5785

In this week’s Torah portion, Moses impresses upon God how God perceives His own presence and how it is received by the people. The Torah states that “Elo-him” appeared and began a discourse with Moses.  The term Elo-him is the God of justice.  As such, it is apparent that God was revealing Himself in such a manner: “I am a just God who at this moment will seek justice.”

At that moment, God must have sensed that Moshe did not appreciate the tone of justice. Moses, must have expressed: “Am I supposed to go to the people and tell them that I am here as a slave out of Divine justice? Why do I need such a God? Hasn’t this God you speak about heard my plea and if so why was I born a slave to this tyrant and why do I continue to be?” 

If one reads the verse as it continues, one recognizes that God immediately changes His tone and introduction stating that I am “El Shaddai and my name is Adon-ai.” The name Adon-ai is God’s attribute of mercy. The term Shaddai is a reference to one’s breast, and that God holds them close to his breast, as a mother with a child does in love.  With this statement God changes from being the God of justice to the God of mercy. “I am here to do as I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, bringing you out from slavery to freedom.” 

The well-known phrase is part of our Passover Seder: “I will free you, deliver you, redeem you, take you, and I will bring you into the land.” Within subsequent statements, God will describe what will follow in the narrative: “You are slaves and I will wreak havoc upon the land of Egypt. Pharoah will not let you go, so I will bring upon them plagues. Even his people will try to convince him, but to no avail. But there will come a breaking point for this Pharaoh, and he will free you and I will bring you to the Promised Land.”

Why was it that God presented the side of justice first? I would like to think that it was to display that justice would prevail against the tyrant Pharoah and his hardened heart. 

At that moment, however, that was not what the Children of Israel needed to hear first. Moses made that clear to God, even though the words of the Torah do not tell us that directly. Instead, simply reading the change of words, one can recognize that God understood Moses glance. “God, you first need to introduce your attribute of mercy. They need to hear that You care about them. Then You can share with them how justice will prevail against Pharaoh. But if You first say I am the God of justice, Your words will go on deaf ears, and even worse, You will not be believed.” What the Children of Israel needed to hear was the merciful side of God. 

One question that might be asked is why did God simply not punish Pharaoh himself? Were the taskmasters simply not pawns of the Pharaoh? What about those who were innocent bystanders who were not taskmasters themselves, such as the shop owners, the farmers, the mothers and the children? Why ten plagues, why not one?  Why plagues themselves? Why did God need to harden Pharaoh’s heart?

The Torah itself points to the fact that it was the human stubbornness of the Pharaoh that hardened his heart. It was the god within Pharaoh - the man. Could that not be interpreted as it was Pharaoh’s stubbornness that he was not merely human, but his own belief that he was a god himself who was more powerful than the god of the Israelite nation? Sorry but the vision in my mind is not the Biblical story, but that of Yule Brenner, portraying Pharoah standing in front of Moses making that statement. His body language itself boasts a haughtiness of a stubborn tyrant, whose concern is solely about his interest, while pretending to care about his people as well. Where, in truth, he is using them as pawns to protect himself.

There is a modern truth that reflects the Pharaoh of past and the Pharaoh of today and his disrespect for his own Egyptian subjects. It is not a midrash, but factual reporting:

1. (Jan. 23, 2025 / JNS) Despite over 2,400 aid trucks having entered the Gaza Strip since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire on Sunday, Gaza residents say the aid is not reaching them and are accusing Hamas of diverting it and selling it, Hebrew media reported on Thursday. 

“We don’t see any aid or goods at reasonable prices. Why?” lamented one resident, according to Channel 12 News. Another said, “Hamas steals the aid and sells it to merchants, who then set exorbitant prices at the expense of our entire people.”

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 897 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday alone, following by 630 on Sunday and 915 on Monday. 
The ceasefire agreement mandates the daily entry of at least 600 aid trucks, including 50 carrying fuel, with half destined for northern Gaza.

The second one reflects why the plagues unfortunately were not only leveled against the Pharaoh. If one reads between the lines could one not infer that some of the civilians themselves were just as complicit as the Pharaoh?

2. (January 21, 2025, Colorado News) Israeli hostages released as part of the recent ceasefire with Hamas have claimed they were held in a U.N. camp in Gaza. Hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron, who were released from Hamas custody on Sunday, reported that they had been held in a U.N. refugee camp at some point during their captivity, according to Israel's Channel 13. Details were not given as to what camps they were held in, when, or for how long.

The revelation is the latest blow to the position of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which has faced attacks against its credibility throughout the war in Gaza.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the UNRWA for comment.

The UNRWA operates eight refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, established in 1948-1949 after the Israeli War of Independence. Most aren't recognizable as "camps" in the traditional sense, having developed over time into urban establishments. Several have populations numbering over 100,000 people. The majority of Gazans are registered as refugees.

The UNRWA clarifies on its website that it doesn't administer or police the camps, leaving those matters to governing Hamas authorities. It employs 13,000 staff across over 300 installations to provide education, medical attention, and other humanitarian aid to locals.

It is most interesting that the release of some of the hostages occurs as we begin to read the Book of Exodus. Is this simply happenstance? And as the stories capture Biblical history, they provide us insight into the reality in Israel and Gaza today. Or shall we say that today’s news reports provide us some commentary on the Biblical story that we are currently reading. 

As Shabbat is now approaching, we are anticipating the next release of a second small set of hostages at the end of Shabbat. We pray for their safety and for those who still remain. We pray for their families. And we continue to be mindful of those who were murdered by Hamas and for their families as well.

We pray for those release of all the hostages held by Hamas both alive and dead. Bring them all home NOW!!!

Am Yisrael Chai!

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi K