Our sages raised a very logical question regarding the following verses from the story of Moshe's birth at the beginning of the second chapter of Sefer Shemot (The Book of Exodus) in this week's parasha, Parashat Shemot: 1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bore a son... The sages asked how it is possible that the Torah records the birth of Moshe immediately after the marriage of his parents without mentioning the births of his two older siblings Aaron and Miriam? They reached a surprising conclusion: This must be the second time that Amram and Yokheved (the parents of Aaron, Miriam and Moshe) married each other. This midrash explains that once Pharaoh decreed the deaths of the newborn Israelite sons, all of the Israelites agreed not to bring any more children into the world and divorced each other. Such a radical course of action serves to underscore the intensity of their despair. However, their daughter, Miriam confronts her parents and the elders of the enslaved Israelites accusing them of taking steps even worse than those demanded by Pharaoh's decree. Pharaoh only demanded the deaths of the male babies - their decision guaranteed that there would not be any female Israelite children as well. Miriam convinces the separated couples to reunite and it is after the remarriage of her parents that Moshe is born. Miriam's greatness in this revision of the Biblical tale is her ability to lift the entire community out of their despair by offering them a different vision of the world than the one imposed on them by Pharaoh. That is a great gift. As we follow the events of the terrible crisis still taking place in Israel and Gaza we too could reach the depths of despair attributed to our ancestors. Learning the names of fallen Israeli soldiers, seeing the pictures of bloodied Palestinian children, wondering how synagogues in Chicago could be desecrated as has happened this past week - many have fallen into despair. But just as Miriam moved her community to reaffirm the good in this world, we too can be inspired by those who will not let their spirits be broken and remain steadfast in their belief that this war is just, that it will end, and that Jews and Arabs will one day live peacefully as neighbors in the Land of Israel. This is the Israeli alternative to the Hamas vision of how the world should be. It is a redemptive vision that can cure our despair. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Matt Futterman |
