Here’s this week’s Torah portion. The Israelities have been slaves in Egypt. God sends Moses to ask Pharoah for his people’s freedom; but at the same time, God also hardens Pharoah’s heart, causing him to reject Moses’ entreaties. This passage covers the last three plagues inflicted on the Egyptians - locusts, darkness and, finally, the killing of the firstborn in every house. On the eve of their departure, the Israelites observe the first Passover. The ritual is described in detail, in a way suggests it was already a well-established practice when this part of the Torah was written…
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Archive for the 'Parashot' Category
Here it is again: the weekly Torah portion. Last week, Moses reluctantly agreed to be the liberator of his people. Now, he meets Pharoah face to face with the demand (memorialized in a famous black spiritual): “let my people go.”
Moses and Aaron duel with Pharoah’s wise men in a sort of showdown of magic tricks. Also in this passage are the plagues God inflicts on the Egyptians. The objectification and weaponization of nature in this passage is not at all typical of the Torah and raises the question of whether it (or the ensuing exodus) were meant to be taken literally.
By the way, these Torah portions have their own rss feed, in case you want to syndicate them in your newsreader. The rss link is here. You can also view all the prior portions here. Commentary is welcome, below… |inline
Here is this week’s Torah passage. It’s the first in the book of Exodus. For radicals and revolutionaries, this section is like a community organizing manual from the ancient world. It deals quite astutely with the situation and behavior of the oppressed and their reaction to those who would lead them.
The situation of the Israelities in Egypt, as described here, provides a paradigm for any minority living in a state that fails to safeguard its rights. Many countries today treat ethnic minorities as aliens. Israel is one of them. These populations are disenfranchised, disempowered and vulnerable. Human rights abuses are common under such circumstances.
Here, the Egyptian majority is threatened by the growth of the Israelite population. “Behold,” says the new Pharoah; “the people of the children of Israel are too many and too mighty for us; come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there befalleth us any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.” The Egyptians then implement stringent measures to curtail the rights of the Hebrews and limit the growth of the population - not unlike those we now impose on the Palestinians.
Also quite instructive in this passage is the education of Moses, a Hebrew by birth, but raised as an Egyptian in the royal household. He is outraged at the suffering of his people, but feels incapable of leading them. He turns to his bother Aaron, who was raised among the Israelites and knows their culture.
Feel free to leave your own comments on the passage in the comments section below…
Here we are at the end of Genesis, and I haven’t missed posting a portion yet. Next week I think I’ll be able to get back to my usual current affairs blogging; but for now, enjoy this week’s Torah portion, consisting of Jacob’s sometimes touching, sometimes punitive farewell to his sons before his death. To Joseph, who is summoned with his childen, he says “I had not thought to see thy face; and, lo, God hath let me see thy seed also.”
To Simeon and Levy, he is less kind, remembering the massacre they committed in Shechem (Genesis 34): “…in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. ”
Perhaps this should serve as a reminder to those who commit violence in Israel’s name… |inline
Here’s this week’s Torah portion. In it, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers at last. He forgives them for selling him as a slave, saying “be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life.” He is reunited joyfully with his father, who had given him up for dead many years ago.
Joseph has predicted a famine in Egypt. He advised Pharoah to stockpile grain. During the lean years, acting as Pharoah’s agent, he dispenses the stored grain to starving landowners - in exchange for their land and freedom, thus greatly enriching his master. He brings his own clan to live in Egypt, settles them on a choice property, and ensures that they are cared for “according to the want of their little ones.”
The story is morally complex, like most of the Torah. Joseph does preserve the lives of the Egyptians; but in doing so, he reduces them to vassals of Pharoah. He places his vision squarely in the service of power. To me, he is the archetype of a certain sort of modern scientist. He traverses the same ground as, say, J. Robert Oppenheimer. The passage raises interesting questions about the cooption of knowledge by the state. Your thoughts on the portion are welcome, in the comments section below. |inline
A bit late in the day, sorry, but here’s this week’s Torah portion. Last week Joseph was attacked by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. He became the manager of a rich man’s house, but was then betrayed by his master’s wife, and thrown in jail. There, he developed a reputation as an interpreter of dreams, a person who could accurately predict the future. Here, he predicts a famine in Egypt in time for Pharoah to prepare stores of food. His wisdom persuades Pharoah to set Joseph over the empire, second in command to Pharoah himself. During the famine, Joseph’s brothers come into Egypt seeking stores. Joseph recognizes them and forgives them - though only after bullying them a bit, to demonstrate his power.
We are near the end of the Book of Genesis. Joseph’s influence and favorable position in Egypt trigger the immigration of the Israelites, which sets the stage for their enslavement and their escape, in Exodus.
Prior Torah portions are here. You can subscribe to the rss feed here. The translation is courtesy of the Jewish Publications Society. Feel free to comment on the portion, using the comments section below.
Here is this week’s Torah portion. Jacob is old - but not too old to have one last trick played on him. His older sons gang up on Joseph, the youngest and the favorite. They throw him in a pit and tell Jacob that he is dead. But Joseph is rescued and makes his way to Egypt, where he becomes a sort of consiglieri for a wealthy landowner. Joseph is rewarded, tempted, betrayed and imprisoned - unbeknownst to his father, who is in mourning in Canaan.
There is also an interesting interlude involving Judah, another of Jacob’s sons. He fails in his duty to arrange a levirate marriage for his daughter-in-law Tamar; so she takes matters into her own hands and, impersonating a harlot, deceives Judah himself into conceiving two sons with her.
Rachel has already posted some good comments on this portion. She’s right, it’s quite a soap opera. Readers’ own commentary is welcome in the comments section, below…
