This week in Torah, we begin reading the Book of Exodus. In the first two chapters we meet Moses, the central character, whose life begins in Egypt. Soon, we come to know Moses as the man whose conscience shapes moral issues and a new world view.
In Exodus 2:11, Moses sees injustice at the hands of the Egyptian taskmaster and he becomes impassioned. “When Moses had grown up, he went out to his kinsfolk and witnessed their labors. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen. He turned this way and that, and, seeing no one about, he struck down the Egyptian…” In Exodus 2:16, the daughters of a Midian priest come under threat of nearby shepherds and Moses defends them. “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock; but shepherds came and drove them off. Moses rose to their defense and he watered their flock.”
Moses demonstrates qualities that few individuals possess. He is, at once, passionate (zealous) and compassionate. He recognizes injustice for what it is, namely, the brutal disregard of individual human life through neglect and cruelty. He restores justice by making whole that which is broken. So, he causes the Hebrew to rise and go free from the Egyptian taskmaster; and, later he waters the flock of the daughters of the Midian priest.
Moses’ passion for justice and his compassion for God’s people are reflected in our world view, to this day. Justice (tzedakah) is at the heart of our world view because it provides the foundation on which everything else is built. Democratic nations permit their citizens access to resources to build their own future. They are urged to participate in the building up of their nation through real contributions of personal and communal work; and, they reap the rewards and bear the burdens of a shared outlook on a future they imagine, together.
In the U.S. and in Israel, today, passion is displayed in efforts to destroy terrorists who deprive people of justice, wherever they live. The Bush administration never hesitated to act on terror threats. Israel never hesitated either, but Israel’s enemies don’t see it the same way. It’s not because there are some who tolerate a little terror; it’s because Israel is an anathema to more people than are willing to admit it. The truth is that Israel is ready for peace and has done exactly what it said it would do for decades. At the same time, the Gazans have been taught to hate, and not only Jews, but Americans, too. It’s in their school books and it has become their world view. It’s also true that millions of dollars have been misappropriated from the Gazan people by leaders who keep them deployed in military conflicts with Israel, rather than focused on building their land and their future. Hamas is a terror organization. If they would choose peace with Israel, they would cease to exist. The only hope for Gaza is to return to them the future they imagined when Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, began to restore order and confidence.
The U.S. and Israel are also compassionate. Like the Hebrew who went free and the daughters of Midian whose flocks were watered, America and Israel free the captive and provide resources to nourish the hope of people everywhere, including Iraq and the Middle East. Their goal is not to destroy a people; but, to build up a people that honors its own culture and religion, and respects others who do the same.
Moses may be remembered first as a Biblical character who served God to redeem the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt; but he also symbolizes a meta-personality whose capacity for zealotry and compassion instructs free nations how to pursue peace by redeeming the oppressed and nourishing their hope. As Shabbat begins, let’s pray for peace in Israel and strength for those who pursue it; pray for the IDF and those who stand with them to wipe out terror and those who promote it; and pray for an end to bloodshed so that hope may burst forth and peace may prevail.
From my desk to yours, Shabbat Shalom.
__________________________________________________
Contact Rabbi Lyon