Change We Must Believe In
This Tuesday, millions of people witnessed a historic inauguration, an event that captured the imagination and attention of the entire globe. Regardless of your personal political affiliation, we all recognize that an unprecedented measure of excitement and enthusiasm has been generated by this extraordinary transfer of power.
Our Rabbis teach us that the Torah portions we read have a correlation and relevance to the events that occur in their proximity. Therefore, this week’s Torah reading – Va’era - must relate and shed some light on Tuesday’s inauguration as well.
Our Torah portion begins by G‑d telling Moses that He will deliver the Jewish People from the shackles and bondage of Egyptian slavery. G‑d uses 4 expressions to describe the redemption from Egypt. And it is for this reason that we drink 4 glasses of wine at our Passover Seders.
But G‑d does not merely tell us where He is taking us from – Egypt; He informs us that there is a purpose, mission, and final destination: The reason we were redeemed from Egypt was to become the nation that would & will infuse the world with G‑dlines. In fact that is why we place a 5th cup of wine at our seder table called “The Cup of Elijah”. This cup is to remind us of our destination and mission statement, to transform this world and make a place that G‑d will feel comfortable.
Knowing where we’re running away from is to no avail if we don’t define where we’re going: They tell a story about Moshe, a simple Jew, not blessed with great intellectual abilities, who obtained a false passport to escape the clutches of the soviet communism regime. Knowing his simple nature, he was concerned that during his questioning at the border he might get confused and his scheme would be uncovered. He therefore took great pains to prepare. Over and over he repeated to himself – hundreds of times, “remember you’re not Moshe anymore, now you’re Ivan”.
When the big day finally arrived however, his fatigue combined with the terrifying image of the border guard caused his mind to go blank. “What’s your name?” the border officer asked him again and again threateningly. Moshe stood there fearfully, his mind empty.
“I-I-I-I I forgot what m-m-my name is’, Moshe finally replied, ‘b-b-b-b-but one thing I can tell you for sure, my name is not Moshe!”
And so during this propitious time, when the mood is one of change from the current status quo; when the world is excited about the prospects of leaving our modern-day Egyptian slavery (ie: the financial meltdown, unemployment, terror, war, etc.), this is our time to remind ourselves, our families, our communities, and our country, that this enthusiasm is to be channeled towards reaching that ultimate goal. Let us harness this energy and use it to bring G‑dliness and truth into our homes and country.
Let’s do a mitzvah today!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
