Exodus Cycle Five Shemoth

Shemoth

Seeking the Miracle of the Name

The parasha Shemoth is filled with many amazing signs and miracles, exactly what many of us love about Torah.  Wondrous things happen. Here are some:

1) Two midwives resist the order of Pharaoh and are not punished. Rather… rewarded!

2) A baby is later saved by his wise Israelite mother who puts him in a little ark or basket in the rushes. The baby (Moshe) found by the Egyptian Princess, becomes a Prince.

3) Moshe kills a slave-driver…not a good thing to do. But look what happens. He goes into self imposed exile from Mitzrayim (a metaphoric exile within itself) and once there God speaks to him.

4)  This is the conversation from the burning bush.  It’s a long one. God says that the Israelites, in harsh servitude to Pharaoh, must be freed by Moshe so they can be in servitude to God for three days on the mountain. The three day temporary deal soon changes to a full-on demand for freedom. But that’s the next parasha so let’s not go there yet.

What we want to recognize here is that we have one strong story, one we know well. There’s a goal (the freeing of the Israelites) as well as main characters. Moshe. God. Pharoah.

This is a story with lots of history and great myth. But it does more than that. It also follows our personal and ancient intimacy with God.

 For an illustration, let's look at the artist Donatello. He painted angels on the high ceilings of churches. This is the interesting fact though: The angels looked like angels only from a distance. From up close they seemed a bit off, not exact. Space tended to distort human perception.

 Our challenge is to recognize God as God despite any distance…whether painted angles are distorted for our vision or not.  In other words, we get it through the very sanctity of  Torah, the mitzvoth, those beautiful moments that connect us to each other and/or to any radiance that seems so beyond this world. We get it through connection with the millions of sparks rising all around us…i.e. through soul-study.

 And in this broader picture we are all one. The cries of the Israelites are our cries. Cries of longing, of disgust, of pain, of strength as we move forward from a place of thick darkness.  Cries of couples in mid-divorce, of  widows at the graveyard, of  the mothers of soldiers, of the ill, the dying, those stuck in their own mind-games. Cries from each one of us after words that sting. Cries of rejection, humiliation, too much power, too much arrogance.  Cries of fear.  Cries that defy faith.  Cries that burn and eat up our soul in one fast devastating flame.

 And all of us…yes, even Moshe…dance and move within a deeper power. In other words, God is creating an experience that vibrates within our very bones so we can be in it and catapulted by it. If you like, it’s almost as if the rhythm is already created and we…the Israelites…are simply responding to it viscerally….yet also with free will. So if we just open our eyes beyond this earthly plane to patterns in Torah we are given the opportunity to witness the infusion of that-light into our every happening.

 We can look at Talmud  (Berakhot 18)  for  a proof-text of this: In short, Atzilut…the world of dreams and life/death connection is in the forefront.  Asiyah…the world as we know it….is in the background. Spiritual life is not necessarily physical life. If we take a breath though or try to purify ourselves we can connect the two.. For example, if we are having a conflict with someone we love, doesn’t it help to take a pause and go outside for some fresh air? When we are studying or working very hard, isn’t it a good idea to rest on Shabbat?

When spiritual life merges with physical life  we create our own inner burning bush. When we satisfy the mitzvoth…as described in Torah (meaning the Torah of our lives as well as the sacred scroll) or in Talmud…we create our own burning bush. When we raise others up, honor them, honor ourselves…we are in touch with the flame in our heart that cannot be extinguished.

 This is what Shemoth is all about. Even during struggle our freedom is defined as our willingness to see the heart of the flame. So may we do what we can to see it, know it, name ourselves by it. And may we recognize it as the One Miracle beyond Names