In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Terumah, God asks Bnai Yisrael to donate materials for the construction of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. The final product of the Mishkan will become a dwelling place for God as it states: “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). On this verse, the Midrash in Exodus Rabbah 33:1 asks, “Can you conceive of a transaction in which the seller is sold with his goods?!” The Midrash tells a story about a king whose daughter married another king. Whenever the king’s son-in-law wished to return to his own country with his new wife, the king would tell his son-in-law: “I cannot say to you, ‘Don’t take her,’ for my daughter is now your wife. However, I ask of you that you wherever you go to live that you have a chamber for ready for me that I may dwell with you, for I cannot leave my daughter.” So too, the Midrash explains that God said to Israel: “I have given you a Torah from which I cannot part, and I also cannot te
ll you not to take it. But I request that wherever you go, make for Me a house in which I will be able to dwell.” God’s call for the construction of the Mishkan is often framed as God’s response to Bnai Yisrael’s needs to feel as if they have more access to God. This Midrash however teaches that the Mishkan was not only created to meet the needs of Bnai Yisrael but also to make God feel closer to God’s people.
Parashat Terumah
Parashat Mishpatim
At the same time as the rabbis wrote Midrashim, they also worked to perpetuate the importance of practicing rabbinic law, in addition to the laws of the Torah itself. This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Mishpatim, presents the rabbis with a field day of Torah laws and statutes. Several Midrashim explore the meaning of the very first Pasuk of our Parasha, “These are the rules [Mishpatim] that you shall set before them” (Exodus 21:1).
The Midrash in Exodus Rabbah 30:14 states that the function of these Mishpatim, these laws, can be compared to a man who brags to his friend, “I have a thousand measures of grain, a thousand of oil, and a thousand of wine.” His friend says to him, “Do you have the space to store them? If you do, then these things will belong to you, but if you do not have the storage space, then you really own nothing.” So too, the Midrash explains that if a person who studies the Torah and its rabbinic interpretations (including Midrash itself) does not internalize their teachings, then this person might as well have nothing. This parable highlights the importance of not only studying the written and oral Torah, but also applying their principles and laws to our daily lives. It is only then that we will we have devoted the proper storage space to God’s teachings.
Tu Bishvat
We often recite “Shir HaMaalot” (Psalm 126) at the beginning of Birkat HaMazon, the grace after meals, on holidays and special occasions. In their latest hit “I Am Planting,” my colleagues Miriam Brosseau and Alan Jay Sufrin at Stereo Sinai, a band that blends Torah with original pop music, draw a beautiful connection between this Psalm and Tu Bishvat, that is celebrated this Wednesday. *You can enter to win Stereo Sinai’s new CD entitled “The Revelation will not be Televised” by “liking” the Tu Bishvat post on the Midrash Manicures Facebook Page! A winner will be announced following Tu Bishvat.
The Talmud in Taanit 23a tells the story of Choni HaMeAgel, Choni the circle-maker, who struggled with what Psalm 126:1 meant by the words, “Shir HaMaalot B’Shuv Adoshem Et Shivat Tzion Hayinu KeCholmim,” “When God returned the exiles to Zion, we were ‘like’ dreamers.” The Talmud demonstrates how Choni came to a fuller understanding of this verse by means of an unexpected encounter. One day Choni saw a man planting a carob tree and asked him how long it would take for the tree to bear fruit. The man told him that it would take about seventy years. Choni said to him “but you are so old you will never taste its fruit!”
The man replied, “As my ancestors planted for me – I will also plant for my offspring.” Choni soon found himself in a deep sleep that lasted (conveniently) for seventy years. When Choni woke up he saw a man gathering the fruit of the carob tree. Not realizing how long he had actually slept, Choni asked the man if he was the same man who had planted the original carob tree. The man replied to Choni, “I am his grandson.”
Shir HaMaalot states we were “like” dreamers since individuals who were exiled from Israel never thought they would live to see a return to the Land of Israel. Just as Choni never thought he would live to see the fruit of the carob tree, so too did the Jewish people in exile think they would never live to see a return to Israel (the exile according to rabbinic chronology lasted about seventy years). The Talmud’s Aramaic phrase of “As my ancestors planted for me – I will also plant for my offspring,” which serves as the refrain of the Stereo Sinai Tu Bishvat song, can also serve as our mantra on this Tu Bishvat. May we continue our work of planting the seeds for future generations through agricultural innovations, environment protections, and by passing on this very mantra to our children and grandchildren. At times we may be “like” dreamers, but perhaps one day we too will see our labors come to fruition. Chag Sameach!
Parashat Yitro
Parashat Yitro contains the Torah’s first version of the Ten Commandments. On the first commandment, Ibn Ezra, the 12th century Spanish commentator, asks the following question: Why does the Torah state that “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 20:2) rather than “I am the Lord your God who made the heavens and the earth, as well as humanity?” Ibn Ezra explains how the first commandment was designed to accommodate different types of learners.
The first half of the commandment addresses “intellectuals,” individuals who Ibn Ezra designates as being capable of understanding the existence of God by learning about the complexity of the world. The second half of the commandment satisfies the needs of “experiential learners,” those who learn best through witnessing God’s miracles. Ibn Ezra’s interpretation reflects the Torah’s sensitivity to the notion that individuals take different paths to secure their beliefs in God. The first commandment conveys an appreciation for the various ways in which people can come to recognize God’s presence in their lives.
Parashat Beshalach
This week’s Parasha, Parashat Beshalach, contains a scene that many of us are familiar with from the 1956 film, “The Ten Commandments.” The splitting of the Sea of Reeds is ingrained in our collective Jewish memory. The Midrash in Exodus Rabbah 11:6 asks: Why does the Torah state that the waters “were” divided rather than the water “was divided”? The Midrash explains that this comes to teach that waters in wells and fountains across the world became divided at the very moment of the splitting of the sea so as to showcase God’s miracle to the entire world.
Thi
s week’s Parasha also contains Shirat HaYam, “the Song of the Sea,” a poetic recounting of the splitting of the sea (sans Charlton Heston). Shirat HaYam was incorporated into the Jewish liturgy as part of Pesukei D’Zimrah, which is the introductory part of our service that contains blessings sandwiching biblical verses. Shirat Hayam
is our daily reminder about God’s capacity to perform miracles at each and every moment. While we might not have the opportunity to see something tantamount to the splitting of the sea in our lifetime, let our recitation of the Song of the Sea serve as a reminder for us to marvel at the miracles we encounter in our own lives.
Parashat Bo
Compared to lice, boils, and blood, was the plague of darkness really that bad? The Midrashim that discuss the plague of darkness emphasize the danger and severity of this plague. In Exodus Rabbah 14:2, Rabbi Nechemiah makes it clear that the plague of darkness was not a typical form of darkness as he believed that this darkness came from Gehenom, hell. Exodus Rabbah 14:3 discusses how the this darkness was a physically thick substance. For the first three days of the plague, individuals who were sitting or standing could change their positions, but during the next three days of the plague, individuals could not sit, stand, or even get out of bed.
These Midrashim detail the power and pain that accompanied this unique form of darkness. The Egyptians suffered greatly from this plague as they were psychologically confined. They felt helpless and powerless in their own homes. The plague of darkness was the second to last plague as it truly exposed the Egyptians to the complete power that God could have over them. This plague could not be cured with a candle or a night-light. The Egyptians had to face the reality that the God of Bnai Yisrael was here to stay.
Parashat Va’era
Pharaoh would not have been a big fan of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as he truly believed that Egypt was the center for magic arts. In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Va’era, Moshe and Aharon initially tried to prove God’s wonders to Pharaoh by demonstrating how Aharon’s staff could turn into snake. The Midrash in Exodus Rabbah 9:4 states that when Pharaoh’s magicians replicated the ‘trick’ that had been performed by Moshe and Aharon, the magicians teased them, saying: “You are bringing straw to Afarim [a city famous for its straw]!” Continue reading
