Alan Freire de Lima and Arlete Freire de Lima affiliated and members Ohr Hatorah Synagogue (Los Angeles, California, USA)

SHABBAT WORKS
28 Tevet 5783
Friday night, January 20 - Saturday, January 21, 2023
Parashat Vaera
Exodus 6:2 - 9:35
Haftarah
Ezekiel 28:25 - 29:21
Candle Lighting: 4:52 pm
Havdalah: 5:51 pm
The Strands and the Cord
Rabbi Mordecai Finley, Ph.D.
Throughout her discussion of this week’s Torah portion, Va-eira (“I appeared”) in her The Particulars
of Rapture, Avivah Zornberg draws fascinating parallels among three main protagonists – Moses,
Pharaoh and the Israelites, starting with last week’s Torah portion, Shemot.
Look at Exodus chapter 3:2 from last week’s Torah portion. Etched in the memory of the reader
is this: “An angel of God appeared to him (Moses) in the heart of the fire within the bush, and he
(Moses) saw that the bush was aflame but not consumed. Moses said (to himself), ‘I shall turn
aside and look upon this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.’ ”
God’s voice replaces the appearance of the angel and calls out to Moses. God sets out the
ground around the bush as holy. God identifies God’s self. Moses hides his face, “For he was (too)
awestruck to gaze toward God.” After a lengthy introduction, God gives Moses his mission, “I shall
send you to Pharaoh, and you shall take my people Israel out of Egypt.”
The reader typically is awestruck by the appearance of the Angel in the heart of the fire, and the
Voice of God being revealed to Moses. From that voice comes Moses’s life’s purpose. In God’s
commanding Moses to lead the people out of Egypt, all the strands of Moses’s painful past are
tied into a cord. The fugitive from justice will lead an exodus of slaves and deliver harsh justice to
Pharaoh and his minions.
At least, that is what sticks in my mind when I recall the story. I don’t remember right away
Moses’s getting over his awe rather quickly, saying in response to God, “But why me?” It was a
complaint, not a question. Moses’s response takes the air right out the story.
In the Midrash that Zornberg presents in this week’s Torah portion, a protracted days long
argument followed the call of Moses, Moses insistently choosing, for one reason or another,
not to accept the mission. God, unlike the IMF, doesn’t say, “this mission, should you choose to
accept it . . .” God had already said “yes” for Moses. God just wanted to reason with Moses and
get him to say “yes” himself.
In the end, Moses hears everything God said, but demurs. “No one will believe this.” God promises
to take care of the people’s disbelief, predicting the miracles in this week’s Torah portion. Moses
changes tactics. Despite his eloquent arguments against God presented in the Midrash, Moses
says (in Exodus 4:10), apparently without a shred of irony, “We’ve been talking for three days now.
You know I am not good at speaking.” God says, in all caps, “GO! I WILL BE WITH YOUR MOUTH
AND TELL YOU WHAT TO SAY.” Just follow the script!
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The Strands and the Cord, Continued
Moses responds dismissively, effectively saying, “Yeah, whatever, fine. Send anybody you want.”
God’s wrath finally burns against Moses and God seems to make an offer that Moses can’t
refuse. Moses starts his mission, halfheartedly, it turns out.
Moses tells the people what happened, and they actually believe him (Exodus 4:29-30). The text
is not being entirely straightforward with us, the readers. The people believe that what Moses told
them did happen, but it turns out that it just didn’t mean that much to them. They turned out to
be like Moses, denying the mission, refusing to hear.
Pharoah is presented as an odd parallel to Moses and the Israelites. Pharaoh hears everything,
including the warning of the plagues and the sword. Pharoah answers, in similar fashion to that
odd positive-negative in use today, “Yeah, no.” Pharaoh takes out his own wrath on the Israelites,
who lose faith in Moses fairly quickly. “May God judge you! It’s all gotten worse!” Moses, the
people and Pharaoh, and even God, start to look like each other.
What a bizarre story! The heart of the fire, the voice of the Eternal One, the promise of freedom
all dramatically unravel in the verses that follow the call of Moses at the Burning Bush.
Refusal. Insolence. Denial. Half-heartedness. Wrath. Faith gained and abandoned. Blaming. Pain
and suffering. Fear. Something was troubled way down in Egypt land.
And then, peeking out from this story, are verses that echo to us from the book of Genesis, from
the story of Rebecca and her pain in her troubled pregnancy. She goes to seek of God in her pain,
and says, in Hebrew words almost impossible to translate, (Genesis 25:22), “Im ken, lamah zeh
anokhi,” “If thus, why do I exist?” The answer that there two nations struggling in her womb does
not bode well. The troubled pregnancy augers further unraveling.
At the end of last week’s Torah portion, capping the entire unraveling at the beginning of the
Exodus, Moses says to God (Exodus 5:22), “Why have you done evil to this people and why did
you send me (lamah zeh shelachtani)?” “Lamah zeh?” “Why?”
This subtle reference to the pregnancy of Rebecca has us re-ask all our questions of last week’s
Torah portion in a different tone, “Why does this story exist?” Why does God choose such an unfit
servant? Why does God redeem an unfit people? Why is Pharaoh impervious to truth? Why do
things go so terribly wrong? Why doesn’t God matter? These questions are only sharpened in this
week’s Torah portion.
With this reference to the pregnancy of Rebecca, we know the answer: Because this is the way
things are. Each part of the story stands for parts of our inner lives, our lives with others, and our
lives with God. There is trouble in the womb of consciousness. The pregnancy is painful, birthing
produces woe. Things fall apart and then fall apart some more. When you are in the midst of
things falling apart, you ask why. But once the strands form a cord, you know. Cords come from
strands.
There are those moments. When the brothers reconcile in Egypt. When the waters break at the
Sea of Reeds. When the people go to Mt Sinai, where Moses saw the angel in the heart of the
fire. The people saw it, too, for just a moment. If only our gaze could hold the appearance of the
angel in the heart of the fire. If only our minds could hold the voice of God. If only our purpose
could resolutely guide the path before us.
That’s not the way things are. We must continuously take the strands at the margins of life and
form them into cords. It’s our mission, our purpose.
Parashat Vaera
Synopsis of the
Torah Portion
Exodus 6:2 - 9:35
Synopsis of the
Haftarah
Ezekiel 28:25 - 29:21
1. Things did not go well for Moshe (Moses) on his first try with
Pharaoh -- the burdens of the Israelites were increased. Our Torah
portion begins with God promising Moshe redemption for the
Israelites, in fact, in four different ways (maybe five). This is the
major source, by the way, of the four (maybe five) cups of wine at
Passover.
2. Moshe is reluctant to go on his mission; he is “of uncircumcised
lips.” Aharon his brother is assigned to go with him.
3. God promises the redemption will be through signs and wonders,
and that He will harden Pharaohs heart.
4. The sign of the staff turning into a snake -- Pharaoh’s heart
is strong, and his magicians are able somewhat to duplicate the
miracle.
5. The first plague -- Blood (dam), which Pharaoh’s magicians
duplicate. Second plague -- frogs (tzefardea); Pharaoh pleads for
respite, receives it, but his heart is strong, and reverses himself.
Third plague -- lice (kinnim). Magicians try to duplicate it, but can’t.
They concede it is “the finger of God.” Pharaoh won’t. Fourth plague
-- swarms of wild beasts (arov). Fifth plague -- livestock disease
(dever). Sixth plague -- boils (sh’chin). Seventh plague -- hail (barad).
The common theme between the Sedra and Haftarah is the
prediction of another destruction of Egypt. Ezekiel was one of those
exiled to Babylon; he prophesized that Egypt would be overrun by the
Babylonians and its demise would pave the way for the restoration of
the Temple, and for Israel’s reunification, under a Davidic descendant.
Friday Evening, 7 pm
Candle Lighting and Brief Teaching
Meeting ID: 845 5543 7908
Passcode: 780011
Shabbat Zoom Sessions
Shabbat Morning, 10 am
Rabbi’s Teaching 10:30 am
Meeting ID: 880 7900 5392
Passcode: 011842
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15030 Ventura Blvd. Suite 11 #378 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 P: (310) 915-5200 E: info@ohrhatorah.org 3

Happy Birthday...
Welcome New Members
Jon Rubin on January 23
Jessica Cousens on January 26
Alan & Arlete Freire de Lima
Shula & David Wyner
UPCOMING
Member
Meet Ups
RSVP RSVP RSVP
This Week We Remember...
Condolences To...
David Sage,
father of Diana Guth, on January 21.
Darnold Blivas,
father of Larry Blivas, on January 22.
Dorothy Shrier,
mother of Linda Ries, on January 22.
Sonia Grynberg,
cousin of Stephen Grynberg, on January 25.
Hannah Preisler,
grandmother of Diana Guth, on January 26.
Albert Golden,
father-in-law of Roberta Golden, on January 27.
Barbro and Sheldon Klausner on the passing
of Sheldon’s sister, Geraldine Senft,
on December 16.
Judith Gable, Elani & David Gable, and
Judith & Richard Abuza on the passing of
Judith’s father, David’s grandfather, and
Richard’s uncle, Dr. Edward Saeks,
on January 19. The funeral will be this
Sunday, January 22.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
COMMITTEES
President
Rabbi Mordecai Finley, Co-CEO
rabbifinley@ohrhatorah.org
Vice-President, Secretary
Meirav Finley, Co-CEO
Meirav@ohrhatorah.org
Second Vice-President,
Treasurer
Pamela Mahoney
Pam@ohrhatorah.org
Director at Large
Helana Barry
Helana@ohrhatorah.org
Director at Large
Michael Shapiro
Mickey@ohrhatorah.org
G’milut
Hassadim
Karen Feldman
Membership
& Outreach
Mickey Shapiro
Pamela Mahoney
Avigayil Finley
Please Note:
If you have something for the weekly update, material, as well as flyers, must be in the office by 4PM the preceding Monday!
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