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THE BIRMINGHAM TEMPLE
A Congregation of Humanistic Judaism
A WORKSHOP FOR INTERMARRIED
COUPLES AND FAMILIES
Saturday January 25, 1997 9:00 am — 3:00 pm
This workshop will address issues pertaining to intercultural relationships, providing
a full, enlightening, provocative, and enjoyable experience for all involved. It examines
issues of personal identity, raising children, developing a shared philosophy of life and
celebrating two cultures. For information or to register call The Birmingham Temple
at (810) 477-1410. Registration fee is $15.00 per person and includes lunch.
GROUP LEADERS: Janis Levin-Gorelich, Humanist Leader
Judith Schneider, ACSW
Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, Rabbi, Birmingham Temple
The Birmingham Temple
A Congregation of Humanistic Judaism
28611 West Twelve Mile Road • Farmington Hills, MI 48334 • (810) 477-1410
Free At Last:
Now What?
Shabbat Bo: Exodus 10:1-13:16;
Jeremiah 46:13-28.
RABBI DANIEL NEVINS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
D
ramatic passages in our
lives have a way of dis-
rupting the continuum of
time.
Suddenly, our personal narra-
tives are split into two epochs:
before and after. Marriage, par-
enthood, relocation, divorce, dis-
ease or death in our families
become defining moments, break-
ing our lives into discrete stages
of personal development.
What is true for indivith lals also
characterizes the life of a nation.
The most dramatic passage, the
event that still serves as a refer-
ence point for the birth of our peo-
ple, is the subject of this week's
Torah portion.
The Exodus story unfurls slow-
ly in the first 15 chapters of She-
mot. The climactic splitting of the
sea is yet to come. But I see the
turning point, the moment when
our emancipation becomes real.
`This month is for you the first
of months; it is the first of the
months of the year." This appar-
ently simple verse has a rich his-
tory of rabbinic interpretation, for
it is the first mitzvah directed to
the Israelites as a nation. Indeed,
Rashi rhetorically asked why any
of the Torah before this passage
was even necessary.
Following the Midrash, I read
this verse in a highly literal fash-
ion. "This month is for you" —
Moses, at this very moment, you
are being transformed; "the first
of the month": Whatever came be-
fore is pre-history; you are now a
new people, and your first re-
sponsibility is to mark the time.
In the classical Midrash, God
actually points out the new moon
to Moses so that he will be able to
train the people in this technical
skill. In my imagination, God elab-
orates with a rationale such as
this: "Moses, do not mistake this
identification of the new moon for
a minor mitzvah. Mark this pas-
sage to freedom in your very cal-
endar, making it the first of
months. Do this zekher liy'tziat
mitzrayim — "remembering the
Exodus from Egypt" — so that
your identity will always be se-
cure, and our covenant will re-
main firm forever."
This then is a moment of great
transition, not just from slavery
to freedom, but also from the his-
tory of individuals to the forma-
tion of a nation. Prior to this
mitzvah, the Torah addresses in-
Daniel Nevins is a rabbi at Adat
Shalom Synagogue.
dividual families. Rosh Hashanah
marks the beginning of time for
the entire world. But the spring
month of Nissan is for us, the Jew-
ish people, the first chapter in our
national history.
Now that we have achieved
peoplehood, what kind of people
will we be? We have become b'ruii
possessors of freedom,
chorim
no longer subject to the dictates of
a foreign oppressor. But everyone
knows that with freedom comes
responsibility. Indeed, immedi-
ately after the declaration of the
new moon, God instructs Moses
on several additional mitzvot re-
lating to Passover.
And yet, if you read on, it is
striking that between the Exodus
and the revelation at Mount Sinai,
months pass. Where is the re-
sponsibility that comes with free-
dom? Why don't we receive the
Torah as soon as we become free?
A beautiful Midrash found in
the name of Rav Yehudah bar
Shalom asks this very question.
We are told that Israel came to
Sinai "in the third month" after
the Exodus. Why the delay? He
answers: Seeing that the people
were still suffering from the
wounds of slavery, the Holy One
said, "I will wait until they heal,
and then I will give them the
Torah."
There is greater wisdom in this
Midrash, which can be applied to
our lives as well. When we make
a traumatic transition in life, we
need time for healing before we
can fully assume our new re-
sponsibilities.
The major transitions in our
lives can be disorienting — our
identities evolve as do the de-
mands made on us. At such times,
the rituals of Judaism create op-
portunities to reflect on these
changes. Whether the transition
is joyous or tragic, we ought nev-
er assume that it will be un-
eventful.
If we can recognize the change
and mark it well, then our new
identities will come naturally to
us. This is the example that God
has set out for us in the Torah por-
tion of Bo. ❑
—
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