To Life!
TORAH PORT ON
Testing Ourselves
Shabbat Bo: Exodus 10:1-13:16;
Jeremiah 46:13-28.
n interesting question is
Similarly here in Exodus, why
raised in this week's story
would God ask the Hebrews to mark
about the final plagues. In
their doors when God had already
each of the first nine, the households demonstrated that He knew where
of the Hebrews were spared. Their
they lived?
water did not turn to blood; their
It seems to me that the Divine
animals remained healthy; their
directions in both stories make
homes were safe from locusts, lice
sense only as a lesson to us about
and frogs; and they had
our responsibility in
light when darkness cov-
covenant with God. We
ered all of Egypt.
learn that we cannot
Clearly, God was able to
depend upon God rescuing
distinguish between the
us merely because God
Israelites and the Egyptians
promised us. We are
in each of the first nine
required to take an active,
plagues — so why does
choosing role in our own
God instruct them to put
redemption and salvation.
blood on their doorposts in
We learn that we must
advance of the last and
always be testing ourselves,
final plague? Doesn't God
Ra bbi
thoughtfully and critically
already know who lives
Joseph P. Klein examining the meaning and
where?
Specia I to the the message of Covenant,
When God sends malach
Jewish News always aware and conscious
ha-mavet, "the messenger
of how belief and faith
of death," over the homes of Egypt,
direct behavior. Belief, in and of
wouldn't God's messenger already
itself, has no value unless it directs
know which home was whose?
us to live rightly and act justly and
Surely the blood-painted doors are
generously.
not needed to direct the Divine! And
From our Exodus story, we learn
if not for God, then for whom are
that redemption and salvation
they meant?
require us to stand up and publicly
What strikes me is that this story
proclaim an active role in effecting
of God sounds a lot like what hap-
God's repair of the world. The
pened to Abraham and Isaac way
Hebrews painted their doorposts
back in Genesis 22. There the life of
with blood, declaring for all to see
a first-born is also threatened by a
their intentional identification as
divine decree, only to be halted by a
God's partners in covenant.
sheep substitution. There, at the last
Our Judaism only has value when it
minute, God "passes over" Isaac as
is effected within community, when
the offering, and points to a ram,
we stand up, and step into, our
caught in the thicket, declaring it to
responsibilities as Jews — that
be the boy's replacement.
though we may believe that every-
Each of these stories heralds a
thing is dependent on God, we must
new covenant; and, in both, the first- act as if everything depends on us. 7_
born are at risk, only to be released
with a substitute sacrifice.
Joseph P. Klein is rabbi of Temple
But as I read these narratives, in
Emanu-El in Oak Park.
neither does God's action make
sense! In Genesis, God has already
Conversations
told Abraham that his son with
In what other ways are the mes-
Sarah would inherit the covenant,
sages of Rosh Hashanah and
that his son would father a new
Pesach similar? What do they
nation. If God has already declared
each teach us about taking per-
that, why would He command
sonal responsibility?
Abraham to kill Isaac?
A
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