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Spirituality

TORAH PORTION

A Light In
The Darkness

Da

Shabbat Bo: Exodus 10:1-13:16;
Jeremiah 46:13-28.

ohn Milton called the most
has a long and proud history of help-
horrible place he could
ing all aspects of our people. In the
imagine as "dark-
Detroit area alone we have
ness visible:' a darkness so
JARC to help the devel-
deep that it eliminated all
opmentally disabled, Yad
feelings of hope. Darkness
Ezra to feed the hungry,
is a metaphor we use for
Kadima to help those with
depression and despair.
mental illnesses, JHAS to
Perhaps this is why God
help the elderly and Jewish
uses it as a plague against
Federation, which helps all
the Egyptians who would
aspects of our community.
not free their slaves. They
This is only a partial list,
would experience the dark-
and by no means exhaus-
ness that they brought to
Rabbi Aaron
tive.
others.
Bergman
The roots of the Jewish
The Torah says, "Thick
Special to the
mandate to help all parts
darkness descended upon
Jewish News
of our community are also
all the land of Egypt for
found in our Torah portion.
three days. People could not see one
Moses had been asking Pharaoh to let
another, and for three days no one
the people out of Egypt. Pharaoh only
could get up from where he was
agrees to send out the Jewish men
Darkness paralyzed Egypt. They had
for a short period of time in order
no idea how to cope with this crisis.
to make a sacrifice. Moses refuses
Egypt was the most powerful nation
this offer, even though a number of
in the world, but because of their
these men could have escaped Egypt
greed and hatred, it seems the sun had permanently. Moses says, "We will not
set on them.
leave without our young and our old,
The Torah, though, says that not
our sons and our daughters." Moses
everyone was in darkness. "The
insisted on freedom for the entire
Israelites enjoyed light in their dwell-
community.
ings." The most important part of this
We must always make sure that
verse may be "their dwellings." The
our young and old, our sons and our
Israelites experienced light when they
daughters have a chance for freedom
were together, not when they were out
whether it is emotional, economic, or
on their own. This is a powerful and
physical. We have an obligation to con-
inspirational image. Jews know how to tinue in the tradition of our people as
create light even in then dark, but only established by Moses.
when we are with each other.
The Psalms say that for God "the
There is a cliche that to be Jewish is
darkness is not dark." As long as we
to suffer. Rabbi Yitz Greenberg notes
turn to each other, have faith in God's
that all people throughout history
love for us and bring that love to the
have suffered. What is great about our
rest of the world, the darkness will not
people is that we have come through
be dark for us either.
our troubles with our dignity and
morality intact, if not strengthened.
Aaron Bergman is a rabbi at Adat Shalom
The Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan
Synagogue in Farmington Hills.
Buddhism, often meets with Jewish
leaders to learn how to preserve a
people through the long, dark night of
exile. He looked to us as a light for his
Conversations
nation.
How do we teach these values to
One of the reasons that we have
our children? How do we bring
been a light to nations is that we are
our values to those outside our
so concerned about each other as a
community?
community. The Jewish community

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January 29 • 2009

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