38 | JANUARY 23 • 2020 

Spirit
torah portion

B

y virtue of an 
acclaimed Broadway 
production of recent 
vintage, many have come 
to a renewed appreciation 
of the fascinating story 
of an American 
“Founding Father.” 
His roller-coaster life, 
punctuated by the 
key role he played 
in the shaping of the 
great experiment 
called American 
democracy 
, inspired 
the opening words of 
Hamilton: “How does 
a bastard, orphan, 
son of a whore and a 
Scotsman, dropped 
in the middle of 
a forgotten spot in the 
Caribbean by Providence, 
impoverished, in squalor, 
grow up to be a hero and a 
scholar?”
This question speaks to 
our delightful wonderment 
when “underdogs” succeed 
in the face of tremendous 
challenges and adversity. It 
reminds us that greatness 
is not reserved for the 
privileged few, but rather is 
available to anyone willing 
to make the effort necessary 
to attain it. In this context, 
we can best appreciate the 
Torah’
s presentation of 
Moses in this week’
s Torah 
reading.
The Torah withholds 
information about the 
lineage of Moses until well 
into his life and career. 
Why wait? We would have 
expected to learn of Moses’
 
background at the time of 

his birth. Instead, we are 
merely told at the time that 
“a man from the house of 
Levi went and married a 
daughter of Levi, and the 
woman conceived and 
bore a son …” This 
anonymous entry to 
the world is hardly 
the introduction we 
would expect for the 
most consequential 
figure in Jewish 
history.
But, as we find 
throughout Genesis, 
it is achievement in 
life rather than birth 
order, merit and 
morality rather than 
biology, which are of 
paramount importance. 
The success of the 
underdog has always, and 
will always, stir within 
us feelings of hope that 
we, too, can achieve great 
things in life. After all, if 
a penniless orphan from 
an island in the Caribbean 
can become one of the 
most important figures in 
American history and a 
foundling Hebrew child 
born to nameless parents 
doomed for Egyptian 
slavery can grow to 
adulthood as one of the 
greatest liberators in world 
history, every single one of 
us can make it big despite 
our lack of pedigree or lack 
of aristocratic standing. 

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor 

of Ohr Torah Stone and chief 

rabbi of Efrat, Israel.

Parshat 

Vaera: 

Exodus

6:2-9:35; 

Ezekiel

28:25-29:21.

Rabbi Shlomo 
Riskin

Respecting
The Underdog

TEMPLE SHIR SHALOM’S
CHI
CKEN SOUP

COOK-OFF

CHI
CKEN SOUP
COOK-OFF

 Templ
e

 Shir Shal
om’
s 

10t
h 
annual 
Chicken Soup Cook-Off!

Sun. Jan. 26

12:30–2:00pm

Taste 20+ Chicken Soups!

Professional & Amateur Divisions

Sponsors and Restaurants (as of 1/17):

Artloft
Art Fishman Burning Bush Fund
Ashley Gold
Beau’s
Beauty Counter – Lindsey Grossman
Best Homes Title Agency
Ciao
Cutting Edge Cuisine
Detroit Jewish News
Fran and Gary Grossman
Franklin Village Boutique
Harris Altman Injury Lawyers
Jennifer’s Café
John’s Cafe
Lisa and Josh Sherbin
Lulu’s Coney Island
Mort Meisner Associates
Napoletana Classic Italian
Panera Bread
Pegasus Entertainment
PinkGirls.Pink / Claudaycious Designs
Platinum Dish Catering
Sallyjo and Barry Levine
Schneiderman & Sherman
Steve’s Deli
Sweet Spots
Temple Shir Shalom Brotherhood
Temple Shir Shalom Preschool
Tony’s Deli
Val’s Deli

@Temple Shir Shalom


info 
+ 
tickets: 
www.SoupCookOff.org 
or (248) 737-8700

Community invited!

