Shabbat Forshpeis
A Taste of Torah in Honor of Shabbat
SUFFERING AS AN INGREDIENT FOR REDEMPTION
PARSHAT SHEMOT
DECEMBER 27-28, 2002/ 23 TEVET 5763
In one of the most esoteric
incidents in the Torah, our parsha narrates that as Moshe (Moses)
traveled to Egypt to demand freedom for Am Yisrael (the Jewish
people), that "the Lord met him and sought to kill him."
At the last instant, Zipporah, Moshes wife, "took a flint and cut off the foreskin of her son." Through this circumcision, Moshes life was saved. (Exodus 4:24-26) What is the meaning of this most bizarre story?
It can be suggested that this episode requires an understanding of circumcision, first commanded by God to Avraham (Abraham) (Genesis, 17 ) shortly after the Brit bein Ha-Betarim, the covenant of the pieces. (Genesis 15) In that covenant, God tells Avraham that suffering will precede redemption. (Genesis 15:13)
Soon after, God gives Avraham the mitzvah of circumcision which is symbolic of the collective whole of Am Yisrael being the innocent suffering servant of God. (This in stark contrast to Christianity which claims that its man-god is the innocent suffering servant.) Indeed, in the ritual of circumcision, an innocent child suffers by having blood drawn from his organ of propagation. This is symbolic of the suffering of the Jewish people as servants of God throughout the ages.
Circumcision is, therefore, reflective of the suffering which God tells Avraham must precede redemption. It is no coincidence that before redemptive events, the Torah mentions circumcision.
It makes sense then that before Yitzhak (Isaac)-- who was essential to the covenantal line -- was born, God commands circumcision. Moreover, as we leave Egypt, all males are circumcised. And forty years later, as a new generation enters Israel, circumcision takes place.
The incident in our parsha ought be understood in this context. Just days before demanding of Pharoah to let the Jews go, circumcision had to take place to show once again the necessary ingredient of suffering which precedes redemption.
It should always be remembered that national suffering preceding redemption is spelled out in the covenant of the pieces. This teaches an important lesson. Suffering need not be viewed as punishment but as covenantal opportunity. Whether we see suffering as covenantal opportunity depends upon the way we understand the pain we are experiencing.
A beautiful Midrash reflects the interrelationship of pain and redemption. A father and son are walking through the forest. "Where is the city?" asks the son. The father responds, "When you see the cemetery you know youre on the outskirts." Life and redemption emerge following death and suffering.
In these most difficult days, where Israel continues to be under attack, let us collectively say, "Enough of the suffering! Enough of the cemeteries!" and pray that the next stage arrive--redemption of the Jewish people, the land of Israel and the entire world.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Avi Weiss
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