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Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Vaera Exodus 6:2-9:35
By Shlomo Riskin
Efrat, Israel - This coming Shabbat Parashat Vaera is my grandson’s bar
mitzvah. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you what I plan
to say to him, to speak not as a rabbi but as a grandfather.
The Biblical readings of these early portions of the Book of Exodus deal
with the emergence of the Jewish nation, from a proud family with a mission
to an Egyptian enslaved and persecuted people and thereafter to a free and
inspired nation of G-d. G-d initially chooses Moses as the liberator with
the promise which includes not only the Exodus from Egypt but also the
Divine revelation at Sinai: “And G-d said, ‘I will be with you and this
will be your sign that I sent you: when I take you with your nation out of
Egypt you shall serve the Lord upon this mountain’” (Exodus 3:12).
Clearly it is not sufficient that the Jews be freed; their freedom must lead
to their being imbued with the mission which will express the manner in
which G-d wants Israel – and ultimately all of humanity – to live. In
effect, Israel is freed from Egyptian slavery in order that they may learn
how best to serve G-d.
At the end of his life, Moses impresses upon the Israelites the crucial
importance of that Bible which they received at Sinai and he expresses it in
a very special way: “But guard yourselves and guard your souls very
carefully lest you forget those Divine words which your eyes saw (at Sinai)
and lest these words depart from your hearts all the days of your lives. You
shall inform your children and your children’s children concerning that
day when you stood before the Lord your G-d at Horeb (Sinai- Deut. 4:9,10).
Based upon this verse, the Sages of the Talmud teach in the name of Rabbi
Yehoshua Halevy, “Anyone who teaches his child’s child Torah is
considered as if he received the Torah from Mount Horeb.” (B.T. Berakhot
21b)
It is fascinating how both the Bible and the Talmud emphasize the third
generation, the relationship between grandparent and grandchild. The fact is
that Abraham is the first Jew – not Adam and not Noah - because Abraham
communicated G-d’s teaching to three generations. The animal world
recognizes its young but not its young’s young. Only human beings have
relationship with grandchildren, with third generation; third generation
begins historical continuity, and since G-d entered into a covenant with the
nation, that third generation becomes critical. There is developed a great
literature in modern times concerning the question of who is a Jew. On the
basis of what we have just seen, I would argue that from a sociological
perspective a Jew is that individual who has Jewish grandchildren.
This theme of the three generations is iterated and re-iterated throughout
our religious literature. For example, the Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet)
teaches “Two is better than one, and a thrice strengthened thread cannot
easily be torn asunder” (Ecclesiastes 4:9,13), and in our daily prayers we
repeat every day, “My words which I have placed in your mouth shall not
depart from your mouth and the mouth of your child and the mouth of your
child’s child, says the Lord, now and forever” (Uva Letzion). The
Jerusalem Talmud takes this idea one step further: “whoever hears a
Biblical interpretation from the child of his child it is as if he has heard
it from Sinai”. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin chapter 1, law 6)
G-d’s message at Sinai is not only meant for us parents and grandparents
to communicate to our children and grandchildren; G-d’s message at Sinai
is an internal one, which has the ability to speak to every generation and
has the potential to be interpreted in a novel way to meet the needs of
every generation. Our ability to teach Torah to the third generation as well
as to learn Torah from the third generation is the greatest expression of
the eternity of our Torah.
Built in to all of this is the fact that what G-d gave to us was not sky
scraping pyramids or treasures of oil beneath the earth. What G-d gave to us
as the secret of our eternity was words, Divine words which we must
communicate to our progeny. This week’s Biblical portion promises
redemption, guaranteeing in the name of G-d that, “I shall bring you to
the land which I have sworn to give to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob; I
shall give it to you as a morasha …” (Exodus 6:8). The Hebrew word
morasha is usually translated as heritage and is found in the Bible in the
two contexts of the Land of Israel and the Torah of Israel. (Deut. 33: 4).
The usual word for inheritance in Hebrew is yerusha not morasha. What is the
difference between these two Hebrew terms? I would argue that an inheritance
is an object, a house, a field, a diamond ring or a cash check. A morasha on
the other hand is a word, a lesson, a concept, a guide for living. The Jews
did not have sovereignty over Israel, and in large measure did not live in
Israel for close to 2,000 years; but the message of Israel, the dream of
Israel, the goal of Israel was communicated from generation to generation.
And needless to say our Torah is our inheritance of words, Divine words
which are seemingly of no substance but which have changed the world.
As a grandfather, I have very little inheritance to leave my grandchildren;
but I truly hope that I have given over a heritage, a morasha. Perhaps the
best way I can say it is through a Yiddish song I learned from my beloved
cantor Sherwood Goffin:
When I was young and fancy free
My folks had no fancy clothes for me.
All I got was words
Thank G-d, G-d will provide
Let us live and be well
I wanted acknowledged,
I yearned for college
But all I got was words
Have common sense, don’t speak foolishly
Torah is the best merchandise.
I wanted to travel far
My parents couldn’t provide a car
All I got was words
Go in good health, drive carefully,
Go with G-d .
As we grew older and our materialism grew bolder
Once again – Words!
Tell the truth, give charity
Have compassion, be a mentsh
What I really got, and the best that I can give, is words.
Shabbat Shalom
Shlomo Riskin
Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone
Chief Rabbi - Efrat Israel
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