Summary:
In our Torah portion this week the Children of Israel escape across the Sea of Reeds from Pharaoh and his army, who drown when God drives back the sea.
Moses and the Israelites sing a song praising Adonai. In the wilderness, God provides the grumbling Israelites with quails and manna. God then instructs the Israelites to gather and prepare on the sixth day food needed for Shabbat. The people continue to complain, this time about the lack of water. Moses hits a rock with his rod and brings forth water. Finally, srael defeats Amalek, Israel's eternal enemy. God vows to blot out the memory of Amalek from the world.
Lessons from our Haftarah: Judges 4:4-5:31:
Both our Torah and haftarah portions tell a very similar narrative. They both focus upon a battle between the Israelites and an enemy. In our Torah portion the Israelites battle the Egyptians. In our haftarah portion, the Israelites enter into the Promised land and engage in battle with the Canaanites. Both stories, end in a victory which the people of Israel celebrate with a song that includes thanks and praise to God for their success.
The poem in our haftarah this week celebrates Judith, who is elected to be the military-judicial head of the people and is one of five women in the Bible referred to as “prophet”.
The story told in our haftarah is not pretty! It is a narrative of blood and gore, military battles and great achievements. In our haftarah Deborah is exulted for deceiving her victims through feigned kindness and then proceeding to kill them in cold blood. Through her actions Israel was saved (at least for the time being).
As we read the poetry, we are reminded that war is quite brutal. In ancient times – as well as unfortunately in modern times – the defeated were often killed, both soldiers and civilians alike. Those who were allowed to live ended up serving the victors, usually as slaves.
This ancient story teaches us that hind-sight morality is often arrogant - it is easy to teach morals from an historical distance. The Bible doesn’t hide the brutal realities of control and power, of everyday life. Instead, it portrays these realities with great honesty and in great detail, challenging us not only to criticize the morals of those times but also to evaluate our own actions and ask if we have improved, if we do better in our own times.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Don Goor