Exodus began by saying “These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each coming with his household.” Right from the get go we learn that in the same way “Israel” was a “person” in Jacob, we also learn that “Israel” is a community of “people”
(not yet a country). Last week we also met Moses, an individual who
became a symbol of the whole, a fighter for human rights, an advocate
for dignity and equality, and a voice for freedom.
In this week's sedra, parashat Va’era, while it continues to be about Moses as a partner with God to bring about the tikkun
of Israel, here we meet a people who are just not a “nameless-background”
to the story of Moses. We learn further that these people are ancestors
of Jacob's twelve sons, extended families who became slaves and who “moaned” under the Egyptian “bondage”
(Ex. 6:5). In this narrative Moses goes to these very same people to
remind them of God's words with the flowery language of inheritance and
promises from God who would not forget; although the text frames it in
the more positive, ואזכר את בריתי, “I will remember my covenant.”
When Moses spoke his words to the people, the experience was less than
satisfying, thus without a word in return Moses quickly assessed that
the people “would not listen (as) their spirits (were) crushed by cruel bondage” (Ex. 6:9). This is the Israel who we meet this week, broken and inconsolable.
We learn in a Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 6:5) that this was so because they
did not put down the idolatry of Egypt. We read in a later Midrash
(Midrash Aggadah, Exodus 6:9:1) that this was also because the people
had a “lack of faith,” and questioned God’s “hand” of salvation. The Sfrono writes that “for
(these people) it did not appear believable to their present state of
mind, so that their heart could not assimilate such a promise.”
The later Midrash elaborates even more about their state of mind, saying
that from Moses’ perspective their lack of faith was a listening
problem, hence, לא שמעו אלי ועובדין ע"ז, “they would not listen to me (Moses) and they served idols.”
It is hard to believe that their state of mind preferred idols over
freedom? It's even more of a shame that the Midrash made that
conclusion. Conversely, Sfrono writes “if it had not been for the
heavy labor which they had to perform they would have paid much more
attention to Moses’ words, and they would have understood that Moses’
arguments made what he said very believable.”
The Sfrono seems to look beyond the explanation of the Midrash for the reason why the people “moaned'' from the “bongage” of slavery, a people who Moses described as mikotzer ruach (מקצר רוח) or “small in spirit.” In modern Hebrew mikotzer ruach (מקצר רוח) means “impatient,” but that meaning of mikotzer ruach to me diminishes how those words are used in Exodus that identify the emotional-makeup of the slaves. Rashi renders mikotzer ruach as “through anguish,” writing that “If one is in anguish his breath comes in short gasps and he cannot draw long breaths.” These people were out of breath, they were ridiculed, mistreated, disrespected, robbed of human dignity. These were people who were treated as less than human and unworthy of basic decency. This was a people who were a tool in the hand of Pharaoh to accomplish his desires without any human consideration other than a place to sleep and some food to maintain their ability to work. I'd say that this is why they were mikotzer ruach, or “small in spirit” (מקצר רוח), thus their state of mind had nothing to do with idolatry in the slightest more so than that work was difficult, or may'avodah kasha (מעבודה קשה).
Rashi, reflecting on Jacobs' difficult words to his sons Reuven, Shimon and Levi back in Genesis, connect them (the sons) to this week's parasha with the people who are mikotzer ruach because of the hardship of slavery. Looking
at the genealogy of the people in Exodus 6:14 and following, regarding
those same disinherited sons, Rashi teaches that this “scripture again enumerates here their genealogy alone of all the tribes to indicate that they nevertheless were men of worth.”
Even the sons who were spoken to harshly and deprived of the promises
are worthy of dignity and respect as all the sons, and in the same way
all those who became slaves, which was what Moses wanted them to
realize. The people of slavery who Moses approached were diminished
souls, beaten up and treated as unworthy humanity who held no value in
life but to fulfill the will of a dictator. These people lost hope
because they were forgotten, people no longer knew their names but just
called them slaves, plain and simple. But Moses and Aaron came to remind
them that they were much more than that. This sedra ends with seven of the ten plagues, but in the end (for me) it is not about those “miracles”
experienced! As such there is another unspoken miracle that we do not
celebrate during our Passover Seders, the miracle of the slaves being
reminded that others cared for them, their lives were important and
Moses wanted them to see their own self-worth; each had a name that was
precious, each had a name that was known to God.
Each day Arutz Sheva (Israeli News Outlet) publishes the names
and ages of the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for Israel's
security, sons and daughters, husbands and wives as well as children and
grandchildren, each with a backstory of who they were, their families,
friends and so on. Arutz Sheva wants to remind us that these
folks were just not IDF soldiers with ID numbers, but they have names.
When we drive down the street in our local communities and we see a
homeless person, how many of us take a moment to think about what their
name is or where they are from, do they have family that misses them or
even how did they get there? More than that, do we think, “I wonder if
they are mikotzer ruach, or small in spirit.” With Moses we continue to learn that we must step up for others who are in need, which is why we talk Tikkun Olam and Social Action. But with Israel (their story it is more obvious) who were mikotzer ruach, we must always remember that
some slavery is not visible, albeit daily life responsibilities, mental
health issues or a disbelief in our own self-worth that others cannot
see (think Exodus 6:14 and following above). A friend of mine wrote that “we can get distracted and neglect those we love dearly.” If the Torah is anything, it is human, and wants to remind us that when we see (or perceive) that others are mikotzer ruach, we
must recall our great superpower: we can know them by name and even
join them in their journey. That is the essence of Judaism!!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
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