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TEMPLE TALK | JANUARY 27 & 28

01/31/2023 01:04:13 PM

Jan31

Cantor Joanna Alexander

Our Torah portion this week covers the final three plagues: Locust, Darkness, and the death of the firstborn; along with the story of Passover, what the Israelites should do to avoid the final plague, and how they should continue celebrating at this time of year in perpetuity. As we learn about plagues and God hardening Pharaoh’s heart and performing acts of wonder to display “My signs among them” (Ex 10:1) we brush against some very difficult theology. Our Rabbis have always been challenged by the conflict between free will and hardening Pharaoh’s heart. So too have our Rabbis been challenged by killing the Egyptians' firstborn and the soldiers pursuing the Israelites as the see of Reeds closes over them. In Midrashim, our Rabbis depict the angels about to break into song when God silences them, declaring, “how dare you sing for joy when My creatures are dying!” (BT M’gilah 10b and Sanhedrin 39b). There is conflict between the acts of wonder; God’s show of power in freeing the Israelites from slavery, and the theology we inherit from the Rabbis on God’s goodness, and care of all humanity’s divine nature.  

Rabbi Shai Held asks what the plagues tell us about the nature of the world. Is it comforting or terrifying to believe the world responds to our sins or blessings? 

I ask what about their sins and my blessings? Or the sins of those folk over there, or the good works of those folk over here? How could something as indiscriminate as a hurricane, a pandemic or famine be caused by the sins of some while good people are also paying an equal and sometimes harder price? 

And while we’re talking about a theology I find hard to swallow, who gets to decide which activities are the sinful ones and which are the blessed ones? Our Torah sets out many clear actions of behavior to do and not do, but over the centuries Jews have invariably argued with how to actually follow those behaviors properly; and certainly, as a Reform community, we have embraced humanity first, with independent meaning-making, as a prime concern over and above simple mitzvot language of the Torah or Talmud. If we Jews cannot agree among ourselves on what constitutes proper behavior all the more so when we add the complexity of a multi-faith world out there.  

One group might declare a hurricane hit because of the sins of being too free around sex and gender, while another group might declare it is the book banning around race and gender that is the problem; still another group declares it is the permission of abortion while their counter group argues it is the enslavement of women by restricting access to full reproductive services. One group argues it is the degradation of the planet through the eating of meat, or the use of chemical fertilizer and insecticide, another group knows that is the only way to feed the 8 billion people currently living on this planet. And the Oil and gas we extract might be an extravagance in our gas-guzzling cars but what about in our global shipping of goods such as foods and medicines across the country and around the world? What of the destruction of natural habitats and degradation of water sources to take minerals out of the earth necessary for the communications systems we hold in our pockets every day? Which of these sins are you not guilty of? Which of these is the cause of modern plagues? Which of these is the plague themselves and not just the wayward, shortsighted action (that I’m just as guilty of partaking in and benefiting from)? 

Is it the sin of taking opioids that leads to an opioid drug addiction crisis? Is it the sin of greed for the doctors that prescribed it and the manufacturers whose profits soared? Or is it the sin of society disengaging from the human need for companionship and community? Perhaps these twin sins are also the chicken and the egg neither coming first but inexorably linked in the modern world we have created.  

How can we even distinguish the plague of darkness from that of locust in a world with more than enough food for all of humanity but one where our garbage cans and landfills are replete with edible nourishment? Waisted calories and sacrificed energy, labor, and land while our impoverished neighbors and impoverished countries starve. 

Between Pharaoh and God was a power struggle, who is the “real” God? But at its core is a question of humanity. Who is a human worthy of dignity and respect? Worthy of freedom but also of guidelines and rules for a proper way of life? When God exerts power over the Egyptian people, there is surely suffering, though God often warns them what will happen first. But God does not enslave the Egyptians in return for enslaving the Israelites but manumits the Israelites and they move on leaving Pharaoh to rule with the devices he will.  

Each year at Passover we re-enact this power struggle, we remind ourselves of the vulnerability of our humanity by re-enacting our slavery and hardship. But we also remind ourselves of the need for seeking humanity all around us, of understanding the modern-day slavery and modern-day plagues surrounding us everywhere we look. We can blame people we disagree with for the problems of the world, often denying them their humanity and independent reasoning while we do so; or we can own our part in the degradation of humanity and earth. How have I been a slave in Egypt, and how are my actions now enslaving others today? How can I find the divine spark in humans whose hands have brought forth the bread I eat, the technology I use, the clothing I wear, and every other item in my house, but whose eyes I have never seen, whose children I have never imagined whose life I know nothing about?  

How can we find compassion amidst all that plagues our world today? So many things to fear, so much anger, destruction, and depression separating us from our own humanity and from the one thing which might help us the most, meaningful community and relationships with each other. How can we overcome these divisions, these destructive tendencies, all the ways in which the plagues and the sins intertwine into the reality of life? 

We must turn towards each other, seek the humanity in ourselves and in one another, and show up for our community even if it feels they have not shown up for us lately, we must find a prayer practice, a gratitude practice, and a relationship practice to keep us connected to the core goodness worthy of our attention.  

We may all disagree on which sins cause which plagues in our modern world, but I contend we will go on having hurricanes, pandemics, and drought; but we needn’t go on raising arms against our neighbors, starving others' children, and denigrating the earth until it stops producing for humanity. These human sins and human plagues can be ended with listening, love, understanding, disagreement without dehumanization, and an embedded embrace of humanities divinity, and worthiness. Perhaps in a world where this is cultivated, we can lift each other up after the plague has passed and know we are loved, and cared for by our neighbors. We are truly in it together seeking solutions that will raise all ships on the tide and knowing our fates are inextricably linked. While the death of the firstborn passed over the Israelites, the frogs and Nile blood affected all. Humanities power struggles and denigrations lesson us all and disconnect us from our own sense of humanity, God, and each other.  

This song is my prayer for us, as we contemplate our modern plagues, our divisions our own sins, and strive to find comfort in a scary world and recommit to community and humanity. 

Watch the entirety of Friday’s service here

Watch just the Sermon portion here

You can also watch the service from Saturday, January 28. 

Temple Talk is a recap of sermons given from the Bimah for those who missed a Sermon or who wanted to revisit the words spoken at a previous sermon. 

 

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784