| Shemot 5770 -- God is Calling! |
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| Shemot | |
By Rabbi Barney Kasdan Parashat Shemot starts with the a list of important names (Hebrew shemot) of the children of Israel dwelling in the land of Egypt. The account quickly progresses to focus on undoubtedly the greatest personality of the book of Shemot; namely Moshe Rabbenu (Moses our teacher). As our people eventually found themselves in a dangerous situation, the need for a redeemer became self evident. Although Moshe would be the one, his story started out with great turmoil. He himself was one of the rescued babies who escaped the first national campaign of anti-Semitism. We should know that important things are ahead for this child as he is hidden in a basket, literally tevah which is the same Hebrew word for the ark of Noah. Moshe is delivered in order to be a future deliverer. Yet, several things must take place over the course of many years for Moshe to be ready for his divine calling. Of foremost importance, Moshe would still need a personal encounter with his God. This must have seemed farfetched as we find the exiled young man "pasturing the flock of Yitro his father-in-law" in the wilderness of Midian in present-day Saudi Arabia (Shemot 3:1). Mind you, this is after the death of an Egyptian by the hand of Moshe and his 40 years of tending sheep. Things could not have looked much more dismal when surprisingly he received the revelation of the Holy One. The rabbis note that this encounter with God did not take place in a usual fashion at an altar or during prayer. But it was at this obscure location, in the back side of the wilderness, that a humble bush seems to capture the fire of God. The Midrash reminds us that God appeared through the bush to illustrate that "no place is devoid of the Divine Presence" (Shemot/Exodus Rabba 2:5). It is with this revelation of the Shechinah that Moshe receives his renewed calling to bring his people out from the bondage of Egypt. Of course, Moshe has a unique calling and place in Jewish history. However, we can apply an important truth to our own lives from this parasha. Moshe had to learn some difficult lessons of both shepherding and patience (40 years? Oy!). Yet none of this would have availed much if he did not have this personal encounter with the Living God. So often today many people look at our heritage and history as just that-history! Yet the same God lives today and is just as active in the lives of people who search for Him. Many of us Messianic Jews certainly relate to the experience of Moshe. We may have had some rough areas to our life with some early bad decisions (who hasn't?). Maybe we even thought we were stuck in the wilderness, wherever that may have been. But God revealed himself to us in a personal way. Our burning bush may have been on the streets of San Francisco or though the witness of some friends. We may have discovered God's Divine Presence in a common place like at the mall or on a surfboard in Maui (guess who?). And now we feel a calling to do something good for the world in which we find ourselves. Yeshua has blessed us in so many ways as our Messiah and King. We naturally desire to share this good news and to contribute to tikkun olam (repairing the world) by blessing others. But the lesson of Moshe reminds us that we dare not attempt this holy work without a personal encounter with God in our own lives first. It is not about us doing mitzvot to know God but it is actually the other way around. We all need that personal, daily encounter with God so that the mitzvot will naturally flow. When it comes down to it, the early life of Moshe is a wonderful picture of the grace of God. His was not a life of perfection but of several detours and potential pitfalls. Still today that grace many times appears in the most unlikely places. As we continue our walk with our Messiah, may we heed the lessons from Moshe Rabbenu. May we respond as Moshe did on that momentous day in the wilderness, "Hineni ... Here I am." Shabbat Shalom!
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