Vaera - Perception in each Generation - Week of Jan. 20 2025

Shalom,

Last week things were so different.  So much has happened since you read last week’s Rabbi’s Message.  And, I’m not even talking about the very significant current events, I’m talking about in Torah.  Last week, we read about the new Pharaoh who arose over Egypt and did not know Joseph.  This week, we plunge into the plague cycle.  Yet, before the plagues unfold upon Egypt, we see an almost mirrored story of the new Pharaoh.

Let me explain.  Last week, this new Pharaoh rose to power and trouble for our ancestors began.  Yet, this week’s portion, Vaera, there is a curious verse that begins the episode:

I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name יהוה (Exodus 6:3).  

God and Moses are hanging out and the former reveals to the latter that the people may not recognize the name Adonai-יהוה - almost as if a new leader arose.  Commentators like Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Sforno all have explanations for this.  They all describe, each in their own way, how the relationship with the ancestors (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) was different, and that God’s relationship now with the Israelites in Egypt will be a new experience.  It is not all that different from the new Pharoah, a transition, a new generation.  It is a story about change management, transitions of leadership, and the evolution and growth from one generation to the next.  Moses now must re-introduce our ancestors to God as Adonai.  The people, us, must acknowledge the path being laid out before us to eventually exodus from Egypt:  To move from a narrow place of stuckness to a reality of possibility.

The name for the portion is Vaera, “And God appeared…” (Ex. 6:3).  There is a different perception in each generation and managing this is hard.  As we embrace Torah this week, and see the Exodus from Egypt unfold, may we also use its lessons to perceive all that is changing around us too.  May we see the resilience of our ancestors and be strengthened by their story as we step forward with each new day as one with potential for blessing.

Shavua Tov - To a Good Week,

Rabbi Evon