Cup of Joe & the 5 Books of Mo(ses): Moses’ big day-Passover 2020 Edition By Dina Newman, Associate Director of Youth Engagement, Congregation Rodeph Sholom Most of us know the story of Passover pretty well, but let’s review, because we KNOW with Torah we can read it again and again each year and always recognize something new…. A QUICK SUMMARY TO READ ON YOUR OWN! The Passover story begins with the Jews living in slavery in Ancient Egypt. Pharaoh begins to see the Jews as still being a threat despite their enslavement as they continue to grow in numbers. He therefore demands that any new born male Jewish child be killed. He first commands the midwives of Egypt, Shifra and Puah to kill the babies, but when they begin to defy him he instead declares that all the babies must be thrown in the Nile River. One smart mother named Yocheved weaves a basket and secretly floats her newborn baby boy, Moses, down the river instead of letting him drown. He is discovered by Pharaoh’s own daughter who chooses to raise him herself. Moses grows up in Pharaoh’s palace but wanders out one day and sees the treatment of the Jewish slaves. He cannot bare to look on, as an Egyptian beats a weary Jewish slave and he intervenes and ends up killing the Egyptian. He then must flee and finds himself serving for a time as a shepherd in Midian where he meets his wife. As the plight of the Jews in Egypt continues to worsen, he first encounters God in the form of a burning bush. God speaks to Moses and says he is meant to lead the Jews to their freedom and he must go back and petition Pharaoh for their release. Moses argues with God but finally gives in and along with his brother Aaron, he returns to Egypt and speaks with Pharaoh. But, Pharaoh refuses. Moses petitions him a number of other times and Pharaoh will not give in even when Moses warns him of God’s power. God demonstrates this power in the form of 10 plagues visited upon the Egyptian people: the water of the Nile turns to blood, swarms of frogs overrun the country, lice infest everything, wild animals become violent, disease kills the farm animals, Egyptians break out in painful boils, hail rains down, locusts, darkness and finally death of the first born Egyptian. Finally, Pharaoh sets the Jews free and they begin to flee Egypt, so quickly even the dough for their bread doesn’t have time to rise (wink wink: MATZA). When they have just reached the sea, Pharaoh changes his mind and chases after the Jews. Moses slams his staff down and the Red Sea parts allowing the Jews to cross to safety and then crashing down, wiping out Pharaoh and his army. The Jews then begin their journey through the desert. Today, we are commanded to remember the Exodus from Egypt as if we were experiencing it ourselves. And we do this through a Seder. An evening spent retelling and reenacting this story. Discussion Guide Current Events Connections: Let’s talk about the “elephant in the zoom”, COVID19 Passover is traditionally a Holiday of physical gathering (as so many Jewish holidays are) but obviously with the current situation and social distancing restrictions, things will be quite different. Let’s use our favorite Torah conversation as an opportunity to process this together. From the Story… The 11th Plague? With the timing of this COVID19 outbreak coinciding with the approach of Passover, some people have suggested the virus is like a modern plague or an 11th plague. Check out the texts below on the how the Torah describes the concept of ‘plague’ Do you think it’s accurate to call COVID19 an 11th plague or a modern plague? Why or Why not? Mishneh Torah, Fasts 2:11 These are the troubles of the community about which we fast and sound [trumpets]: About haters of Israelites making troubles for Israelites; about the sword (foreign troops); about a plague; about evil (dangerous) animals; about [the two main types of] locusts; about blight; about chlorosis; about collapse; about sicknesses; about [the lack of] provisions; and about the rain. Mishneh Torah, Fasts 2:1313 About sicknesses - how is this? See that [if] a sickness came down upon many people in one city - such as diphtheria or violent fever and that which is similar to them - and they were dying from this sickness, it is surely a communal trouble. Enslavement Passover is a holiday about Freedom. In retelling the story at our seders each year we’re meant to feel as if we too were enslaved. Each of the foods on the seder plate are meant to represent that enslavement. Often, Rabbis and Jewish educators talk about “what enslaves us today” or what you might personally feel that you are “a slave to”. Uniquely this year, we’re all quarantined and “trapped” in our homes the way the Jews were in Egypt. What do you think, how it is the same, how is it different? • More recent history for troubled times- Holocaust story of Hope & Passover Mordechai Eliav’s Passover in Feihingen Concentration camp (Share) Wandering the Desert of the Web, A Community in Exile What does it mean to be “in exile” from a community? Some people are saying that in fact, this particular moment we are experiencing is a uniting of the Jewish Diaspora—this unification is mentioned many times in the Torah but assumed to be in the land of Israel. Today, Jews around the word have and continue to unite on the world wide web! What a fascinating time. Does this count? What does it mean that the Jewish people feel united in a time like this? Value of Human Life, Pharaoh & Our Elders • There’s a famous midrash we often read during the story of Passover. It tells the story of God’s perspective when the Red Sea closed upon the Egyptians after the Jews crossed safely. Some of you might remember this text from a past Cup of Joe session in the book of Exodus. In this story, the angels in heaven rejoice because the evil Pharaoh and his Egyptian army have all been drowned when the sea closed in on them. God yells at the angels to stop celebrating. God says that this is not something to celebrate, it is something to mourn because even they were creations of God. At the beginning of the COVID19 outbreak, people kept saying not to worry that only “old people and people with underlying conditions were in danger”. I’ve also heard people say things about hoping that politicians they don’t like would get this awful disease. Based on this Midrash what do you think a Jewish response to that would be? Can you think of any other times in the Torah or Jewish texts that echo this same idea? A few more texts on the Jewish value for life: ,Pikuach nefesh (a Jewish value) is usually translated as "saving a life". The Hebrew however פִּ ּקּוח נֶפֶ ׁש pikeach is used for a person who is able to פִּּקֵּח implies "seeing life" within the other person. The term sagi nehor, "lots ס יגִּ נְהֹור yver which denotes the person who is blind (also called עִּ וֵּר see, as opposed to of light" in Aramaic). Leviticus 19:16 You shall not be a tale-bearer among your people; you shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor; I am Adonai. Sanhedrin 37a:13 (The Talmud-book of laws) Therefore, Adam was created alone, to teach that anyone who destroys one soul from the Jewish people, it is as if he destroyed an entire world. And anyone who sustains one soul from the Jewish people, the verse ascribes him credit as if he sustained an entire world. Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 329:1(The Shulchan Aruch is a guidebook to “Doing Jewish” 1. All cases of saving a life supersede Shabbat, and he who hurries in these matters is praised. Even if there is a fire in a different yard and there is concern that it will move to this yard and cause danger, we put it out to ensure that it does not spread. • There’s also been a lot of controversy lately about Hasidic Jewish communities in Brooklyn that are still gathering in large groups for prayer or for weddings or funerals. Based on the texts above, do you think they’re really following Jewish law? Miriam in Quarantine (inspired by Girls in Trouble Curriculum by Alicia Jo Rabins) DID YOU KNOW?! -Not long after the Jews escape from Israel, Miriam, Moses’ sister and a main figure in the Passover story (and the one with the awesome tambourine) faced a quarantine somewhat similar to ours! Numbers 12:1–15 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses about the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman……God heard it…………. Suddenly God called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three of them went out. God came down in a pillar of cloud, stopped at the entrance of the Tent, and called out, “Aaron and Miriam!” The two of them came forward; and God said, “Hear these My words: …………………………….. How then did you not shrink from speaking against My servant Moses!” Still incensed with them, God departed. As the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam stricken with snow-white scales! When Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she was stricken with scales.