PARSHA: Va'Era (I appeared) EXODUS 6:2 - 9:35

[Jacob Ben Avraham]

PARSHA:  VA'ERA (and I appeared)

EXODUS 6:2 - 9:35                      EZEKIEL 28:25-29:21                     ROMANS 9:14-21

In this Parsha study, we have the plagues that YHVH cursed Egypt with, we all know about the plagues and the result of the plagues, I am not going to go into detail about the plagues, since we are familiar with them, especially when it comes time for Pesach.  One thing we need to realize is that the plagues were directed against the pagan gods of Egypt, The Egyptians as we know had many gods which took different animal and human forms, The pharaohs believed themselves "Ra" on earth, or the god "Ra" incarnated, but this is what we can see:    the Nile River turns to blood - the Nile was considered sacred
                  Darkness, the sun is hidden - against RA the sun god

                   The cattle get sick and die - against APIS the bull god

                   sores that broke out on the people - against the priests of Egypt, they are no longer "clean" 
                   death of the first born - against HORUS god of the underworld

                   the sacrifice of the Passover lambs - against AMUN who took the form of a ram

Egypt was helpless against the plagues, and the priests didn't help any in reproducing the plagues, they made them worse.  It was a battle against the gods, the one and only living YHVH against the false gods, or in reality, against satanic demons. and we all know who won.

In the beginning we see that the LORD (YHVH) appeared to Abram as EL SHADDAI, This is what God is telling Moshe, that he appeared as EL SHADDAI, and not as YHVH, what are we saying here? it is that God said to Abram  "I AM THE ALMIGHTY GOD, WALK ME AND BE THOU PERFECT" (Gen 17:1)  (Ani El Shadai, hit'halach l'p'nei v'h'yeh tamim)  But when the LORD appeared to Moshe, he revealed his most sacred name YHVH, from where we get  "YeHoVaH"  the LORD said to Moshe "I AM who I AM" or "I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE"  But to Abram he said "I AM the almighty/powerful God, the name implying that GOD IS ALL POWERFUL as shown by the letters EL  in the ancient Hebrew, the ox head and the inverted shepherd staff, meaning "The Powerful God who leads" In "Shadai" we see   "Shin , dalet, yod"   the "shin" can symbolize teeth, and also tongues of fire, while the "dalet" = door, and "yod" to make or do a deed,

We can see that God might be telling Abram through his name EL SHADAI that he is all powerful, like fire, to destroy (the wicked) yet through HIM (the door) he will do many deeds and wonders, in Gematria, the letters EL SHADAI   sum   31 + 314 = 345.  we can see "Elohim" is ONE (Echad) and again, "Elohim" is ONE and governs/rules the 4 corners of the world (one way of looking at it)   "345" (divine completeness + creative works + grace) The all complete Elohim created ALL things with his might and is full of grace. 

Today we know the LORD as all the above EL SHADAI (these letters are on the mezuzot) which we should have on our door posts. and he is YHVH to us, and in the flesh he was YESHUA and is now present with us as the RUACH HA KODESH.   
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EZEKIEL 28  , 29

We see here that Egypt again is prideful and seems that the nation's leaders and people did not learn their lesson in the time of Moshe, Amenhemet III (who was probably the Pharaoh of the Exodus)  did not learn his lesson and ended up treading water!!, Egypt never again regained its political and military dominance as in the days of Thutmose and Rameses the Great, and God speaks through Ezekiel and repeats the doom of Egypt,  HOWEVER, we notice that just as the Israelites were scattered to all the nations of the earth, so will the Egyptians be scattered, perhaps this is a vision of the future, it predicts that Egypt will be desolate, for 40 years, that no one will be living in that land, (which has not happened yet) We see in chap 28 that God will bring back the Israelites from being scattered, yet will scatter the Egyptians.  YHVH says that Egypt will be the lowest of all the nations,  Imagine, from a mighty and powerful nation thousands of years ago, to a low and base nation in the future. because of pride.  what can we learn from this? that a pride and haughtiness

should never be in a believer, yet a humble spirit, and a spirit of submission to our HOLY YHVH should be in our mind.
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ROMANS 9:14-21

"I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and compassion on whom I will have compassion" 

YHVH will do his perfect will.  We ask why does he not have compassion on many of the wicked, and they are destroyed, why does he not reach out to them and try to win them over? It could be that HE knows the depths of their hearts and knows that they will never respond or reach out to HIM, that their hearts are stone cold, and are far from repentance, and so, since they will never repent of their evil ways, HE will not show compassion nor mercy on them, yet to some of the wicked, who WILL have a change of heart, (such as Manasseh) HE WILL show mercy and compassion.  Bottom line, HE knows our hearts, inspite of all the junk and garbage flowing in there, HE knows who seeks and loves HIM.

SHABBAT SHALOM ..................rabbi Petersen

[DaveW]

Serve the Lord with Sadness
A Sermon on Parashat Va'era, Exodus 6:2–9:35
by Rabbi Stuart Dauermann, PhD
Director, Interfaithfulness

UMJC Weekly Torah


A religious Jewish father wakes up early to pray. But he discovers his teen-age son, who normally joins him, is staying in bed. "Pop. I'm not going to do it anymore. I just can't say the prayers anymore. It would be hypocritical."

"What do you mean, son?"

"Well, you know, at the beginning of the service we say, 'Blessed be he who has mercy on all creatures.' Well, when I look at how so many people are suffering, I just don't believe that any more. I don't believe that God has mercy on all creatures."

"I know, son. I have a problem with that too."

"And another thing, Pop. The liturgy says 'Happy are those who dwell in your house: they are ever praising you.' Well, Pop, I dwell in God's house as much as the next guy. I keep kosher, I try to live by Torah, I go to synagogue whenever it's open. And I am still miserable too much of the time. I just don't believe any more, 'Happy are those who dwell in your house.'"

"I know son. I have a problem with that too."

"And another thing, Pop. At the end we pray, 'May my soul be silent to those who insult me; let my soul be lowly as the dust.' Well, I don't really believe that. I don't want to be some kind of doormat. So, with all of these problems, I'm just not going to pray anymore."

"I have problems with all of that too, son. For a long, long time."

At that point the father begins to put on his tallis and tefillin, getting ready to pray.

"Wait, Pop! Didn't you just tell me you have the same objections I do?"

"Yes, son. Every one of them. And more too!"

"So what are you doing?"

"Well, son, we're Jews, and Jews pray!"

What is the point of this story? Simply that, despite whatever faith problems one might be having, one should keep up with one's spiritual disciplines. Even when life is tough and cruel and we don't understand what is going on, our calling is to serve the Lord—whether in gladness, as Psalm 100 puts it, or in sadness.

Talmudic scholar David Weiss-Halivni made this very point in his biography as he discussed the emotional devastation the poor but pious people from his village experienced when they were packing up to go to the camps.  They felt that God had deserted them, but even though they had no idea what God was up to, these people continued to pray.  Why?  Because they knew that the God they did not understand was still God, and it was their role in life to obey and worship him.

When writing his letter to the Philippians, Paul is in chains, certainly a situation which would discourage most of us. But for him this is an opportunity to honor God among the entire Pretorian Guard, and also to embolden others to be more outspoken about their faith, inspired by his courageous example.

Paul has confidence that whatever happens to him is under God's control, and he is prepared to take the bad with the good. "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage, so that now as always Messiah will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death" (1:20). His joy, confidence and faith are not dependent on how things are going, but on his conviction that God is working out his purposes in, through, around, and beyond the events of Paul's own life.

Paul knows what his life is about: serving the God of his ancestors by sharing among the nations the news of Yeshua, his death and resurrection, bringing all nations to share in the Kingdom of God with Israel, his people. And he knows this God is with him, come what may.

Paul has a "whatever happens" faith. He reminds the Philippians, "Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the good news of Messiah" (1:27). This idea burns a hole right through one of the most entrenched misconceptions we have about the spiritual life. Most people embrace a relationship with God because they believe their life "goes better" as a result. There is an expectation that if we are following God, our lives will go better, and things will work out for us.

Not necessarily.

In fact, when we have an expectation that things will go better because of our faith in Yeshua, we set ourselves up not only for disappointment but also for crashing and burning. This is because there are sure to come times when that expectation will not be met, times when things go badly, as they did for Paul. People with a "Things go better with Yeshua" kind of faith do not do well when they are unexpectedly thrown into prison, as Paul was. At such times, the tendency will be to jettison one's faith, to chuck it all because God is not coming through for us. I have seen too many people do this . . . unnecessarily.

This drash is inspired by one verse in today's Torah reading. It is helpful to see this verse in context.

    God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am Hashem. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make myself known to them by my most holy Name. I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant. Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am Hashem. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. And I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, Hashem, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I Hashem." But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage." Exodus 6:2–9

One would be hard pressed to find another passage in Torah with so much good news packed into it. Look at verses two to eight and see how good news is piled on top of good news and is topped off with yet more good news.

And yet, what do we read about the reaction of the children of Israel when they heard this message? "But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage."

The question comes to us loud and clear: what is crushing your spirit today? What keeps you from joyfully taking in the good news of God's provisions and promises for you? What cruel bondage is quenching the fire of faith that should be burning in your heart?

I am convinced that among those of you reading this, there are quite a few people with crushed spirits—people who cannot really hear the good news that God has for them. I am equally convinced that there are some who are suffering from one or the other kind of cruel bondage.

Our Messianic faith proclaims an invincible message of hope to those with a crushed spirit and those suffering from any kind of cruel bondage. It is no more God's will that you have a crushed spirit or be in cruel bondage than it was God's will that Israel remain in Egypt, so beaten down they couldn't arouse themselves to believe when Moses reported the very words he brought them from God, saying that he had come to deliver them and to fulfill the promises he had made to our ancestors.

The secret for us is the same as it was for Paul, the secret he shared with the Philippians—"I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need" (4:12). You see, his confidence and faith were not at all founded on stability of circumstances. He did not know what life had in store for him . . . but he did know who was going with him into whatever lay ahead. Paul put it this way: "I can do (that is I can endure and handle) all things through him who strengthens me" (4:13). You see the common denominator in his life was not circumstance, but the unfailing presence of God. When God assures us through the Messiah—"I will never leave you nor forsake you. . . . Whoever comes to me, I will in no manner cast out. . . . I am with you forever, even until the end of the age"—he means it.

Whatever we face, whatever comes our way, we face within the embrace of this mighty companionship, this everlasting friendship, this faithful commitment of the Almighty.

Through Yeshua, Hashem draws nearer than ever to us as Friend, Companion, and Deliverer, even in the midst of contrary circumstances. If you're like me, you habitually try to run away from your own sad, scary and empty places. All of us have our own pet ways of escaping. But it does not have to be this way.  Why not throw out a welcome mat out in front of that empty place in your heart?  Rejoice in your empty places—for they create the room that God wants to fill. 

Even in your sadness, serve HaShem.  "Where else shall we go Lord?  You have the words of eternal life!"  No matter what comes your way, he remains worthy.  And in serving, praising and honoring him in all life circumstances, we find beneath our feet the Solid Rock, and even in the darkness, a sense that Someone knows and cares.