QUESTIONS AND COMMENTARY FOR PARASHAT VA'ERA
1. Why was the first
sign Moses performed turning the water of Egypt
into blood? How is this sign connected with the first miracle that Yeshua
performs in Yochannan 2?
Rabbi Jason Sobel
Our Sages offer many explanations as to why the first
plague brought upon the Egyptians was dam (blood). The Nile
River made Egypt
a very fertile and prosperous nation. Since the Nile was
the source of their sustenance, the Egyptians worshipped it as a deity. They
personified the Nile as the god Hapi, to whom they
offered sacrifices. The Egyptians also believed that Pharaoh, as god incarnate,
was responsible for controlling and maintaining nature's harmony. Therefore the
Midrashist expounds,
Why were the ‘waters' first smitten, and with blood? Because
Pharaoh and the Egyptians worshipped the Nile, and God
said: ‘I will smite their god first and then his people,' just as the common
saying goes: ‘I will smite the gods and their priests will tremble.' For so it
says: The Lord will punish the host of the high heaven above; and after that,
and the kings of the earth upon the earth below (Isaiah 24:21). And the fish
that are in the river shall die (8:18).
All ten signs (and the first in particular) were meant
to discredit the false gods of Egypt
and Pharaoh's fallacious claim to govern creation. On the positive side, they
were meant to convince all Egypt
that the God of Israel really existed, that God had a special covenantal
relationship with the children of Israel,
and that God is the Creator and King of all.
Another reason for turning the Nile
into blood was to punish the Egyptians who had shed the blood of defenseless
Jewish children by throwing them into the river (Exodus 1:22). Thus, the blood of the slaughtered innocent babies
cried out for justice from the depths of the Nile and
bore witness against Egypt.
Afflicting the Egyptians through this plague was particularly fitting for it
follows the principal of mida keneged mida (measure for
measure). Based on both explanations, we learn that that the ten signs that God
brought upon Egypt
where both punitive and redemptive. By punishing Egypt
for their transgression, God gave them the opportunity to turn from their
transgressions and be spared like Nineveh.
According to Deuteronomy 18:18, God would raise up a
prophet like Moses from Israel
to be their final redeemer. But what made Moses unique as a prophet? The Torah tells one key aspect was "all those
miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt
(Deuteronomy 34:11)." It only makes sense that the first mosaic-like sign that
Yeshua performed involved the transformation of water into wine at the wedding
in Cana. Why did he specifically turn the water into
wine and not blood? Wine is symbolic of the joy and redemption that Messiah
King will bring about in Messianic age.
As we read in the messianic promise contained in Genesis 49:9-12,
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff
from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs [Shiloh]
and the obedience of the nations is his.
He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he
will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will
be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
Thus, Yeshua, as the prophet like Moses, publicly
declared his messiahship by turning the water into wine and not blood because
he did not come to bring death and judgment. Rather, he came that we might have
abundant life.
2. What does it
mean for God to promise to redeem Israel from bondage in Egypt "with an outstretched arm" (Exodus 6:6)?
Rabbi Jonathan
Kaplan
At
the beginning of this week's parasha, God reaffirms the divine promise
to be Israel's God, redeem them from bondage, and bring them into the promised
land (Exodus 6:8). In this midst of this reaffirmation of the promise, God
commands Moses to tell the people of Israel:
I am the LORD. I will
bring you out from the labors of the Egyptians. I will deliver you from their
bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great judgments. I will
take you to be for me a people and I will be your God so that you shall know
that I am the LORD your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians.
Exodus 6:6-7
These verses are
central to the retelling of God's deliverance of us from Egypt every year during Passover. In fact they serve
as the scriptural basis for the four cups of wine (plus the cup of Elijah) of
which we partake during the seder (see b. Pesachim 99b et al).
The meaning of these verses is both clear and obscure. For instance, what does
God mean when he promises to redeem us "with an outstretched arm?" What does
"an outstretched arm" signify?
Though the phrase
is oft repeated in the Torah when describing God's redemption of Israel from bondage in Egypt (cf. Deuteronomy 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 26:8), there is little explication in
the Bible and in later commentaries on what "an outstretched arm" is. There are
hints of three ideas for the meaning of this phrase in various rabbinic and
medieval commentaries.
The first
suggestion is offered by Rashi. In his commentary to Deuteronomy 7:19, he
quotes a tradition from Sifre Numbers (Shelach 115) which
identifies the outstretched arm as "the sword of the destruction of the first
born." In other words, God's outstretched arm signifies God's work of punishing
the Egyptians through "great judgments" (Exodus 6:6) culminating in the last
and worst plague, the death of the firstborn. The tradition of the
"outstretched arm" signifying judgment also appears in b. Rosh haShana 32b
in a discussion of the verses which signify punishment to be read with the
blowing of the shofar.
Ibn Ezra suggests
another interpretation of the "outstretched arm" in his comments on Exodus 6:6;
it is "outstretched from heaven to earth." His statement is subtle but
important. Not only does the "outstretched arm" represent God's chastising
judgment but also demonstrates God's condescension to enter Israel's life again
by bridging the gap between heaven (the divine realm) and earth (the human
realm). God also engages in such condescension in the Incarnation (John 1 et
al).
A third interpretation of the "outstretched arm" comes
to us from Nachmanides who states "the arm will be stretched out over them
until he brings them out [of Egypt]."
In other words, God's arm is also an arm which provides protection and shelter
for Israel as
she is brought out of bondage.
Thus when God promises to redeem Israel from
bondage "with an outstretched arm," it is a promise of redemption worked
through judgment against the Egyptians, God's presence in the midst of that
redemption, and God's protection throughout the entirety of that act of
redemption.
Dr. Noel Rabinowitz
Matthew 5:17-26 - Fulfilling the Law
In Matthew 5:17-48 we encounter what is arguably one of
the most controversial passages in the entire Brit Chadasha. In
this passage Yeshua declares that he has come to fulfill the Torah and not to
abolish it (v. 17). What precisely does he mean by this statement? What does
Yeshua mean when he states that he has come "to fulfill the Law?" This is, as
they say, the 64,000 dollar question! There are, unfortunately, many sincere
and well meaning Christians who find it simply inconceivable to believe that
Yeshua is actually making a positive statement about the Torah. Although the
text actually states "I have come not to abolish but to fulfill," many individuals read, "I have come not to
abolish, but to abolish ..." Of
course, I am being facetious. Nevertheless, it does make my point that people
are sometimes unwilling to allow the text to speak for itself. So, once more,
let us ask what this problematic passage means.
In Matthew 5:17-48, Matthew presents Yeshua's
authoritative interpretation of the Torah. Scholars usually refer to this
section of Matthew's Besora as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew has
included this passage in his Besora to confirm to his readers that
Yeshua is King-Messiah. Like other groups within the world of Second Temple
Judaism, Matthew shared the conviction that entrance into the Kingdom
of Heaven was linked to whose interpretation
of Torah one followed. In other words, if a person did not recognize the
Messiah's authoritative teaching, they risked exclusion from the Kingdom
of Heaven.
Matthew 5:17-20 thus establishes that Yeshua alone is
the authoritative interpreter of the Torah. In the remainder of this passage
(vv. 21-48), he presents six examples or case studies that clarify and
demonstrate his authoritative interpretation of the Torah and reveal the higher
righteousness required of his disciples. All of this leads us back to Yeshua's
radical statement in verse 17 that he came not to abolish, but to fulfill the
Torah.
Verse 17 is actually the interpretive key that unlocks
the meaning of this entire unit. It is critical therefore that we understand
the contrast being made between "abolish" and "fulfill." Our interpretation of
the text hinges upon correctly understanding the contrast. The Greek verb kataluo
means to abolish or annul. Once again, however, what precisely does it mean to
abolish the Torah and the Prophets? In Jewish thought to abolish the Torah was
"to cast off its yoke, treating God's law as void." The rabbis spoke of bearing
"the yoke of the kingdom of heaven," and "the yoke of the commandments." Thus
to abolish the Torah was to cease from obeying and keeping it. To abolish the
Torah was to nullify its authority. From Matthew's perspective, this is
antithetical to the reason for which Yeshua has come.
To the contrary, Yeshua states that he has come "to
fulfill" the Law. Scholars, offering a bewildering number of suggestions,
disagree as to precisely what the Greek verb pleroo means in this
context. Suggestions range from saying that Yeshua fulfills the Torah "by doing
it perfectly" to saying that he replaces its command with higher ethical demand
to which the Torah merely pointed. The list is endless!
It's with great caution, therefore, that I offer the
following suggestion. I believe that Matthew presents Yeshua as the
authoritative interpreter of the Torah who affirms its authority while at the
same time revealing its true transcendent meaning. In other words, He makes
explicit what is implicit already. For example, Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18
prohibit the physical act of adultery. Yeshua declares that the prohibition of
adultery implicitly prohibits the lust which leads to the act of adultery!
In Matthew 5:20
Yeshua informs his disciples that most possess a righteousness that exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. In effect, Yeshua is giving these
individuals a bit of a back-handed compliment. He acknowledges that the scribes
and Pharisees carefully conformed their lives to the ethical demands of the
Torah. Where then had they come up short?
In the context of Matthew's Gospel, righteousness is
linked to Torah obedience. "Righteousness" is an ethical righteousness that is
expressed by means of conformity to the Law. And from Matthew's perspective,
true righteousness is restricted to the understanding of Torah advocated by
Yeshua. Our righteousness cannot exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees unless we understand it in the particular manner developed by Yeshua.
Learning 
