Tevet 19, 5772 ~ January 14, 2012
Dan Cohen
Just like that…we were slaves
As the second of the five books begins, we see a rapid fire succession of noteworthy events (all foreshadowing the birth of Moshe) in the initial aliyah. First, Jacob’s sons, including Joseph, pass away. Second, their offspring become many and strong (though they begin a rapid assimilation). Third, Pharaoh sees this and seeks to change the dynamic quickly – and uses enslavement, hard labor, and other punitive measures to try to stop the growth and influence of the Jewish people.
One line captures the moment in which the switch was flipped…
“A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know about Joseph.” Shemot 1:8
There is a debate whether it was a new king or it was the old king with a new agenda. Rashi looks at it and says, “Since the Torah does not say: The king of Egypt died, and a new king arose, it implies that the old king was still alive, only that his policies had changed, and he acted like a new king.” Rashi on Sotah 11a
Why would the Jews all of a sudden be strangers to Egyptians? Certainly the legacy of Joseph’s exploits, especially preparing the nation for the famine, was known far and wide. Jacob’s offspring became a sizeable, visible and thriving nation. So what happened? Why all of a sudden did the Egyptians seek to render us nameless and “forget” us?
Perhaps that’s because before you can enslave a people, first you must render them worthless, something less than human, or even a potential threat.
“Suddenly, there is a shift in the text,” wrote Rabbi Danielle Stillman in the Jewish Exponent in 2009. She added, the king “…did not know Joseph's name, and, therefore, fails to see the humanity of the people. This is the precursor to their enslavement. It is easier to enslave and oppress people when we don't know their names or choose not to use them.”
Pharaoh takes this one step further announcing,
“Get ready, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they increase, and a war befall us, and they join our enemies and depart from the land." Shemot 1:10
When we study Shemot as a community and even sit at our Seder table, the Torah challenges us to remember how easily people – then and now – can become nameless, faceless, accused and enslaved. In the Parsha it took exactly eleven words. In reality, it was as simple as a decree by an all-powerful Egyptian leader with a political agenda.
We all know slavery didn’t end in Egypt and exists in many forms today. January 11 was recognized in communities across the country as National Human Trafficking Day. In modern times, for those trafficked in America or abroad, slavery is as simple as one person exploiting another whom society has rendered powerless.
But G-d recognizes that the path out of slavery for the Jews begins with an intervention to rebalance the power and hold Pharaoh accountable for the enslavement. At the start of the final aliyah, Moshe delivers a message from G-d to Pharaoh. He says,
"So said the Lord G-d of Israel, 'Send out My people, and let them sacrifice to Me in the desert.'" Shemot 5:1
In his demand, Moshe reclaims the Jews, their names, and their future. He uses his voice to help restore names to the nameless and empower the powerless. Though he is rebuffed, as he knew he would be, he sets in motion the steps that will lead to eventual redemption.
Each of us on the planet has a name, a face, and a place before G-d. Shemot enumerates the dangers inherent when we lose sight of that or let others take it away.
Shabbat Shalom.
You can begin to learn more about modern day slavery right here in Oakland at http://oaklandlocal.com/article/youth-trafficking-part-1
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