Parsha Behaalotchah: June 7, 2014

Parsha: Behaalotchah

Date: June 7,2014

By: Michal Kohane

How can we understand the great spiritual opening of this parasha, the lighting of the Menorah, juxtaposed with beginning of the first “new” sins in the desert, the people complaining, the desire for meat, the words spoken against Moses? Is this parasha just a bunch of separate details that happen to go into the same reading, or does it actually make sense to put them together?

Exactly this week, one family in our shul marks an amazing “yahrzeit”: For Sophia and Boris Burshtyen it’s been 26 years since their own yetziat mitzrayim, their own family’s Exodus from Russia. Sophia, who was 26 at the time, says: “and starting tomorrow, I will be here longer than there… finally!”

What is it like to experience the Exodus in first person? Hearing this story can help us understand the journey of long ago:

“… back then, 26 years ago, we are getting ready for a big move to a faraway beautiful land of freedom and opportunities... So excited to leave the hateful place and start in a new and promising place! But also, frightened to leave a well-known, familiar place and move to the completely unknown, unfamiliar one.

Our family was not the only one on this Exodus. There were so many leaving, you could hear it everywhere: ‘where are you going? when? how long did you wait? 10 years? just few months? Wow’... The perfect time to apply, our “pharaoh” was forced to open the gate, and “let my People go”. 

Just like the Children of Israel of so long ago, we were told: ‘Can’t take many things with you, just few belongings, the rest must be left behind’ and not only things but also friends, traditions, customs, and places...  Luckily, our family was allowed to go together - a husband, a baby (oblivious to the grandiose move), parents, sister’s family and the grandmother of 84, the leader of the crew.

Finally, one day, we got on the plane and left but have not arrived yet... We had an extended waiting period in Europe where we would need to go through preparation and a long wait. There are many rules on how to leave the place but there are many more on how to enter a new one.  There are questions to answer, forms to fill out, tests to take, culture to learn… understand who we are and who we are not but most importantly, know when to blend in and when not to.

Some of us want to use this time to travel, be tourist. Look! We’re in Europe! Others prefer to wait and get ready. The preparation period is a must but how long can it last? How long the learning should continue? Soon, excitement and patience are running down, boredom is rising up. There is nothing to do, no certainty regarding the future, and soon no privacy. We’re crowded together, and while we know the place we left was not perfect, it was also known and familiar and definitely not boring.  Actually, the further we get, the better our memories of our old home. And remember, we had privacy back there! Everybody was not so aggravating, and aggravated!! Look at us now, there is no privacy here, people are everywhere, it’s crowded and we have to share rooms and bathrooms; there is nothing to talk about but repeat the same talks all the time; there is nowhere to go but take the same walks; and the food! Yes, we’re thankful. It is provided and good but oh, so different and so plain! When are we going to get there already”?!

We hear the echo of Bnai Israel in this story and the idea of “in every generation”. What about the lighting of the Menorah in the opening verses?

This parasha is called “Beha’alotcha”. Most English versions translate it into “when you light the Menorah”, but Beha’alotcha shares its root with al – up or on top, and aliya – going up and also being called to the Torah or immigrating to Israel. As we heard above, the complexities and challenges of such a journey are immense and should not be underestimated. In spite of the initial excitement, it is possible to lose the bigger picture. Our mind is easily manipulated, wandering elsewhere. We need something we can hold on to in front of us; something to inspire us along the way. Then as today, the lighting of the Menorah was not only a matter of bringing “light”, but a calling to keep the focus “up”.

Shabbat Shalom.