Bo: so that you know

Gd tells Moshe at the beginning of the parsha that he should go (Bo) to Pharaoh, ultimately so that: and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy child, and of thy child’s child, what I have wrought upon Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them;
There will be a demonstration of Gd’s power, Gd’s ability to accomplish the mission of liberation. A demonstration of how Gd (used to) work[s]

The parsha ends on the same theme of telling: וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְך ;ָ,וְהָיָה כִּי-יִשְׁאָלְךָ בִנְךָ The events generate a story to tell the children. But in the end, the story includes the sanctification of the animal first born and the ransom of the human. The redemption of the people incurred an eternal debt. Nature has changed so the Israelite firstborn has no right to life. He belongs to Gd.
Actually, the firstborn carries a taint from time of Cain.

Gd’s role in the hardening of hearts is complex. Feeling Gd is with you can steel your will. For Pharaoh, I imagine it was the opposite. What hardened his heart was the idea that he was fighting an absurdity, a fairy tale. Perhaps reason hardened his heart. Reason may compete with Gd, but reason has the advantage of mutability.

VaErah: Seeing is believing

In this week’s parshah, Pharaoh experiences 8 plagues and a few miracles. This is not enough to convince him to take the action requested by Gd, the miracle worker, to let the people go.

How much evidence should a person require to be convinced? [ How many any deaths will it take till he knows, that too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind].

In the parsha there are several parameters working together. The consequences of the demonstrations are severe: No water , crowding, itching, disorder, impoverishment, disease, etc.

The degree of deviation from the expected is another axis of evaluation. The sharp distinction's between the Egyptians and the Israelites, the precise and predicted timing for onset and termination of the plagues are elements of their persuasiveness.

Believing in something new is not necessarily a good thing. It requires the breaching of many barriers. Some one will lose money, someone will lose power. There is now doubt ab

Shemoth: what is in a name

The parsha, the chumash convey the significance of a name.

The twelve tribes are named. Their descendants remember their names and recognize their origin is different from the Egyptians who employ them. That difference is perceived as a threat by the Egyptian king and leads to the persecution of the Israelites

Then we have two stories of rescue. Shifra and Puah (possibly) Egyptian midwives, refuse to participate in the state-ordered murder of Israelite boys. Pharaoh’s daughter also refuses to participate in the genocide. She names her foster child Moshe...rescue.

Moshe meets Gd ( J). But he always calls Gd Ado... Some names are just too powerful. Presumably, this is the source of our traditional pronunciation of the name of Gd.

Then there is the introduction of Gd to Pharaoh. Pharaoh makes of point of saying that he never heard of J. This name has no power with Pharaoh.

Finally, Moshe (Mr. Rescue) complains that since he has spoken in the name of Gd, nothing but trouble has come upon the people he was sent to rescue.

Have you ever met a technically inept Sheldon? [this is a non-sequitor]

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Vayechi: better a live slave

Vayechi ends with an implicit question: Why did the israelites stay in Egypt? (Why didn’t I leave Seattle?) They were so attached to Canaan. They owned property (Hevron, Shechem) there. No answer.
Rather, we are told of Jospeph’s guarantee that they would be provided for. The welfare state is born.

When these 57 numbered and named individuals went to Egypt they were shepherds. They were such shepherds that they could not stretch the facts to say that they herded cattle. They were people of the open range.

In Egypt they became urban. They built cities ( Ramses). They accepted that the necessities of life, like food, would come from elsewhere. (Is this a corollary to the idea that Gd is the source of [the necessities of] life?) Did this change in world view become part of the Jewish identity? Are Jews urban and urbanizing?

Under these circumstances, how could they go back to their old ways? The Israelites were enslaved to the illusion of security of their Egyptian existence. Their new self image which would serve to build them into a nation.

Are we enslaved by our” free” Internet?

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