Thinking ahead to Pesach

in preparation for another sermon at Emerson.....

We are first introduced to the problem of the Hebrews being enslaved by a wicked pharaoh with the words that a new pharaoh had come into power and did not know Joseph. And this new Pharaoh was suspicious of all the Hebrews.

There is a non canonical Jewish scripture known as the book of jubilees which helps give us some perspective on the situation,  for what pharaoh could have come to power without knowing who Joseph  was in the role he had played in saving Egypt from seven years of famine? 

 The book of jubilees, a Jewish scripture, dates all the way back to the second century BCE  describes the historical context that we don't usually get to hear.    The new pharaoh had come into power in Egypt because the old pharaoh had been killed in battle, in a war with the Canaanites.   Now the Hebrews who were in Egypt had originally come from Canaan,  and they still thought of Canaan as their homeland.  This new pharaoh suspected that if Egypt went to war with Canaan, that the Hebrews might join the enemy and fight against Egypt. 

So to protect his people, this new pharaoh enslaved the Hebrews, and made them build a wall around Egypt.  The book of jubilees, this ancient commentary on the Bible,  sheds light on why pharaoh might have employed an Egypt first strategy.  And the writer of this commentary portrays the new pharaoh as a national hero for the people. 

Throughout the centuries however Jews have always understood pharaoh as being evil,  as we retell the story of the exodus at Passover every year.  We read how pharaoh is a ruthless ruler,  who enslaves the Hebrews, hardened his heart,  and sacrifices his own people through countless plagues  to preserve his own power. 

This new pharaoh does not care to educate himself about how this foreigner Joseph had actually saved Egypt in the region by engineering the food program during the seven years of famine. Instead he demonizes and oppresses an entire religious group. 

Is any of this sounding eerily familiar? Oh but wait. There's more. 

The anchor Bible describes this pharaoh  as an insecure, Xenophobic demagogue who creates the historically inaccurate myth  of the threat of this minority people for his own selfish political gain.  It's amazing how a Torah canonized over 2500 years ago  can still speak to us today. 

Was this pharaoh a protectionist who is looking out for the best interests of his people?  Or was he a dangerous demagogue looking out only for his best interests?

We are a community of diverse people and opinions, different perspectives and view points, different life experiences, and we must always lead from our core values. We must also not lose sight of the fact that this community is our respite. This  is our community where we learn how to pause without being passive, how to lead with our core values, and also to create a space that offers a respite from all the cacophony, a return to our quieter inner life,  and the power of a spiritual community.  After all, isn't one of our main primary purposes and reason for being is to be a spiritual home a real spiritual community of people who care about one another on his soul to soul basis? 

The Talmud reminds us that one must always pray in a house made of windows.  Our spiritual HOME cannot separate itself from what happens outside of the glass windows.  As a spiritual community, we are called to live out our values in the world.  Our particular focus during this season of Passover is to remember that we should always care for the stranger.  In someway, we all are the stranger.  Standing up for the stranger, the foreigner, the political refugee,  is our moral inheritance, and our core value. 

 As a spiritual community it is important to remember that there would be times when we disagree with one another. When we have those disagreements between us, that is not the time to leave. It is time to talk, to need and value each other's perspective.  Of all houses of worship and faith traditions, UUs must embrace a higher calling to model the art of civil discourse  and respectful disagreement. Our  ability to be together and to value our differences is one of the strengths of a true spiritual community. 

 Whatever side any of us is on individually, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are all in this together. It is our bonded community which will give us the strength to whether the years ahead. Now is not the time to abandon the ship. Now is the time to find our way out of the oppression and into The promised land,  and we cannot do that alone. We need our community, our tribe.  Every day we must work to pull ourselves, and others out there who need us, out of the land of Egypt.