A Bima-Ready D’var Torah Every Week
25 Tevet 5780
Parashat Va'era
Igniting a Divine Spark
Torah Portion: Exodus 6:2-9:35
Haftarah Portion: Ezekiel 28:25-29:21
Shalom!
The ISJL Taste of Torah periodically features contributions from members of the ISJL Staff. This week's drash comes from Ava Gadon, a first year Education Fellow.
"Everything created by God contains a spark of holiness."[i]
"Our world, then, is the sacred space that the Great Spirit gave as a
gift to us, as a space in which so be as human as divinely possible,
and as divine as humanly possible."
-Rabbi Gershon Winkler[ii]
This week's parashah of Va'era is filled to the brim with memorable moments and classic episodes in the entirety of the Tanakh. God is reintroduced to Moses by a new name, Moses tries and fails to convince the Israelites to leave Egypt, and then he and Aaron approach Pharaoh to free the Israelites (Exodus 7:7). At one point, God says to Moses "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that I may multiply my signs and marvels in the land of Egypt." These signs and wonders, better known as the plagues, are feats that mean to prove God's power. First, Aaron casts down his rod before Pharaoh, and it turns into a serpent (Exodus 7:11). An intimidating sign of power, to be sure, except Pharaoh brings in his wise men, sorcerers, and magicians, and they manage to replicate that power, casting down their own rods and transforming them into serpents as well (Exodus 7:13). Moses, acting with God's power, turns the waters of the Nile River to blood (Exodus7:19). While a powerful move, Pharaoh's magicians prove that they can do the same as well. In a feat even more impressive, Aaron summons a multitude of frogs out of the Nile to swarm the Egyptian people, only to find that Pharaoh's magicians can even do this (Exodus 8:3)!
These Egyptian fellows manage to recreate the wonders of God three times. While they cannot repeat this with the rest of the plagues, three certainly seems enough to be impressive. Three, whole, godly feats, all performed by people. Yes, these people likely knew their craft, studied, and worked their whole lives to be master their abilities, but knowing enough to imitate three signs of God's power? How were they able to do such a thing? Could study and practice have been enough? Could it have been something else entirely?
There is a phrase we use in Judaism a great deal: b'tzelem elohim--we are created in the image of God. This phrase from Genesis has been interpreted and reinterpreted hundreds of times over the history of Judaism. From the story we read this week, maybe there is more to the image than we would understand. Maybe that image is enough to ignite a spark of the divine in each of us. Maybe that spark allows us each, within our own gifts and passions, to do Godly feats, like the magicians in this week's portion.
When we think about it, there are many people that we call 'gifted.' Michael Phelps inspires athletes with his incredible performance and training. Marie Curie changed what we knew about medicine and science. Yo-Yo Ma's cello performances bring people together in peace. Maya Angelou gave voices to stories that were not yet told. People have the capacity to do or create amazing, extraordinary things, to make impacts felt around the world and across time. They work hard, study, chase their passions, but one way or another, something created the first spark in them. These moments can happen to anyone, and happen as often in small moments as they do in large ones. The first moment a gangly girl holds a basketball, the first time a curious child watches a plant sprout, the first time an artist puts paint to paper--something clicks into place. A tiny eish, a flame of passion, has started.
We all have things that peak our curiosity, that we care about more, that we have a special knack for. This talent may not make us world famous, or do anything more than give us a sense of pride in ourselves. We may not all even recognize or know what these abilities are yet. Nevertheless, just as with the magicians, each one of us may have been destined or meant for a moment or cause, where the divine spark that we each have is meant to come into its own. The magicians used their talents to deceive, aid the Pharaoh, and to challenge God. We can do better, and instead use our spark to make the world a better place. We need to pay attention. We cannot ignore our feelings. They might be showing us something that we cannot even recognize in ourselves yet.
Whether this has yet to happen or has already happened for us as individuals, we are the ones who decide how to use our divine spark. It could bring us immense personal gain and prosperity, or just be something we keep to ourselves to make us smile. Judging by the concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world) in Judaism, maybe the only way to truly honor our God-given spark is to join it with those of the people around us and use it to help others. What are you going to do with yours?
Shabbat Shalom!
Ava Gadon
ISJL Education Fellow
[i] Baron, Joseph L. A Treasury of Jewish Quotations. Lanham, MA.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
[ii] Winkler, Gershon, and Lakme Batya. Elior. The Place Where You Are Standing Is Holy: a Jewish Theology on Human Relationships. Northvale, NJ: J. Aronson, 1994.
© 2019 Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
The ISJL Taste of Torah periodically features contributions from members of the ISJL Staff. This week's drash comes from Ava Gadon, a first year Education Fellow.
"Everything created by God contains a spark of holiness."[i]
"Our world, then, is the sacred space that the Great Spirit gave as a
gift to us, as a space in which so be as human as divinely possible,
and as divine as humanly possible."
-Rabbi Gershon Winkler[ii]
This week's parashah of Va'era is filled to the brim with memorable moments and classic episodes in the entirety of the Tanakh. God is reintroduced to Moses by a new name, Moses tries and fails to convince the Israelites to leave Egypt, and then he and Aaron approach Pharaoh to free the Israelites (Exodus 7:7). At one point, God says to Moses "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that I may multiply my signs and marvels in the land of Egypt." These signs and wonders, better known as the plagues, are feats that mean to prove God's power. First, Aaron casts down his rod before Pharaoh, and it turns into a serpent (Exodus 7:11). An intimidating sign of power, to be sure, except Pharaoh brings in his wise men, sorcerers, and magicians, and they manage to replicate that power, casting down their own rods and transforming them into serpents as well (Exodus 7:13). Moses, acting with God's power, turns the waters of the Nile River to blood (Exodus7:19). While a powerful move, Pharaoh's magicians prove that they can do the same as well. In a feat even more impressive, Aaron summons a multitude of frogs out of the Nile to swarm the Egyptian people, only to find that Pharaoh's magicians can even do this (Exodus 8:3)!
These Egyptian fellows manage to recreate the wonders of God three times. While they cannot repeat this with the rest of the plagues, three certainly seems enough to be impressive. Three, whole, godly feats, all performed by people. Yes, these people likely knew their craft, studied, and worked their whole lives to be master their abilities, but knowing enough to imitate three signs of God's power? How were they able to do such a thing? Could study and practice have been enough? Could it have been something else entirely?
There is a phrase we use in Judaism a great deal: b'tzelem elohim--we are created in the image of God. This phrase from Genesis has been interpreted and reinterpreted hundreds of times over the history of Judaism. From the story we read this week, maybe there is more to the image than we would understand. Maybe that image is enough to ignite a spark of the divine in each of us. Maybe that spark allows us each, within our own gifts and passions, to do Godly feats, like the magicians in this week's portion.
When we think about it, there are many people that we call 'gifted.' Michael Phelps inspires athletes with his incredible performance and training. Marie Curie changed what we knew about medicine and science. Yo-Yo Ma's cello performances bring people together in peace. Maya Angelou gave voices to stories that were not yet told. People have the capacity to do or create amazing, extraordinary things, to make impacts felt around the world and across time. They work hard, study, chase their passions, but one way or another, something created the first spark in them. These moments can happen to anyone, and happen as often in small moments as they do in large ones. The first moment a gangly girl holds a basketball, the first time a curious child watches a plant sprout, the first time an artist puts paint to paper--something clicks into place. A tiny eish, a flame of passion, has started.
We all have things that peak our curiosity, that we care about more, that we have a special knack for. This talent may not make us world famous, or do anything more than give us a sense of pride in ourselves. We may not all even recognize or know what these abilities are yet. Nevertheless, just as with the magicians, each one of us may have been destined or meant for a moment or cause, where the divine spark that we each have is meant to come into its own. The magicians used their talents to deceive, aid the Pharaoh, and to challenge God. We can do better, and instead use our spark to make the world a better place. We need to pay attention. We cannot ignore our feelings. They might be showing us something that we cannot even recognize in ourselves yet.
Whether this has yet to happen or has already happened for us as individuals, we are the ones who decide how to use our divine spark. It could bring us immense personal gain and prosperity, or just be something we keep to ourselves to make us smile. Judging by the concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world) in Judaism, maybe the only way to truly honor our God-given spark is to join it with those of the people around us and use it to help others. What are you going to do with yours?
Shabbat Shalom!
Ava Gadon
ISJL Education Fellow
[i] Baron, Joseph L. A Treasury of Jewish Quotations. Lanham, MA.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
[ii] Winkler, Gershon, and Lakme Batya. Elior. The Place Where You Are Standing Is Holy: a Jewish Theology on Human Relationships. Northvale, NJ: J. Aronson, 1994.
© 2019 Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
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