From the Rabbi’s Desk

Rabbi Manes Kogan

Beshalach

January 21, 2000

Although man always tried to find a one and only answer for difficult questions and problems which troubled him, the truth is that simple answers, most of the times do not give an answer to complex questions.

Linda Miller, a mother of two, was killed last Thursday by her former boyfriend, at her home, in Roanoke.

Besides being Roanoke's first homicide of 2000, Linda's death has an additional meaning for many members of the Jewish community in the Roanoke Valley. Almost 200 members of the Jewish community helped Linda Miller build her house under the project Habitat for Humanity in 1994.

According to David Nova, who coordinated the construction of Miller's home, "she was a good mom who wanted the opportunity for her kids to sleep in their own beds and have a chance at a good life". Also, according to David's own words, "unfortunately that doesn't always work".

I agree with David: good intentions and good deeds don't always work. Family members, neighbors, police's officers and the members of the Jewish community ask themselves: What went wrong with Linda Miller's life? What could have been done differently?

Those being difficult questions, we cannot expect one simple answer. Probably the closest answer we can find is that there are many answers. From a theological point of view, people could say that God has His own reasons for things to happen under heaven. From an existentialist point of view, we can talk about the continale struggle between good and evil, product of man's free choice. I am sure that Sociology could also help us deal with Linda's death. Lack of education and poverty, add another ingredient to our analysis. The gender problem comes alive one more time here. A battered woman, a violent man, police forces who responded to domestic abuse calls in the past, but could not change the present. A psychological approach to the Miller's can also be helpful to understand what happened: a low self esteem, depression and fears can complete the picture.

At this point, it may be appropriate to introduce a new element: the fact that sometimes (and only sometimes) good deeds, like the participation of the Jewish community in building a new home for Linda and her children, are not enough. Society needs to change and political decisions need to be taken. That does not take away the merit of the Mitzvah, but put things in their right perspective. Knowing the complexity of human situations, we need to diversify our efforts to bring to Tikun Olam, the improvement of our society. Contribution made by individuals need to go together with changes in health, education and security policies.

For us, this is another challenge of how to "read" situations. Even though we are tempted, some times, to give a definitive answer to problematic issues, tragic situations like this one suffered by the Millers, can lead us to a deeper understanding of reality.

When Silvia, who is familiar with the way I prepared my Divrei Torah, heard that I was thinking of writing on Linda Miller's murder, she asked me: How will you link that with Beshalach, our Torah portion?

In Sidrat Beshalach, we read that Pharaoh said of the Children of Israel:

'They are locked in the land, the Wilderness has locked them in.' (Exodus 14:3)

And we read further:

"I shall strengthen the heart of Pharaoh and he will pursue them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and his entire army, and Egypt will know that I am Hashem." And so they did: It was told to the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants became transformed regarding the people, and they said, "What is this that we have done that we have sent away Israel from serving us? ": He harnessed his chariot and attracted his people with him: He took six hundred elite chariots and all the chariots of Egypt, with officers on them all: Hashem strengthened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the Children of Israel -- and the Children of Israel were going out with an upraised arm" (Exodus 14: 4-8)

Now, the question I would like to try to answer is the following: Why does Pharaoh, persecute the Children of Israel?

The author of the Artscroll Chumash points out the question in a clear way:

"Although Pharaoh had demanded that Moses and the Jews leave the country as soon as possible, he thought that they were going only for a three-day trip. Even if they had no intention of returning, Pharaoh should have been so terrified by the plagues, and especially the Plague of the Firstborn, that it would have been sheer insanity for him to try to bring them back"

Alike what happen in Linda Miller's case, we don't have a single and only answer to our question.

From a theological point of view, we can say that God wanted to display His miracles in front of His people Israel and in front of the nations, so He strengthened Pharaoh's heart in order to be able to perform His wonders.

We can also say that Pharaoh and the Egyptians were not punished yet for throwing the Jewish children into the Nile, and God wanted to pay them back for what they did to us, measure by measure (Midah Keneged Midah).

We also see here the inner struggle in Pharaoh's heart between his good and evil inclination. "Pharaoh could not make peace with the freedom of the Jews and looked for rationalizations that would enable him to reclaim them. By strengthening his heart now, God merely gave him the courage to carry out his true desire". According to R' Yaakov Kamenetsky, "Pharaoh spoke as if there was no conceivable reason for him to have freed the Jews. Had he forgotten the plagues, the devastation of his land, the death of his own firstborn? This passage teaches an important lesson in human nature. When a person's own interests are involved and his desires aroused, he can rationalize everything in his favor. Pharaoh, later in this chapter, after seeing that God had split the Sea, did not hesitate to plunge in, rationalizing that the east wind and not God had caused the Sea to split".

According to RaSHI, Pharaoh had sent spies to accompany the Jews and see what they would do at the end of three days. They returned and reported that the Jews had no intention of coming back to slavery. Upon hearing this, the attitude of Pharaoh and his courtiers became transformed, and they regretted having freed the Jews (Rashi).

"Sforno understands the triumphalism of the Jews as a reason for Pharaoh's confidence. He was convinced that the Jews were unrealistically sure of themselves, thinking that their superior numbers would make it impossible for the Egyptians to overpower them. The former slaves did not realize that they would be no match for trained soldiers". We can also say that Pharaoh's persecution represented the first test for the new people and their leader.

As we read in the Torah:

"Hashem said to Moses : Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey forth" (Exodos 14:15).

According to RaSHI, that was a lesson for Moses, who was praying, and God told him, "Now, when Israel is in distress, is no time for lengthy prayer.

I was familiar with many of the answers to this complex issue. However, I brought with me a wonderful insight from my trip to New York last week related to our question: Why does Pharaoh, persecute the Children of Israel?

Rabbi Jack Bloom, a colleague of mine who serves also as a family counselor, finds the answer to our question in the previous Torah portion.

After the tenth plague occurred, Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to leave Egypt. He said:

"Rise up, go out from among my people, even you, even the Children of Israel; go and serve Hashem as you have spoken: Take even your sheep and even your cattle, as you have spoken, and go -- and bless me, as well!" (Exodus 12: 31-32)

Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to bless him, but we don't find anywhere in the Torah that Moses and Aaron blessed Pharaoh. Rabbi Bloom sees here the key why Pharaoh decided to persecuted the Children of Israel. He was not blessed and his heart was hurt. Had Moses and Aaron blessed Pharaoh, they could have perhaps saved this additional suffering to the Egyptians.

According to Rabbi Bloom, everybody deserves to be blessed in his or her life, even Pharaoh, after he experienced a true moment of humility. Tragedies happen because people are not blessed, by their parents, teachers, ministers and meaningful people in their lives. Linda Miller was not blessed neither was the murderer, her former boyfriend. They were not touched by this special touch that makes people's lives so special.

When people are not blessed, they live their lives with sadness, fear, anger and violence, and they transmit these feelings to those who they love.

We can not bring Linda Millers back to life, but we can work for a better society for her children, a society in which people will learn how to touch other's lives with words of blessings.

Shabbat Shalom!