Shemot: Naming our Bond with the Creator

In our previous commentary about this portion (Shemot: “Our True Identity as Redemption” of January 8, 2012 in this blog) we elaborated thoroughly on the meaning of our Jewish identity, starting with our names.

“And these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt with Jacob (...)” (Exodus 1:1)

These names identify who we are. That's the idea for having a name.

It is also about integrating its meanings into every level of consciousness. Therefore, as Jews, the Jewish identity is our name. Being a Jew defines the references to relate to myself, to others and my surroundings; and primordially to my Creator.

God is the axis, the center, the source that shapes our identity by the mere fact that we emanate from Him. By this fundamental principle we define who we really are. This is the highest approach to our identity.

The second book of the Torah delineates the Jewish identity based on our relationship with God as individuals and as a nation. We became Jews in the book of Exodus, beginning with the names that made us the people that God knows and counts for the destiny He wants us to share with Him.

Our sages refer to the Jewish exile in Egypt as the prerequisite to assimilate the meanings of real freedom in order to fulfill a real life. In this sense, exile is the darkness we experience in order to fully experience the light.

We often say that evil and negativity exist not as choices but only as references for us to choose good and positive things in life. Exile doesn't necessarily means evil or negative, but a situation that makes us value and yearn the place where we really belong.

Throughout our Jewish history, very few have truly yearned to return to such place. Our oral tradition tells us that only 20% of the Jewish population left Egypt during the Exodus. Even fewer returned to Israel from the Babylonian exile, and most of the original Hebrews assimilated to other nations.

In this context, the Jewish identity suggests us that it is all a matter of choice regarding who we want to be, what we want to have, what we want to do, and where we want to live.

All these are referred in the book of Shemot (Names) as the starting point of our identity. Thus, exile is what makes us aware of who we truly are. Either we embrace what a life in exile offers us (good or bad) as ours, or we pursue the place where we originally belong. The choice is ours.

We said that our exile in Egypt was a necessary negative experience in order to appreciate the value of the Jewish identity as the permanent connection with God. As long as we claim our bond with Him, we indeed realize our identity. Exile makes us aware of where our home is.

The same occurs when we visit a land with different customs, language and beliefs, which push hard enough to make us aware of ours. We interact with them from our views and principles, because we are different. Exile works in the same way. It can become alienating to the point that we may lose our primordial identity.

We are compelled to either assimilate the conditions of exile, or to escape from them and return where we belong. This is the way it happens with negative thoughts, emotions and feelings derived from ego's fantasies and illusions. Once we are trapped in them, we are compelled to look for the way out. We cry out loud to be redeemed from our exile in darkness, and we know that love is the way out.

These verses comprise the identity we are referring to.

“And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the children of Israel, and God took cognizance of them.” (2:24-25)

This identity is about our connection with the Creator, and recognizing our bond with Him.

As we remember God and call out for Him, He answers because He also recognizes that we belong to Him. Our exile ends when we return to Him as The Place from where we came (The Place, HaMakom, is one of God's names in Judaism).

This happens when there is a covenant, an agreement to live by ways and attributes we share with the one who gives us life to make it significant.

What makes life meaningful is precisely the identity God gives us, starting with our forefathers.

“And He said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'.” (3:6)

This identity is also the beginning to know our Creator as eternal as He is.

“God said to Moses, 'I will be what I will be', and He said, 'So shall you say to the children of Israel, “I will be” has sent me to you'. (…) this is My Name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.” (3:14-15)

Our bond with God has been, is and will always be. This timeless covenant is fundamental to assimilate our Jewish identity beyond time and space.

Our life in the material world does not circumscribe or limit our relationship with God. After all, our transit in this physical level is bound to time and space as an exile from the boundlessness of God's love. His Love makes us transcend all boundaries, limitations and constraints (the meaning in Hebrew of Egypt is “constraints”) of fantasies and illusions derived from ego's negative desires, represented by the Pharaoh.

“And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, except by a mighty hand.” (3:19)

When our love reaches out to God's love, He liberates us from captivity under the negative aspects of consciousness (complementing on this, see in this blog our commentary on Parshat Shemot: “The Awareness of God's Love” of December 19, 2010).

We need Moses as our highest knowledge of God and His love in order to ignite the fire that burns the illusions that make us believe and feel separated from Him.

Moses is also aware that the highest knowledge of God is not always the means to liberate ourselves from our own darkness.

“And he [Moses] said: 'Oh Lord, send I pray You, by the hand of him whom You will send'.” (4:13)

Our sages explain that in this verse Moses was referring to king Messiah, through whom the final redemption will be revealed. This means that, besides having the utmost awareness of God's love, we also must be willing to manifest this awareness through our own love. We achieve this by being and doing love's ways and attributes in all aspects and dimensions of life.

King Messiah is the one who leads all levels of consciousness in love's ways and attributes as ethical principles to live in this world.

This is what the messianic consciousness is about. Total and complete redemption from the negative and unnecessary illusions of the material world. A consciousness in which the only human interest is the knowledge of the Creator and His love.

“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)

Shemot: Our True Identity as Redemption

Slavery and freedom are two main subjects in the book of Exodus, both bound to our relationship with the Creator. Although our Sages refer to the usual translation as slavery, they point out that the Hebrew term suggests servitude or service depending on the context in which is mentioned. Hence we can serve God either as His servants or His slaves, and most of our Sages prefer the idea of service when there is a common agreement between the one who serves and the one who is served.

In service one seems to have a relative degree of independence, and his/her work is the result of his/her choice based on a mutually convenient accord. In contrast, slavery implies forced service or labor against the will of who provides his work. We know the difference and we must raise the distinction in order to approach this decisive period of our Jewish history.

Slavery or servitude is mentioned as a curse when Noah declared that Ham will serve his brothers Shem and Japheth. Also as a prophecy revealed to Rebecca regarding her sons, stating that the older will serve the younger. Regarding Ham, our Sages say that his attachment to negative emotions, lower passions and uncontrolled instincts made him enslaved to these. This predicament also made him subservient to those more capable to master the lower aspects of consciousness.

Our oral tradition tells that Ham, the raven and the dog were the only ones who transgressed God's order to abstain from sexual intercourse inside Noah's ark during the Flood. Esau shared similar traits that destined him to serve the higher consciousness represented by Jacob. These precedents of slavery or servitude are clear references to examine our ancestors' bondage as servitude in Egypt.

We learn from these Biblical accounts that identity defines in lesser or greater proportion how we exercise free will in terms of what and who we serve, or for what and for whom we dedicate our life. In this sense we understand that the saga of the Exodus starts with the names (shemot) of the children of Israel as their identities. These names are mentioned to teach us that our awareness of who we are and from where we come determines for Whom and for what we live in this world, either be in exile or in our Promised Land.

The first portion of Shemot reveals two aspects of slavery: the more we are assimilated into a reality contrary to our true Essence and identity, the more we enslave our consciousness to values, patterns and lifestyles that deny our real purpose in this world. Ironically, as we have said many times, in the darkness of exile's alien reality --equalized to ego's materialistic fantasies and illusions-- is where we force ourselves to search for freedom.

Our Sages say that Egypt is the prototype of all Jewish exiles, and that is why we pray three times a day to be redeemed from there. Even though it happened many centuries ago, we still cry out to God's Love to deliver us from servitude under the illusions of the material world, derived from the egocentric consciousness represented by Pharaoh. Not many among seven billion people can boast about making a living according to what we like or desire in terms of work or means for survival.

The ideal “best work is the best play” is a remote childhood memory when mowing the grass, painting the fence, and shinning dad's shoes were the most enjoyable works to play because we loved to do them. Love is what reminds us of our true identity, and the reason why life and God's Creation exist. We find no meaning in anything we do or may have if Love is not their cause and effect.

Moses and Aaron stood before Pharaoh asking him for permission to let the Israelites go to the desert for a festival honoring their God. He denied the petition arguing that he didn't know God, because Pharaoh -- as the epitome of ego -- believed that he was his own god. Our Sages analyze the Hebrew word for festival, saying that its semantic root means to encircle or to gather around in a circle, in which the Creator is in the center.

This invites us to discern again on the circle and the pyramid as opposite models, about how we relate to each other as individuals, and in society as a whole. The circle rejects categories, levels, casts, upper or lower, because we are all equal in the eyes of God. There we are commanded to follow His ways and emulate His attributes as the common denominator of our Jewish identity. This is one of the primordial principles of Judaism, and the Torah presents the children of Israel as the family whose circle is the Light for the nations, and these to emulate the Jewish model. The circle is the result of Love's ways and attributes as the material reflections of God's Love, and we understand His Love by following His Commandments.

We have names that identify who we are as the children of Israel wherever we may be As long as we maintain this awareness we know by Whom do we live and for Whom do we live and serve. This is an essential part of Joseph's legacy to us, because he not only affirmed that he was a Hebrew but acted as one while he was a servant and a ruler. By reaffirming his true identity he was able to rule in his surroundings either as a slave or as a viceroy. The awareness of our true identity secures our autonomy, and this inner freedom leads us to Redemption. All we are and do with Love as our Essence and identity are the true service that we are destined to realize. 

God's Love redeemed our forefathers from their slavery under the lowest levels of life, to make them serve Him up on the highest levels of consciousness where real freedom dwells. From there we serve only with our Love, for the sake of Love as freedom. In this awareness there's no submission to negative thoughts, emotions, feelings, passions and instincts, because Love is our freedom and redemption as material manifestations of God's Love:

“They will make war against you but will be unable to defeat you, because I am with you, says the Lord to deliver you.” (Jeremiah 1:19) and “Days are coming when Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill the face of the Earth like fruit.” (Isaiah 27:6)

Parshat Shemot: The Awareness of God's Love

“And these are the names (shemot) of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt (…)” (Exodus 1:1).

Our Sages teach that one counts and names each thing that is precious to him, and Israel is indeed as precious as a son to his father, as it is written: “So said the Lord, 'My firstborn son is Israel'.” (4:22).

The Hebrew scriptures tell us about the Love of God for Israel and all His Creation, but have we considered our Love for Him? We don't pretend to define with a human consciousness our Creator, but to approach with our human traits His Love that creates and sustains us, and all His Creation. If Creation certainly emanates from God's Love, we conceive and understand Love as the means to relate and communicate with Him.

We frequently mention the thirteen attributes of God's compassion (34:6-7) as specific references for us to relate to our Creator through human consciousness. Ultimately it is our individual choice to conceive Him, and approach Him either as a loving and compassionate Creator or else. Common sense plainly demonstrates the former. Every chapter of the Torah and every assessment of our Sages illustrate and reiterate this truth. The book of Exodus is clearly the living proof of God's Love for Israel.

“Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying: 'Every son that is born you shall cast into the River'.” (1:22).

Our mystic Sages explain that every male child born both from Israelites and Egyptians were subject to this decree, and point out that the River (Nile) represents the materialistic lifestyle derived from ego's negative desires and fantasies.

Pharaoh (the egocentric approach to material life) wanted every trait and aspect of human consciousness submerged (put to death) into the waters of materialism, and becoming virtually dead to the upper waters of higher consciousness represented by Love's ways and attributes. From this passage we learn that without a rest from the the material world (a time and place called the Shabbat), life is meaningless. Without our awareness of the Creator, everything seems meaningless.

In this crucial moment of human development, a key trait of consciousness needs to be born in order to guide its remaining aspects. This is what we refer as the highest awareness of the Creator in our consciousness, the awareness of His goodness, as we conceive it in our limited human understanding. This awareness is represented by Moses: “And she [Moses' mother] saw him that he was good.” (2:2).

This is also the awareness of Love that reaches out to all Creation, and particularly to our brethren:

“He [Moses] went out to his brothers, and looked on their suffering” (2:11).

This ordeal is not only the result of living under the duress of gross materialism but the division and separation we suffer in our exile from God's Love.

Division, strife, quarreling, violence and hatred are illusions that trap us in the darkness of the absence of Love.

“And Moses feared, and said: 'Indeed, the thing is known'.” (2:14).

Our Sages say that Moses saw that gossiping and tale bearing were obstacles for the children of Israel's redemption from slavery, and he concluded that those were the “known” causes of their bondage.

“(…) the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry ascended to God by reason of the bondage.” (2:23).

Mystic Sages explain that Pharaoh was dead to the awareness of God and His eternal rule over His Creation. In the darkness of this spiritual death our cry certainly reaches up to Him.

Rashi complements this fact when he questions why God appeared to Moses in a thorn bush and not in a different tree. He answers that it was in order to illustrate and demonstrate that, “In all their distress He too was distressed, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His Love and compassion He redeemed them, He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” (Isaiah 63:9).

God's Love is certainly the fire that is never consumed: “The bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed.” (Exodus 3:2).

“And Moses said to God: 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?' And He said: 'I will be with you, and this is your sign [humility] that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt (after their attachment to lower consciousness), they shall serve God upon this mountain (the highest awareness of God, also the Temple of Jerusalem)'.” (3:11-12).

God'd Love redeems us from the darkness of ego's materialism and the negative trends in consciousness:

“This is My Name forever, and this is how I should be mentioned in every generation.” (3:15).

The One that was, is, and will be forever.

“And God said to Aaron: 'Go to the wilderness to meet Moses'. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.” (4:27).

The mount of God is our highest awareness of His Love, where both loving kindness (Aaron) and righteousness (Moses) kiss, as recalled by King David:

“Loving kindness and Truth are met together; Justice and Peace have kissed.” (Psalms 85:11).

Truth and justice are inherent to each other (Moses), and so too Love and Peace (Aaron).

“And Pharaoh said: 'Who is the Lord that I should hearken to His voice to let Israel go'? I know not the Lord, and moreover I will not let Israel go'.” (5:2).

Ego pretends to direct our existence as a separate, independent entity in order to control all aspects of consciousness (the children of Israel). In this illusory separation, ego disregards Love as the all-encompassing and integrating force in Creation.

Ego creates its own individual “separated” reality based on desires derived from negative thoughts and misconceptions rooted in a sense of lack.

This lack is the result of the illusory absence of Love in any of the aspects and dimensions of intellect, mind, emotions, feelings, passions, and instincts. Lack of food and the essential resources to fulfill our basic material needs (body needs related to instincts), lack of an object for our desires and carnal urges (passions), lack of recognition and fulfillment of our feelings and emotions in our relationship with our surroundings, lack of interest and concern based on lack of knowledge in our mind and intellect, all these lacks are triggers for ego's frustration and consequent engagement in negative behavior and actions that darken and enslave our awareness in the lowest levels of existence.

In this predicament, ego does not know or recognize anything different than its own image, including rejecting Love as the redeemer from its lack, either be real or illusory.

The portion ends with this verse:

“And the Lord said to Moses: 'Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, because by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land'.” (6:1).

God's Love creates and sustains everything, and also transforms our consciousness in order for us to recognize Him as our Creator.