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Michael Rainsbury
Jewish Educator

Meeting an Ancient Hebrew from Parashat Shemot

Imagine my surprise when, reading the parasha, an ancient Hebrew woman jumped right out of the pages of the Chumash. ‘Who are you?’, I asked. ‘I am a Hebrew from Parashat Shemot’.

Imagine her surprise as she realised that the Hebrew nation not only survived Pharaoh’s rule of terror, but was still existing 3000 years later. She had many questions for me, a Hebrew from 2025.

‘Does being a Hebrew always mean that you live with profound, and never-ending suffering? Do you live near a population where ordinary people as well as the ruling elite aim to abduct and kill Jewish children? Do terror leaders try to weaponise health services to terrorise you, like Pharaoh tried to turn our midwives into murderers? But before you answer that, how is it possible, given the genocide around me, that there are still Hebrew men alive?

I was silent. I thought of the hostages, fallen soldiers, terror victims and their families. I can see today how the plight of Jewish suffering is ignored by many, twisted by some, and an assumed constant even to those who negotiate our future. But I remember I also live in a sovereign Jewish state. I may know how the story ends, but she did not. ‘How do you have hope that you will survive this?’, I replied. ‘Has anyone resisted the Egyptians?’

It was a sore point. Yes, some midwives had refused to obey orders. But it led to the widening of Pharaoh’s genocidal plan to kill the Hebrews. Once, out of nowhere, a man killed an Egyptian taskmaster who was striking a Jew. Some of us wanted to use this as a spark to rebel, some of us did not want to risk making things worse. Yet even this caused division between us and even led to actual fighting between Hebrews.

‘But surely Moshe will save you!?’, I asked. ‘He has God on his side, and a promise of redemption’!

‘He has been and gone’, said the woman from Parashat Shemot. ‘At first we believed him. A leader promising that everything will be OK – who wouldn’t? He started negotiating with Pharaoh, but it only made our situation worse. We are now not given straw as before, yet we are expected to maintain the same quota of bricks. Our leaders were flogged and their protests were ignored. Moshe’s attempts have only made the world hate us more, giving them more justification to kill us.’

I desperately wanted to tell her the end of the story, but our time together was at an end. Parashat Shemot, and its characters that came to life, ends with Israelite anger, internal division, deep mistrust of its leaders, even of God, and almost-total despair. I could have told her that our Sages ensured that the last line of Shemot was a new promise by God that ‘Now you are about to see what I will do to Pharaoh. By a mighty hand he will send them forth…’ But at this point, it’s just words, and they do not suffice.

For us, this year’s Parashat Shemot is full of emotion. There is anger, internal division, deep mistrust of our leaders, even of God, and despair. We are conflicted at the choices we are forced to make, and whether this will make our situation worse in the future. Will our hostages be set free? And will they be alive? This parasha gives us promises of hope, but no answers.

‘Wait!’, I instinctively called out. ‘Before you return to the pages for another year, I have one more question. Why is this story called Parashat Shemot?’

She sighed, looking directly at me, as if once again reliving the emotional journey she had endured. ‘There were many possible titles for this terrible chapter in our people’s history. But this one reflected our deepest, most desperate desire. We know no-one will remember the names of the baby boys thrown in the river, or the beaten slaves who die of torture. We don’t believe that our people’s suffering will ever truly end. But perhaps one day, we will have descendants with the same names as us. And that even if they suffer, their names will always be known.’ And with that, she was gone.

I returned to reading the parasha. “And these are the names of the sons of Yisrael who were taken to Gaza, some with their entire households: Gadi Moses, Or Levy, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Na’ama Levy…

About the Author
Michael Rainsbury is the Head of Adult Education at the London School of Jewish Studies and a Sacks Scholar. He created the first dedicated English language tours of the Israeli President’s Residence in Jerusalem and leads Jewish heritage tours with JRoots. All articles are written in a personal capacity.
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