Proving Ourselves: The Modern Struggle of the Jewish Community – Parshat Va’era
When Moses asked G-d why the Jewish people had to endure so much suffering, G-d reminded him of the covenant with Abraham:
“Your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and oppressed.” (Genesis 15:13).
From this, it can be deduced that the Jewish-Egyptian slavery involved three elements, or stages: they were strangers, they were made slaves, and finally, they were oppressed. The first step toward oppression is declaring them strangers. They don’t belong here, this is not their land. And once they are declared strangers, the next step becomes easy: slavery. Slavery starts with forced labor. They aren’t really supposed to be here, but if they make themselves useful, they may stay. Then comes the third stage: oppression. All rights are stripped from them, even the rights that slaves might still have a little bit of. They are degraded to inferior beings, and even their slavery, their forced contribution to society, is denied or ignored.
The ten plagues that struck Egypt were more than punishments; they were a mirror for the Egyptians, a lesson in morality. The plagues reflected three expressions of hatred. The first group of plagues – blood, wild animals, and hail – made it clear that Egypt could not claim exclusive rights over the land. The water of the Nile – their lifeblood, their pride – turning to blood symbolized that the land did not belong to them, but to God, no matter how intertwined they felt with it. The second group of plagues – frogs, pestilence, and locusts – was a reaction to the arrogance that enables slavery. The mighty Egyptians were humbled by a frog. The third group of plagues – lice, boils, and darkness – showed the consequences of oppression. Just as they had physically and spiritually enslaved others, they were now struck in their own bodies and souls, in their very existence.
On the occasion of Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, the newspaper Het Parool wanted to know who had made the most significant impact on the city over the years, who could lay claim to the most important legacy. This resulted in a list of 14 nominees for the title of “Greatest Amsterdammer.” I secretly felt a bit proud that 7 out of the 14 nominees had a Jewish background, including the winner, Samuel Sarphati. But while reading the Torah portion, I started to have doubts. What does it mean if we only see ourselves through the contributions we have made or will make? What does it mean when I’m regularly reminded that there are disproportionately many Jewish Nobel laureates? Isn’t this a modern-day revival of the slavery in Egypt, the idea that we as a Jewish community must prove ourselves in order to be part of the broader society? The feeling that we must constantly prove ourselves is wrong. Because, let’s be honest, don’t we all believe that we have the right to be here, even if we contribute little or nothing to society or the city? We have the right to be here, and we have the right to participate… period.
This column is part of a new series on the Weekly Torah Reading by Amsterdam Rabbi Yanki Jacobs, originally written in Dutch. This week we read Parshat Va’era (Exodus 6:2 – 9:35)
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