Parashat Wa՚era՚ Exodus 6:2-9:35 פָּרָשַׁת וָאֵרָא
Synopsis:
Parashat Wa՚era՚ (Ex. 6:2-9:35) contains the following sidrot:
Fiftieth Sidra՚, a summary of Moses' call and mission, the genealogy of Moses and Aaron, and the narrative of Moses' call resumed; Fifty-First Sidra՚, Aaron's staff is turned into a serpent, the first plague - blood, the second plague - frogs, and the third plague - lice; Fifty-Second Sidra՚, the fourth plague - swarms, the fifth plague - pestilence, the calling of Moses, the sixth plague - boils, and the seventh plague - hail.
Fiftieth Sidra՚ (Ex. 6:2-7:7): A summary of Moses' call and mission, the genealogy of Moses and Aaron, and the narrative of Moses' call resumed.
Parashat Wa՚era՚ begins with a summary of Moses' call and mission, and a reaffirmation of YHWH's promise that the land of Canaan will be the inheritance of the Children of Israel. YHWH has heard the Children of Israel groaning from their bondage in Egypt and has remembered His covenant. Therefore He will rescue them, "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments" (Ex. 6:6) and the culmination of which will be, "And I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you for a God; and you shall know that I am YHWH your God" (Ex. 6:7). We are then told that Moses delivered this message to the Children of Israel, but they did not head his words because their spirits had been almost broken due to the hard labour. The sidra՚ then reiterates Moses' first meeting with Pharaoh.
The Torah registers the lineage of the Tribes of Israel; the firstborn Reuben and the clans of Reuben, Simeon the second born and the clans of Simeon (interesting to note that one of the clans of Simeon is descended from a Canaanite woman), then Lewi the third born and the clans of Lewi. After Lewi the lineage should continue onto Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, but instead concentrates on Lewi and the clans of Lewi. The Torah tells us that Lewi lived a hundred and thirty seven years, and provides a list of the clans and sub-clans of Lewi. We are told that Amram the son of Kehat and grandson of Lewi married Yokheved his aunt and she bore him Aaron and Moses. For the first time the names of Moses' father and mother is mentioned. We are told that Amram lived for a hundred and thirty seven years. By stating the years of Amram's life the Torah is probably inferring that Amram had already died prior to the Exodus. We are also told that Aaron married Elisheba daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. Nahshon would become the prince of the tribe of Judah and the ancestor of King David.
The sidra՚ resumes the reiteration of Moses call and his task, "YHWH said to Moses, see I will make you as a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother will be your prophet" (Ex. 7:1). The Egyptians will come to know YHWH through His judgements upon Egypt. The sidra՚ concludes by telling us that Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Fifty-First Sidra՚ (Ex. 7:8-8:15): Aaron's staff is turned into a serpent, the first plague - blood, the second plague - frogs, and the third plague - lice.
The fifty-first sidra՚ opens with YHWH telling Moses and Aaron the next time Pharaoh speaks with them, Moses is to tell Aaron to throw down his staff before Pharaoh and it will become a serpent. Moses and Aaron do exactly as YHWH commanded them, and behold Aaron's staff turns into a serpent. Pharaoh calls for the wise men and wizards of Egypt, "and they also did thus them with the occult-knowledge of Egypt with their mysteries" (Ex. 7:11), their staffs became serpents too! However, Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs, but Pharaoh's heart remained resolute and he did not heed the sign just as YHWH had said.
We are now introduced to the first of the "Ten Plagues of Egypt". YHWH tells Moses that when Pharaoh goes to the Nile in the morning (probably for a morning religious ritual) he is to confront him at the shore of the Nile. Moses is to tell Pharaoh because he did not listen when YHWH the God of the Hebrews said, "Send free My people!" the water in the Nile will change into blood and all the fish in the Nile will die. The Nile will stink form the dead fish and the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. As YHWH commanded so did Moses and Aaron. The Nile changes into blood before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, the fish die, the Nile stinks, and the Egyptians are not able to drink its water. However, just as when Aaron's staff turned into a serpent, the wizards of Egypt are also able to turn water into blood. Pharaoh thus remains firm in his resolve and does not heed the sign, "And all Egypt dug round about the Nile for water to drink; for they could not drink, from the waters of the Nile" (Ex. 7:24). The plague of blood lasted for seven days.
YHWH tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and once again say to him, "Send free My people and they shall serve Me" (Ex. 7:26), and if he refuse Moses is to tell him that YHWH will smite all his borders with frogs. Even though Moses and Aaron's next meeting with Pharaoh is not recorded in the Torah it is obvious that Pharaoh refused to heed, for the next thing to be mentioned is the plague of frogs. Moses tells Aaron to stretch out his staff over the Nile, just as he did for the plague of blood. Aaron does so and a mass of frogs ascend and cover the land of Egypt, entering people's homes, beds, utensils and even ovens. However, just as before the wizards of Egypt were able to duplicate the plague and make frogs ascend upon the land of Egypt. Nevertheless, this time Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and asks them to supplicate YHWH on his behalf so that He may remove the frogs from Egypt, and in turn he will send the people free that they may sacrifice to YHWH. Moses' response to Pharaoh has a touch of sarcasm to its tone, "Glorify over me, for when shall I supplicate for you and for your servants and for your people, to cut off the frogs, from you and from your houses; (so that) only in the Nile they shall remain" (Ex. 8:5). Pharaoh replies with a simple; tomorrow. Moses cries out to YHWH about the frogs, "And YHWH did according to the word of Moses" (Ex. 8:9). All the frogs that covered the land of Egypt die and their rotting carcasses are piled into heap after heap; and the land stank! But as soon as Pharaoh saw that there was respite he again became obstinate going back on his word. Pharaoh's actions bring about the third plague; lice.
YHWH says to Moses that he is to tell Aaron to stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the land and it will become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Aaron does as Moses told him, and the dust turns in to lice, which infests both man and beast. The Torah informs us that the wizards of Egypt attempted to duplicate this plague but were unable, and they said to Pharaoh, "this is the finger of God" (Ex. 8:15). Guess what?! Pharaoh still remained obstinate and did not heed the sign.
Fifty-Second Sidra՚ (Ex. 8:16-9:35): The fourth plague - swarms, the fifth plague - pestilence, the sixth plague - boils, and the seventh plague - hail.
The fifty-second sidra՚ begins with the fourth plague - swarms. As with the first plague YHWH tells Moses to confront Pharaoh in the morning when he goes to the Nile. Moses is to once again tell Pharaoh to send YHWH's people free so that they can serve Him, and if Pharaoh does not heed Moses' words then swarms of insects will descend upon Egypt. However, the swarm will not descend upon the land of Goshen where the Children of Israel reside, "in order that you shall know, that I am YHWH in the midst of the land" (Ex. 8:18). Obviously Pharaoh did not pay any attention to Moses for the very next day YHWH brought upon Egypt a swarm of insects that devastated the land. Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and tells them to go and sacrifice to their God in the land. Moses responds that they cannot offer their sacrifice in the presence of the Egyptians for their sacrifice consists of an animal that the Egyptians consider sacred, hence the phrase, "for Egypt's abomination, is what we sacrifice to YHWH our God" (Ex. 8:22); and if they did so would not the Egyptians attack them?! Therefore they must go a three days' journey into the wilderness in order to offer their sacrifice to YHWH. As with the second plague, Pharaoh requests Moses to supplicate YHWH on his behalf and then he will let the people go and offer sacrifices to YHWH in the wilderness; but they must not go too far. Moses leaves Pharaoh and supplicates YHWH. YHWH removes the swarm of insects from Egypt; but once again Pharaoh goes back on his word and remains obstinate.
Moses is told by YHWH to go to Pharaoh and say to him once more those familiar words, "Thus says YHWH the God of the Hebrews, send free My people and they shall serve Me" (Ex. 9:1). If Pharaoh refuses then YHWH will send a very heavy pestilence that will infect all the livestock, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the oxen, and the sheep. However, as with the fourth plague, it will not affect the land of Goshen where the Children of Israel reside. YHWH will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that not even one of the livestock of the Children of Israel shall die from the plague. The day after Moses spoke to Pharaoh YHWH sent the plague of pestilence and not one of the livestock of the Children of Israel died however amongst the Egyptians it was a different story. Pharaoh enquired about this and discovered that it was true, but he still remained as obstinate and stubborn as ever.
For the sixth plague - boils, YHWH does not tell Moses to first petition Pharaoh, but is simple told to instruct Aaron to take handfuls of soot from a furnace and Moses is to sprinkle it heavenward before Pharaoh's eyes; and it will become dust on all the land of Egypt. However, when it falls on man and beast it will become boils with spreading blisters. Moses and Aaron did as YHWH commanded them. The wizards of Egypt could not even try to duplicate this plague because of the boils that covered them, but Pharaoh remained obstinate and stubborn.
Once again YHWH tells Moses to confront Pharaoh in the early hours of the morning and to demand that he free the Children of Israel so they can worship YHWH in the wilderness. The fact that YHWH struck Egypt with a succession of plagues raises the question: Why did YHWH send a series of plagues rather than devastate Egypt with one horrendous plague? The answer is provided by YHWH Himself, "Because now I have sent out my hand, and I will strike you and your people with the pestilence; and you shall be effaced from the land. But however on account of this I caused you to stand firm, for the sake of showing you my power; and in order that (they) shall tell My name in all the land" (Ex. 9:15-16). Moses notifies Pharaoh that tomorrow YHWH will cause a very heavy hail to rain down upon Egypt, the like of which has never been seen since Egypt's foundation, which will kill all livestock and workers if they are not brought indoors. The Torah informs us that those of Pharaoh's servants who feared the word of YHWH made sure to bring their servants and livestock indoors, and those who did not pay attention to the word of YHWH left their servants and livestock out in the field. YHWH commands Moses to stretch out his hand over the heavens, and Moses does so with his staff in hand. YHWH brings forth thunder and hail, and fire went toward the earth. The Torah states that there was, "fire taking hold of itself inside the hail" (Ex. 9:24). The hail fell throughout the land of Egypt and was so heavy that it broke down trees, however in the land of Goshen - the region occupied by the Children of Israel - no hail fell. Pharaoh sends for Moses and Aaron and admits that he is in the wrong declaring, "I have sinned this time; YHWH is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones" (Ex. 9:27). Pharaoh asks Moses to entreat YHWH on his behalf to make the thunder and hail stop and he will send the people free. Moses tells Pharaoh that once he is outside of the city he will spread out his hands to YHWH and the thunder and hail will stop, so that Pharaoh will know that the earth is YHWH's. But Moses knows that Pharaoh will not uphold his word. We are informed by the Torah at this point, "And the flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was in ear (אָבִיב - the stage before the plant is harvest ready), and the flax was in bud" (Ex. 9:31), in Egypt barley is in ear and fax is in bud in the month of February. Moses does as he said and the thunder and hail ceased, but just as foretold Pharaoh remained obstinate and went back on his word.
The Author's Thoughts:
Moses was not a wandering sage sent to the Children of Israel to deliver a new teaching and understanding sprinkled with a frosting of hope so as to make their miserable existence as slaves a bit more bearable. Nor was he a mighty man of war sent to raise up an army of slaves to overthrow a despotic regime. Moses was neither of these. Moses was sent to be something greater - the mechanism through which YHWH Himself will liberate His people! "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments." (Ex. 6:6) It is only fitting that YHWH act as the redeemer and saviour of Israel, for are not the Children of Israel His Children? And in order to truly be His children He must take us to be His, "And I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you for a God; and you shall know that I am YHWH your God" (Ex. 6:7), which brings us onto the next eternal truth supplied by parashat Wa՚era՚; liberation first and then Divine teachings. As pointed out above Moses was not sent to teach slaves trapped in bondage under a despotic regime a new way of being, for is such a person able to understand the concepts of a society built upon justice? In order for the Children of Israel to internalise the instructions and message of the Torah they first needed to be liberated from their oppression. Just as the Children of Israel needed to be liberated before they could become Children of YHWH, so we too need to liberate ourselves from the spiritual slavery and bondage that a society foreign to the teachings of YHWH has imposed upon us. Then we will be able to start our own journeys to know YHWH and to fulfil the mission of every Israelite and that is to be "a light to the nations" (Isaiah 42:6).
Parashat Wa՚era՚ (Ex. 6:2-9:35) contains the following sidrot:
Fiftieth Sidra՚, a summary of Moses' call and mission, the genealogy of Moses and Aaron, and the narrative of Moses' call resumed; Fifty-First Sidra՚, Aaron's staff is turned into a serpent, the first plague - blood, the second plague - frogs, and the third plague - lice; Fifty-Second Sidra՚, the fourth plague - swarms, the fifth plague - pestilence, the calling of Moses, the sixth plague - boils, and the seventh plague - hail.
Fiftieth Sidra՚ (Ex. 6:2-7:7): A summary of Moses' call and mission, the genealogy of Moses and Aaron, and the narrative of Moses' call resumed.
Parashat Wa՚era՚ begins with a summary of Moses' call and mission, and a reaffirmation of YHWH's promise that the land of Canaan will be the inheritance of the Children of Israel. YHWH has heard the Children of Israel groaning from their bondage in Egypt and has remembered His covenant. Therefore He will rescue them, "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments" (Ex. 6:6) and the culmination of which will be, "And I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you for a God; and you shall know that I am YHWH your God" (Ex. 6:7). We are then told that Moses delivered this message to the Children of Israel, but they did not head his words because their spirits had been almost broken due to the hard labour. The sidra՚ then reiterates Moses' first meeting with Pharaoh.
The Torah registers the lineage of the Tribes of Israel; the firstborn Reuben and the clans of Reuben, Simeon the second born and the clans of Simeon (interesting to note that one of the clans of Simeon is descended from a Canaanite woman), then Lewi the third born and the clans of Lewi. After Lewi the lineage should continue onto Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, but instead concentrates on Lewi and the clans of Lewi. The Torah tells us that Lewi lived a hundred and thirty seven years, and provides a list of the clans and sub-clans of Lewi. We are told that Amram the son of Kehat and grandson of Lewi married Yokheved his aunt and she bore him Aaron and Moses. For the first time the names of Moses' father and mother is mentioned. We are told that Amram lived for a hundred and thirty seven years. By stating the years of Amram's life the Torah is probably inferring that Amram had already died prior to the Exodus. We are also told that Aaron married Elisheba daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. Nahshon would become the prince of the tribe of Judah and the ancestor of King David.
The sidra՚ resumes the reiteration of Moses call and his task, "YHWH said to Moses, see I will make you as a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother will be your prophet" (Ex. 7:1). The Egyptians will come to know YHWH through His judgements upon Egypt. The sidra՚ concludes by telling us that Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Fifty-First Sidra՚ (Ex. 7:8-8:15): Aaron's staff is turned into a serpent, the first plague - blood, the second plague - frogs, and the third plague - lice.
The fifty-first sidra՚ opens with YHWH telling Moses and Aaron the next time Pharaoh speaks with them, Moses is to tell Aaron to throw down his staff before Pharaoh and it will become a serpent. Moses and Aaron do exactly as YHWH commanded them, and behold Aaron's staff turns into a serpent. Pharaoh calls for the wise men and wizards of Egypt, "and they also did thus them with the occult-knowledge of Egypt with their mysteries" (Ex. 7:11), their staffs became serpents too! However, Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs, but Pharaoh's heart remained resolute and he did not heed the sign just as YHWH had said.
We are now introduced to the first of the "Ten Plagues of Egypt". YHWH tells Moses that when Pharaoh goes to the Nile in the morning (probably for a morning religious ritual) he is to confront him at the shore of the Nile. Moses is to tell Pharaoh because he did not listen when YHWH the God of the Hebrews said, "Send free My people!" the water in the Nile will change into blood and all the fish in the Nile will die. The Nile will stink form the dead fish and the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. As YHWH commanded so did Moses and Aaron. The Nile changes into blood before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, the fish die, the Nile stinks, and the Egyptians are not able to drink its water. However, just as when Aaron's staff turned into a serpent, the wizards of Egypt are also able to turn water into blood. Pharaoh thus remains firm in his resolve and does not heed the sign, "And all Egypt dug round about the Nile for water to drink; for they could not drink, from the waters of the Nile" (Ex. 7:24). The plague of blood lasted for seven days.
YHWH tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and once again say to him, "Send free My people and they shall serve Me" (Ex. 7:26), and if he refuse Moses is to tell him that YHWH will smite all his borders with frogs. Even though Moses and Aaron's next meeting with Pharaoh is not recorded in the Torah it is obvious that Pharaoh refused to heed, for the next thing to be mentioned is the plague of frogs. Moses tells Aaron to stretch out his staff over the Nile, just as he did for the plague of blood. Aaron does so and a mass of frogs ascend and cover the land of Egypt, entering people's homes, beds, utensils and even ovens. However, just as before the wizards of Egypt were able to duplicate the plague and make frogs ascend upon the land of Egypt. Nevertheless, this time Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and asks them to supplicate YHWH on his behalf so that He may remove the frogs from Egypt, and in turn he will send the people free that they may sacrifice to YHWH. Moses' response to Pharaoh has a touch of sarcasm to its tone, "Glorify over me, for when shall I supplicate for you and for your servants and for your people, to cut off the frogs, from you and from your houses; (so that) only in the Nile they shall remain" (Ex. 8:5). Pharaoh replies with a simple; tomorrow. Moses cries out to YHWH about the frogs, "And YHWH did according to the word of Moses" (Ex. 8:9). All the frogs that covered the land of Egypt die and their rotting carcasses are piled into heap after heap; and the land stank! But as soon as Pharaoh saw that there was respite he again became obstinate going back on his word. Pharaoh's actions bring about the third plague; lice.
YHWH says to Moses that he is to tell Aaron to stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the land and it will become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Aaron does as Moses told him, and the dust turns in to lice, which infests both man and beast. The Torah informs us that the wizards of Egypt attempted to duplicate this plague but were unable, and they said to Pharaoh, "this is the finger of God" (Ex. 8:15). Guess what?! Pharaoh still remained obstinate and did not heed the sign.
Fifty-Second Sidra՚ (Ex. 8:16-9:35): The fourth plague - swarms, the fifth plague - pestilence, the sixth plague - boils, and the seventh plague - hail.
The fifty-second sidra՚ begins with the fourth plague - swarms. As with the first plague YHWH tells Moses to confront Pharaoh in the morning when he goes to the Nile. Moses is to once again tell Pharaoh to send YHWH's people free so that they can serve Him, and if Pharaoh does not heed Moses' words then swarms of insects will descend upon Egypt. However, the swarm will not descend upon the land of Goshen where the Children of Israel reside, "in order that you shall know, that I am YHWH in the midst of the land" (Ex. 8:18). Obviously Pharaoh did not pay any attention to Moses for the very next day YHWH brought upon Egypt a swarm of insects that devastated the land. Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and tells them to go and sacrifice to their God in the land. Moses responds that they cannot offer their sacrifice in the presence of the Egyptians for their sacrifice consists of an animal that the Egyptians consider sacred, hence the phrase, "for Egypt's abomination, is what we sacrifice to YHWH our God" (Ex. 8:22); and if they did so would not the Egyptians attack them?! Therefore they must go a three days' journey into the wilderness in order to offer their sacrifice to YHWH. As with the second plague, Pharaoh requests Moses to supplicate YHWH on his behalf and then he will let the people go and offer sacrifices to YHWH in the wilderness; but they must not go too far. Moses leaves Pharaoh and supplicates YHWH. YHWH removes the swarm of insects from Egypt; but once again Pharaoh goes back on his word and remains obstinate.
Moses is told by YHWH to go to Pharaoh and say to him once more those familiar words, "Thus says YHWH the God of the Hebrews, send free My people and they shall serve Me" (Ex. 9:1). If Pharaoh refuses then YHWH will send a very heavy pestilence that will infect all the livestock, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the oxen, and the sheep. However, as with the fourth plague, it will not affect the land of Goshen where the Children of Israel reside. YHWH will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that not even one of the livestock of the Children of Israel shall die from the plague. The day after Moses spoke to Pharaoh YHWH sent the plague of pestilence and not one of the livestock of the Children of Israel died however amongst the Egyptians it was a different story. Pharaoh enquired about this and discovered that it was true, but he still remained as obstinate and stubborn as ever.
For the sixth plague - boils, YHWH does not tell Moses to first petition Pharaoh, but is simple told to instruct Aaron to take handfuls of soot from a furnace and Moses is to sprinkle it heavenward before Pharaoh's eyes; and it will become dust on all the land of Egypt. However, when it falls on man and beast it will become boils with spreading blisters. Moses and Aaron did as YHWH commanded them. The wizards of Egypt could not even try to duplicate this plague because of the boils that covered them, but Pharaoh remained obstinate and stubborn.
Once again YHWH tells Moses to confront Pharaoh in the early hours of the morning and to demand that he free the Children of Israel so they can worship YHWH in the wilderness. The fact that YHWH struck Egypt with a succession of plagues raises the question: Why did YHWH send a series of plagues rather than devastate Egypt with one horrendous plague? The answer is provided by YHWH Himself, "Because now I have sent out my hand, and I will strike you and your people with the pestilence; and you shall be effaced from the land. But however on account of this I caused you to stand firm, for the sake of showing you my power; and in order that (they) shall tell My name in all the land" (Ex. 9:15-16). Moses notifies Pharaoh that tomorrow YHWH will cause a very heavy hail to rain down upon Egypt, the like of which has never been seen since Egypt's foundation, which will kill all livestock and workers if they are not brought indoors. The Torah informs us that those of Pharaoh's servants who feared the word of YHWH made sure to bring their servants and livestock indoors, and those who did not pay attention to the word of YHWH left their servants and livestock out in the field. YHWH commands Moses to stretch out his hand over the heavens, and Moses does so with his staff in hand. YHWH brings forth thunder and hail, and fire went toward the earth. The Torah states that there was, "fire taking hold of itself inside the hail" (Ex. 9:24). The hail fell throughout the land of Egypt and was so heavy that it broke down trees, however in the land of Goshen - the region occupied by the Children of Israel - no hail fell. Pharaoh sends for Moses and Aaron and admits that he is in the wrong declaring, "I have sinned this time; YHWH is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones" (Ex. 9:27). Pharaoh asks Moses to entreat YHWH on his behalf to make the thunder and hail stop and he will send the people free. Moses tells Pharaoh that once he is outside of the city he will spread out his hands to YHWH and the thunder and hail will stop, so that Pharaoh will know that the earth is YHWH's. But Moses knows that Pharaoh will not uphold his word. We are informed by the Torah at this point, "And the flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was in ear (אָבִיב - the stage before the plant is harvest ready), and the flax was in bud" (Ex. 9:31), in Egypt barley is in ear and fax is in bud in the month of February. Moses does as he said and the thunder and hail ceased, but just as foretold Pharaoh remained obstinate and went back on his word.
The Author's Thoughts:
Moses was not a wandering sage sent to the Children of Israel to deliver a new teaching and understanding sprinkled with a frosting of hope so as to make their miserable existence as slaves a bit more bearable. Nor was he a mighty man of war sent to raise up an army of slaves to overthrow a despotic regime. Moses was neither of these. Moses was sent to be something greater - the mechanism through which YHWH Himself will liberate His people! "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments." (Ex. 6:6) It is only fitting that YHWH act as the redeemer and saviour of Israel, for are not the Children of Israel His Children? And in order to truly be His children He must take us to be His, "And I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you for a God; and you shall know that I am YHWH your God" (Ex. 6:7), which brings us onto the next eternal truth supplied by parashat Wa՚era՚; liberation first and then Divine teachings. As pointed out above Moses was not sent to teach slaves trapped in bondage under a despotic regime a new way of being, for is such a person able to understand the concepts of a society built upon justice? In order for the Children of Israel to internalise the instructions and message of the Torah they first needed to be liberated from their oppression. Just as the Children of Israel needed to be liberated before they could become Children of YHWH, so we too need to liberate ourselves from the spiritual slavery and bondage that a society foreign to the teachings of YHWH has imposed upon us. Then we will be able to start our own journeys to know YHWH and to fulfil the mission of every Israelite and that is to be "a light to the nations" (Isaiah 42:6).