Interesting that it is called "shemot" which means "names"
Anyway, I saw a very interesting drush/teaching that Rabbi (?) Natan Slifkin put on his blog, he himself heard it from someone else.. I'll repost:
“And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brothers, and looked on their burdens; and he spied an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brothers. And he looked this way and that way, and he saw that there was no man; and he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand". (Exodus 2:11-12)
Many years ago, I heard a terrific drush on this from Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopez-Cardozo, quoting Rav Shlomo Kluger: that we are being told here about the identity crisis of the prince of Egypt. When Moshe saw the Egyptian beating the Jew, “He looked this way and that way” – he looked at his royal Egyptian upbringing, and at his Jewish ancestral roots. “And he saw that there was no man” – he saw that he lacked a true identity. “And he slew the Egyptian” – within himself. “And hid him in the sand” – he totally detached himself from the Egyptian mindset, and aligned himself fully with the fate of the Jews.
6 comments:
Shalom,
I love that drash because the lack of a clear identity has almost driven some people mad in today's world.
I wonder though at those of us who are strong in our Black identity and strong in our Jewish identity.
I've met many African-American Jews who completely divorced themselves from their African-American heritage,their Egyptian mindset if you will,and only identified themselves as Jews.Of course they were religious so it was easier to understand where they were coming from,but upon a deeper investigation,I found that each and every one that I knew that went that way,hated their Black selves and would have done anything to shed that identity.
Some fled to Israel,others submerged themselves in white Jewish communities and I met a couple who went out of their way to ignore me at a Shabbat kiddush.All were married to non Blacks and those that weren't always found some flaw with the Black shidduch because that was the last thing on earth that they wanted.I remember meeting the white wife of a Black Chabadnik who had the gall to inform me that her husband would never have married a Black Jewess!
Unlike Moses I had a true identity before I was called to detach myself from lies and seek the truth,but I will never say it's easy to integrate all the aspects of who we are and not get tied up in our own personal mitzrayim's.
Shalom,
Personally, I am sure there is a way to integrate the two. Its like the Jewish part is our background and the Black part is our foreground -or is that also a background.
lol.
But for sure Judaism is only a way of being, a way of life. But there is so much leeway there, that we can be ourselves.
You touched a very important point that I'd really like to explore more. Because now that I actually think deeper on it, blackness is also like a background which also gives us much leeway to be ourselves. Its not the end all be all of us.
I have to think on it more, but I just wanted to comment so u know I read this. Very interesting!
Shalom Miriam,
You are the interesting one to me.I admire your spirituality and your commitment to Blackness.Keep in mind that I converted 30 years ago and have never had contact with AA Jews who had my kind of love for Blackness.
Actually I met one but she wasn't religious.I worked 10 years at a Black museum and she came into the gift shop one day with her niece.It was interesting because although she was much lighter skinned,I knew they were related.At the time I'd brought Ethiopian embroidered pillows into the shop and they all depicted Biblical scenes.She eyed them and said"I'd love to get one for my mentor".I couldn't help but ask who her mentor was and she told me Dr. Julius Lester.Well I knew who he was and that he'd converted to Judaism(Conservative)and mentioned it.She said"I'm Jewish" and I said"So am I".She's an English professor at a private University and has a white Jewish mother.She's not into any biracial identity and says she's a Black Jewish woman with a white Jewish mother.She would come and spend Shabbat by me and was very interested in what we did from an intellectual point of view.
The only problem I had with her was she was so into Blackness,she would only consider Black men and was so liberal,no Black Jewish man was of any interest to her.She married a non Jewish Black man.In fact he was a Christian.Also she's an ubber liberal who considers Israel the racist,Zionist state!
Now I also would only marry Black,but I would never have married a Christian.Obviously I never married and looking back,I'd consider less than I was willing to back in the day,but we can't go back and have to live with our choices.
I got off the tract and this is what I intended to say in regards to your comment about foreground and background.
I felt that very acutely and had my apartment set up to reflect my dualness.When you entered the living room,everything reflected Jewishness.My Jewish books and ritual objects and artwork.My bedroom was Black.All my Black books and Black artwork.
I did it on purpose.The world saw my Blackness first and foremost,but that wasn't all that I was.I sort of set up my apartment to reflect the opposite of what the world saw.
I believe it.
Admittedly, I grew up really sheltered, so there were alot of things I didn't know, or didn't figure out until later.
One of those things was the struggling of liking ones' self when one is black. I went through that state and dealt with it on my own, thinking I was the only one with this problem.
Eventually, I found my "good points" and liked myself. I practically had to rebuild my whole being from scratch (went through alot.).
But when I finally found where I wanted to be (Judaism) I did find many Black Jews who didn't really want to connect with me. It took me a while to put two and two together. somehow it was not cool to them to be seen with another black -as if we might be conspiring? Even the stories that I wrote (not the Lemonheads), a Black & Jewish friend admonished me against it because the antagonist was white. This, despite the fact that the antagonist will change from story to story. It didn't matter, she thought it was racist!
So, yes, some are very scared. Don't want to promote anything that seems rebellious to being Jewish. Or anything other than being Jewish -but again, I wonder so what do they do with all the leeways that they have? They probably copy another Jew down to the shoe style.
Again, I understand that for some its a trip and afterwards they settle into themselves. But for others they have never changed, they have never "settled". I don't know. maybe they are happy?
At any rate, I think its a very key position we are to be female, black and Jewish and I wish more people would explore that angle and see what that is about...
Also, I want to add that even though I am happy with who I am, I know that there are some parts that are yet to be explored, yet to be uncovered. etc.
But generally, I wouldn't trade me lol. (I'd trade my abusive childhood though.)
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