BHM 2010 - Message of the Week

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This week is the reading of the portion/parashat Mishpatim which is Exodus 21, 1-24. Mishpatim is plural for mishpat which means sentences. These are a series of dinim or rules for various situation.

For example, if one is a slave or acquires a Jewish slave then here are the rules of dealing with him. Basically, after seven years the slave has the option to walk away. If he is crazy enough to stay being a slave, then the master nails his ear to the door for the whole world to see what a crazy fool this guy is, then then the slave remains a slave forever!

At the end is the part where the famous saying goes...

22 And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

23 But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. {S} (Exodus 21)

I guess this week is a week of exacting retribution. Probably now would be a good time to request reparations, to cry out about a wrong, to fix, etc. Its in the air.. these rules are awake and shining this week.

May this learning be in the merit that Haiti should recover completely and deal well with the UN, America and any other opportunists out to steal their children, their goods, their dignity. Amen v'Amen.

BHM 2010- Parashat Yitro

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I think its quite interesting to start February 2010, Black History Month, with the whole Jewish community reading the Torah portion called Yitro -a.k.a. Jethro, father of Tzipporah. Poetic justice? God's hand to get people to think about BHM?

We all know the wonderful legend of how the story of Moses and Tzipporah got turned into: "Why you gotta be with that black woman?!" When in actuality, the story was that Miriam and Aaron couldn't believe that Moses would abstain from Tzipporah because she was so gorgeous. Story has it, he did the same to an Ethiopian bride that he had prior to Tzipporah. This, to me, is why Miriam said Cushite (African/ or Ethiopian) twice in the verse.

But what's so special about Yitro himself?

"1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel His people, how that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. " (Exodus 18;1)

According to Oral tradition and various teachings I've heard, I've gathered that:

Jethro was not so impressed with the splitting sea and the rescuing of a people from within another nation alone. Everyone in those times who heard the story was impressed. Many may have wanted to do some repentance and changing their lives around for the better to be more in tune to God's will. But what Yitro heard that others may have missed was that there is an Amalek -and God helped Israel against them too.

The Amalekites were descendents of Esau. Their main goal was the destruction of the Jewish people. (Hitler, Germany was said to be one of their descendents)So much so were they bent on this mission, that even after all the miracles that had occurred, they were unfazed and were willing to be the first to try to attack them as they exited out of Egypt.

So, too, today, many of us have these dogs that bark "you ain't s****!!!" whenever we try to better ourselves. Amalek.

Many people will try to better themselves, but what Yitro did was (1) try to better himself as a result of the miracles that he heard but also (2) attached himself to the group that he knew would one day fight Amalek so he wouldn't have to face them alone should he progress in his service to God.