Torah For Today

Shemot

Exodus 1:1 – 6:1<= /o:p>

This week’s Torah for = Today is by Russ Resnick, Executive Director of the U= MJC

What’s in a name? That which=
 we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet. ̵=
2; Romeo and Juliet (Act II,scene ii)

A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. —=
 Gertrude Stein

What’s in a name? Exodus, the book of n=
ames, or Shemot in Hebrew,answers that question quite differently from Juliet, or =
Gertrude Stein. In Scripture, a name captures the essence of the one who be=
ars it, and naming is an act of divine authority. Thus, in Genesis, when Go=
d reveals his promise to Abram to make him the father of many nations, he c=
hanges his name: “No longer shall your name be called Abram [great fa=
ther], but your name shall be Abraham [father of a multitude]; for I have m=
ade you a father of many nations” (Gen. 17:5). In a similar way, afte=
r Jacob wrestles with the “man” of Peniel, God changes his name as well: Then he said: N=
ot as Yaakov/Heel-Sneak shall your name be henceforth uttered, but rather a=
s Yisrael/God-Fighter, for you have fought with God and=
 men and have prevailed. (Gen. 32:29, Schocken Bible) God is the one who bestows names, and=
 the names he gives capture the essence and destiny of the person.  Our parasha and the entire book of Exodus open with the p=
hrase, “Now these are the names of the children of Israel.=
 . . .” The verses that follow describe the prosperity of the Israeli=
tes, and then the terrible oppression under the Egyptians afterwards. Their=
 very existence is threatened as Pharaoh orders the destruction of every ma=
le child born to the Hebrews. But, they have already been named as children=
 of Israel,=
 whom God himself named. Yisrael/God-Fighter has prevailed with God and men, a=
nd he shall prevail again through his offspring, with God’s help. It =
is no accident that the Hebrew title for the entire account of the divine v=
ictory is Shemot or Names. As the story unfolds, God designates=
 Moses as his instrument to bring about this victory. Moses seems rather do=
ubtful, and believes the Israelites will be doubtful too. He asks God for h=
is name, perhaps to impress the people and make them respect him. But the L=
ord makes it clear that he is the one who will do the naming around here. H=
e replies, Ehyeh asher ehyeh, “I AM WHO I AM” (NKJV), or “I-Wil=
l-Be-Who-I-Will-Be” (Alter trans.). “And He said, ‘Thus s=
hall you say to the Israelites, “’Ehyeh has sent me to you”’” (Exod. 3:14). God is giving Moses a healthy dose of sp=
iritual reality, and he is instructing us as well. “What is my name?&=
#8221; he seems to say. “You cannot name me. I will not provide you w=
ith any labels beyond ‘I AM.’” Thus, Torah defines the he=
art of genuine understanding of God. It must come from him as revelation, n=
ot from ourselves through analysis or verbal definition. God d=
oes not provide convenient cognitive handles so that we can enlist him to o=
ur favorite cause or dogma. The American religious enterprise seems intent =
on naming God, but as Jacob discovered, through intense contact with the Al=
mighty we learn our true name. Rather than seeking to name him, we should s=
eek for God to name us.

Recently a prominent Christian broadcaster go=
t himself into trouble by portraying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon=
217;s massive stroke as divine judgment. He later had to apologize for his =
statement. Whatever one thinks of Sharon’s po=
licies, it is always dangerous to claim God’s endorsement for oneR=
17;s own political views. We might believe that our views are based on Scri=
pture, but it is presumptuous to point to specific events as backing our in=
terpretation. Such claims are ways that we try to name God—and the Lo=
rd let Moses know that he would do the naming around here. Nevertheless, th=
e unnamable God of Exodus does not choose to remain unnamed. After calling =
himself only Ehyeh/I AM, God continues speaking to Moses, “T=
hus shall you say to the Israelites: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, t=
he God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, sent me to you. =
That is My name forever and thus I am invoked in all ages.’” (<=
span
class=3DSpellE>Exod. 3:15, Alter) The God who is utterly beyond huma=
n analysis and definition defines himself in relationship to one specific, =
very human, family. He is not an impersonal force, but the One who revealed=
 himself to our ancestors, who made promises and kept them, and who remains=
 active in the story of their descendants to this day. Indeed, this is the =
same I AM who has stepped fully into the human story as a son of Abraham na=
med Yeshua: “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM&#=
8221; (John 8:58).

A few months ago, I lost a close friend who h=
ad struggled for years with a terminal disease. A few days before his death=
 I went to visit him and he was so weak he could barely whisper. He beckone=
d to me to come close so he could tell me something. “Someone asked m=
e yesterday, ‘What’s the best thing in life?’ I said,‘The energy tha=
t brought you here to be with me now.’ They said, ‘Oh, friendsh=
ip.’ I said, ‘No, the energy that brought you here to be with m=
e now.’” My friend set each word in place like a brick in a lin=
e of masonry. After a while I responded, “That energy is the spirit o=
f the God of Israel.” We had discussed Scripture, God, and Messiah fo=
r years, but my friend always resisted what he considered narrow limitation=
s on the divine. I told him, “We need to name that energy because it&=
#8217;s a person, One who is watching over you and loves you.” When w=
e prayed together, he thanked God for our friendship, and for everything=
212;he underlined the word in his barely audible voice—I had brought =
into his life. I hope that he made his peace with the God of Israel through=
 Messiah. We cannot name God, but God names himself. As much as we need to =
renounce the effort to name God, we need to embrace the names by which he h=
as identified himself—the God of Israel, the covenant-keeping God, th=
e father of our Messiah Yeshua.

Shabbat Shalom!

<=
span
style=3D'font-family:Verdana'>Russ Resnik