Names - Shemot

Parshat Shemot
Names

The book of Exodus, the second book of the Torah tells the story of the Jewish people's pain. The slavery, cruelty and discrimination against a people as they struggled to become a nation. These horrid tools were used by the Egyptians to inflict maximum damage and subjugate the Jews. Instead of saying thank you for our contributions, they turned their backs on all the good Joseph had done for their country and economy. Historically, we have seen this pattern of hatred too many times. Anti-antisemitism has its root in our Torah portion. The Egyptians were the first to institutionalize it.

But when you look at the Hebrew word for this book you will see that it reads Shemot-names. No mention of the pain and suffering in this book. No mention of exile and redemption. Just names! The Torah is the book of the Jewish people's history. Of course there are the 613 Mitzvot and so much more, but essentially it is a manual of how Jews are supposed to live. While not the best history book by any means, every story and episode in the Torah is trying to teach us a lesson. That is why some stories and the lives of certain individuals are greatly expounded upon, but other individuals and  decades are sometimes skipped over. It is because the Torah only tells us what we need to know in order to live our lives with a higher purpose.

In this context we can understand the name of this book - Shemot.

When we read the story of the servitude, we are struck with a simple but mind boggling question. How in the world did the Jewish people, a young nation, survive two hundred and ten years of intense slavery? How did they possibly endure it? Our rabbis (Chazal) explain in a number of different Midrashim that throughout all the years of exile, the Jewish people kept certain things even while under duress. They maintained their (1) Jewish Names-Shemot (2) Jewish clothing and (3) Jewish language and according to some commentaries (4), keeping the Mitzvot that they had i.e., Brit Milah, Lashon Hara, marrying within the Jewish community etc. In other words, it was their strong sense of identity and self-awareness, that allowed them to stick together and persevere.

This is why the Torah uses the word Shemot because it indicates the secret to how the Jewish people survived the exile of Egypt and how we would continue to survive the many subsequent exiles and travails of our people.

In modern times, as we see antisemitism raise its ugly head and some may be expressing fear or the notion that we should react bu going underground or curbing our Judaism. Now is the time to take a lesson from Shemot. Unabashed Jewish pride. We must focus on our Shemot, our proud sense of being Jewish, our Jewish identity and stick together as a strong and vibrant community. That is how we overcome darkness and exile.

Am Yisrael Chai! Shabbat Shalom