8/29/2021 - Media, Exodus
I remember Rabbi Shankman mentioning looking into Jewish media, such as movies and books.
When I was in Sunday school growing up, I remember them playing the Prince of Egypt and pausing it for us to discuss scenes from the movie and how it was represented in the Bible. Even now, it's a great movie with an underrated soundtrack.
I was once again scrolling through Spotify and found myself listening to the Prince of Egypt's "Deliver Us" on repeat from the soundtrack. I took a small break from work and listened to the lyrics:
Over the next few days, I started doing more reading on Exodus and understanding its intense significance in the Jewish faith.
For hundreds of years, Jews were enslaved and tortured by Egypt but they kept faith in the promise from God that he would deliver us. Hundreds of years is a long time with multiple generations, yet they kept faith in God and did not doubt Him, and God delivered. They witnessed miracle after miracle - the Nile turning to blood, swarms of frogs, the parting of the Red Sea, etc. - and experienced His deliverance.
But I think the most miraculous of events was that the escaped Israelites witnessed God speaking directly to them when He exclaimed the Ten Commandments amidst thunder and lightning. I imagine this was a terrifying scene as it was so foreign to them. Perhaps it was terrifying to hear His voice for the first time. Or terrifying to see what He can do with the Earth that He created.
But in WHC's podcast, Rabbi Shankman references Rabbi Kushner's perspective that fear of God can be interpreted as the awe of God. We experience awe when presented with His greatness.
I don't believe the Israelites were scared of God when He spoke. I think they were overwhelmed by all of the miracles they had seen in such a short amount of time. They were in awe that for the first time, they heard the voice that delivered them.
For me, the feelings of an experience, whether that be fear, joy, sadness, etc., are far more effective than representative tangibility. For example, you can't quite capture the joy of a moment with words. You can certainly try, but it never truly reflects how exactly the moment felt.
So why, despite all of the miracles He performed before their very eyes, did they create the Golden Calf? In Rabbi Telushkin's, "Jewish Literacy," he presents a thought that the Israelites wanted a tangible God; one to see with their very eyes. Which is strange to me when I consider the effectiveness of feeling versus tangibility. They had already seen God in the acts that He performed for them, so why did they need to create a fictitious oracle to see Him?
It ties into my previous entry on feeling prayer in congruency with reading a prayer. I can hold a physical book and recite passages, but that doesn't always mean I am processing the words I am reading. It is when the words that we read are digested that we begin to feel it's meaning.
So far, that's what I admire most about Judaism, it's meant to be felt. The Simcha's we count are us feeling the celebrations that he guided us to, no matter how small or grandiose those celebrations are.
So for me, the Golden Calf excerpt teaches us that we do not need to see God to believe in Him, but we can feel God in his miracles.
Exodus shows us His commitment by delivering the promise to free us from Egypt, it shows us His power in miracles and shows punishment for those who disobey.
But it also shows the perseverance of the Jewish people and their trust in His word, even when He doesn't provide immediate results. So in turn, it also shows patience. Patience for liberation, patience during the trek across the desert, patience in His word.
I once viewed Exodus as a small excerpt in religious texts, now it is clear to me that Exodus is the building block of Judaism.
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