Jewish Musings Sunday, Jan. 14

[hollygail]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Frieda (hopefully)?
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

And for those of you who stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!

[hollygail]

This week's Torah portion is Bo. Vaera (last week's) gave us the first seven plagues; Bo gives us the last three.

Consider this idea: Jews must be a distinct people. That is why the first act of liberation for the Israelites is to sacrifice a lamb. The lamb was one of Egypt’s most important gods. Publicly slaughtering the lamb was how the Israelites would declare that they did not worship that god, and, by doing that, the Israelites had no choice but to leave Egypt.

With that in mind:
1. Do you believe that the plagues were necessary in order for the Israelites to be able to leave Egypt?
2. What alternatives could have been possible?
3. How does this whole "plague" thing fit into your view of life in the 20th and 21st centuries?

Gotta run. Today is a Sunday School "MLK Day" event and I'm sitting here in my pj's.

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all warm and SAFE! Please pray for Israel!

Re today's topic: The story of the plagues has always bothered me, especially the bit about how God "hardened Pharoah's heart." What sense does that make?

Have a peaceful day, Lee

[peachymom1]

Lee, I too have always struggled with the hardening Pharaoh's heart business. Here's something interesting I found on Chabad.org: www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/460242/jewish/Why-Didnt-Pharaoh-Release-the-Israelites.htm I'm not sure I quite agree with it, but I'm giving it some thought.

When I think about the plagues, I can't help but think about our own history with giving up slavery in the United States. The Civil War was a horrible waste of life, and yet both sides felt so strongly about their own position that they threw everything they had into it. I don't know how it could have been resolved more peaceably; sometimes we humans just refuse to use our reason and insist on destruction instead of peace.