By Toby King

I think, for many of us, this is going to be a difficult week. To my friends in the US, it’s a scary time and here in Canada, we feel the ripples of that fear, of the anger, of the insecurity. To my Canadian friends, remember that we have problems North of the border as well; a government that has failed to make good on its promises to the marginalized and a right wing that’s becoming more and more extreme.

Many of us are looking for ways of resistance, and there’s resistance aplenty in Shemot. Let’s look through what we’ve got:

1. Disobedience

At the start of our story, the Israelites have grown too vast for the comfort of the ruling class, and suppression is no longer enough - decimation must begin. Pharaoh orders that the midwives Shiphrah and Puah kill any Israelite baby boys.

Despite this being a directive from the Divine and Almighty Pharaoh, the women simply refuse. They disobey and exempt themselves from the system. They will not be part of the killings, they will not directly facilitate oppression. It’s a good start. They did a noble and dangerous thing.

Yet, baby Israelites we’re still murdered, Pharaoh just had others do the job. Ultimately, refusal only works if you have everyone on board.

2. Entering the system

Like several Jewish heroes, Moshe Rabbenu was not raised Jewish. His mother, doing what was necessary at the time, sent him out of the community, and into the arms of the elite. He had his mother as a wet-nurse, but he was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in the royal palace. Perhaps, Moshe could have changed the system from within, could have reformed Egyptian slave practices, but he acts much too rashly for that. When he sees an Egyptian beating an Israelite, he kills him.

As it turns out, when you act against the system, the system rejects you. When Pharaoh heard of this act of rebellion, he intended to kill him, but Moshe had fled.

3. Escape

Moshe flees to the desert, where he shows some kindness to strangers and is accepted into a new community. He gets a flock, a wife, he even has children. It seems like a wonderful and simple life. He has found and built a haven for himself. If he stayed there, he could very well have been happy.

But building secluded utopias is not enough. We may free ourselves that way, but we do not free others. To uplift, we have to reach out.

4. Call to action

Moshe is called upon by G-d at the burning bush to lead his people to freedom. You’d think, a bush that burns without ever burning up and a voice from the heavens might be enough to convince a guy, but Moshe tries to get out of it. "Why should it be me?", he asks. "What skills do I have? Why would anyone listen to me!? I’m no public speaker!”.

I’m not trying to be harsh, we all have these insecurities, we all find reasons not to act. G-d answers all of them, She gives Moshe a staff to show wonders and his brother Aaron is to be his mouthpiece. For we all need tools and we all need partners. With these, Moshe returns to Egypt, to free his people.

5. Speak truth to power

So, with his brother by his side and G-d’s might in his hand, Moshe marches up to Pharaoh and demands that he Let His People Go!

And Pharaoh… cracks the whip harder. After Moshe and Aaron’s first request, he only gives the Israelites more work, a harsher burden.

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