"Every story is two stories," Grace Paley said. "The one on the surface and the one bubbling beneath. The climax is when they collide." I would have said, "two or more stories," as in this week's portion, whose primary story is the beginning of the Ten Plagues, but which contains many other stories bubbling underneath. The portion begins with God's second response to Moses' question of, "Why have You done evil to this people (Exodus 5:22)?" God begins by calling Moses' attention to a story underneath, "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as E-l Sh-addai, but with My Name God I did not make Myself known to them. Moreover, I established My covenant with them (6:2-4)." We now have the story of God' relationship with the Patriarchs added to the story underneath of the relationship between God and Moses. Another story underneath is added when, "Moses spoke accordingly to the Children of Israel; but they did not hear Moses because of shortness of spirit and hard work (Verse 9)." This is the story of Moses and the people. Underneath the story of the plagues we can hear the bubbling of the story of Moses and Pharaoh, the sounds of which are ignored by Pharaoh, of whom we read, "the heart of Pharaoh was strong and he did not hear them (7:13)." The stories of Pharaoh and his sorcerers (8:15), Pharaoh and his servants (9:20), and the changing relationship between the Egyptians and their former slaves (8:18), all bubble underneath the story of the plagues. The stories begin to collide when Pharaoh is forced to admit, "This time I have sinned. God is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the wicked ones. Entreat God. There has been an overabundance of the Infinite Power's thunder and hail. I shall send you out and you shall not continue to remain (9:27-28)." I hear yet another story bubbling underneath, a story that continues to reverberate in the story of our lives, a story about that which remains unheard. "The Children of Israel groaned because of the work and they cried out (2:23)." Although, "Their outcry because of the work went up to the Lord. The Lord heard their moaning (23-24)," the people did not know that God was listening. Perhaps, when, "they did not hear Moses because of shortness of spirit and hard work," their spirit was shortened because they felt unheard. The unheard cannot hear. Moses had yet another experience of being unheard; Pharaoh, "he did not hear them." This is all part of the Story of Hearing that bubbles underneath. Moses can run to God, challenge Him, "Why have You done evil to this people," and Moses is heard. The man, who can speak to God confident he will be heard and receive an immediate response, must learn what it is like to feel unheard. He promises miracles, hope and a future, but his words go unheard by the people. He challenges and warns Pharaoh, but, again, his words go unheard. The prophet who will speak for God at Sinai so powerfully that the people will respond, "We will accomplish and we will hear (24:7)," must first experience being unheard, for only the one who can hear the bubbling story of the unheard can teach others how to hear. Pharaoh understood that bubbling underneath everything he was experiencing was The Story of Hearing. He cannot bear the, "overabundance of the Infinite Power's thunder," the same thunder the people will hear at Sinai. Even during the most devastating of the Plagues, the Plague of the Firstborn, it was about the noise, "There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt-worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal (11:6-7)." Our most primal prayer, the Shemah, is about hearing; "Hear O Israel!!" It is the climax of the countless stories of the unheard colliding with the Story of Hearing, the story of what lies underneath. It is the story of Moses the Heard experiencing being unheard, for the one who is unfamiliar with feeling unheard cannot speak so that he can be heard. Moses must know first-hand the peoples' sense of being unheard. Before he can speak to be heard, he must know the story that bubbles underneath their hearing, his audience's experience of praying, crying, beseeching God, only to feel unheard. We wonder about children who cannot hear our words of wisdom. Do they feel heard? Do we know what it is like to be unheard? People who cannot hear our ideas and insights frustrate us. Perhaps they feel unheard by us. Do we hear the story that bubbles underneath those whose spirits have been shortened by feeling unheard? When we can hear the stories that bubble underneath those who cannot hear us, we begin to hear the countless stories that bubble underneath every word of Torah, Prayer, and the Mitzvot we perform, and we can join those who joyfully exclaim, "We will accomplish, and we will hear!" Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg President If you are interested in sponsoring our  winning Newsletter, please email info@thefoundationstone.org Go to our Blog  Follow us on Twitter   Become a Fan  |
