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Orchard of Delights
in fact being lured into taking part in someone else’s evil or crooked
schemes. Sometimes an opportunity that looks so inviting is nothing
more than an illusion, a figment of our inflated egos or base desires
that causes us to throw all caution to the wind. Other times the
apparent opportunity may be a test from on High, God’s way of
assessing a person’s spiritual maturity and self-control.
Joseph himself once fell into the trap of misreading an opportunity
and this error had disastrous “equal and opposite” consequences
for the Jewish people. This occurred when Joseph tried to impact
the world spiritually by having all the Egyptians circumcised. This
episode is alluded to by the following verse: “When all the land
of Egypt hungered, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. So
Pharaoh said to all Egypt, ‘Go to Joseph; whatever he tells you, you
should do’” (Genesis 41:55). This verse is difficult to understand for
two reasons: Firstly, why did the people cry out to Pharaoh when
it was Joseph who was in charge of distributing the food? Secondly,
what was Pharaoh referring to when he cryptically told the people
to do “whatever” Joseph commands? Midrash Tanchuma, cited by
Rashi, seems to resolve these two questions by explaining that the
people complained to Pharaoh regarding Joseph’s unusual request to
circumcise themselves. Pharaoh cryptically replied that they should
do whatever Joseph asks.
The Zohar (2:17a) explains that Joseph desired to “convert” those
souls who were ready to leave the depraved ways of Egypt (the word
for “Egypt” in Hebrew aptly connotes “constriction” or “a narrow
place”). Joseph realized that his rise to power gave him opportunities
on the spiritual level, not just the material one. He must have
pondered at great length how best to translate his position of power
into a means for the spiritual advancement of the world. As a son
of Jacob, he doubtless knew the role the Jewish people were to play
in the rectification of the world, so he “flung the gate wide open.”
Sadly, although his motives were pure, he had misread the situation.
His actions were premature and they led to the very opposite of
what he had intended. These “converted” souls became the “mixed
multitude” that Moses erred in taking out of Egypt along with the
Jewish people.
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shemOt ת ֹומ ְׁש
£The Meaning of the Name Shemot£The Meaning of the Name ShemotThe Meaning of the Name Shemot
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In Hebrew, the book of Exodus is called Shemot, which means
“names.” On a straightforward peshat level this choice is unremarkable
because many Torah portions derive their names from a keyword in
their opening verses. Shemot begins with the verse, “And these are
the names [shemot] of the children of Israel who are coming to Egypt,”
and continues by listing Jacob’s twelve sons’ names. However,
according to the PaRDeS system of learning there are always much
deeper reasons for these titles. What spiritual reasons then underlie
the choice of this name for the second book of the Pentateuch?
On a practical level, the Midrash relates that the children of
Israel retained their strength as a people and ultimately merited
redemption from slavery because they kept their Hebrew names,
their distinct style of dress, and their attachment to the Hebrew
language (Shemot Rabbah 1:31). Although such actions may seem
relatively insignificant, they prevented the Jews from assimilating.
Thus the book begins with a record of the names of the sons of Jacob
from whom the Jewish nation would descend.
However, in a broader sense, the book of Exodus is the book of names
for it is only in Egypt that Jacob’s nuclear family metamorphoses
from the “children of Israel” (a name given to the family in Genesis)
to the nation of Israel. Indeed, in this book, Jacob’s personal name,
Israel, becomes the name of his nation.
On an even more profound level, God reveals his essential four-
letter name, the Tetragrammaton, to Israel and the world, in this
book. As will be explained in the next Torah portion, He had only
partially revealed this secret to the patriarchs and matriarchs in
Genesis. The fact that God has now chosen to reveal His entire name
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