As If We Left Egypt

Refugee Shabbat 5783

Every spring, thousands of Jewish teenagers travel to Washington, D.C. with the Religious Action Center to participate in a Lobby Day, when they speak to their members of Congress about issues of importance. Staff, which included me before I went to rabbinical school, help these teenagers late into the night to prepare for their meetings with members of Congress and their staff the following day. 

Oftentimes, it is not the teenagers from Texas or Florida who have the most difficulty figuring out how to address their representatives, but the ones from places like Southern California, New York City, and other largely progressive areas. Whether talking about abortion rights, criminal justice, or immigration, the teenagers often ask for advice on how to approach the conversation when their member of Congress already agrees with them on an issue. They were trying to figure out how to speak to those “more proximate” on an issue as opposed to those who were expected to be “more oppositional”.

Though Moses himself did not have members of Congress, it turns out he actually knew a thing or two about navigating the differences between speaking to those more proximate–the Israelites–and those who take a more oppositional posture–Pharaoh.

Moses got his start as a leader essentially lobbying Pharaoh. Pharaoh is described in various places in the Torah as hard hearted, heavy hearted, and strong hearted, portrayed as the staunchest of opposition. In order to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, Moses, with the help of Aaron and God, takes a series of increasingly dire measures in order to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. As we’ll commemorate in just a few months at Passover, they were quite successful.

 However, this week, Moses takes on a much different leadership task, or rather tasks, this time engaging with people to whom he was much more aligned than he had been with Pharaoh. He first must lead the Israelites across the sea, which he parts with God’s help. Israel makes it across the sea, but behind them they hear the crashing of water and upheaval of overturned chariots. They see the Egyptians dead upon the shore. Though out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, the Israelites are afraid. 

After getting the Israelites across the sea, Moses must now help the Israelites acknowledge and praise their miraculous redemption, even though they are still contending with the trauma of what just happened. He does this with song—specifically Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea. This is the song sung in synagogue today, on Shabbat Shira, and it is that which Moses and the Israelites sang in this traumatic–and dramatic–moment.  

Our tradition, and Moses and Miriam, understand that the Israelites needed some encouragement and support given their emotional state. When it comes time for Moses to rally the Israelites, his posture and tactics differ greatly from back at the Egyptian palace. Moses knows his audience. Many subsequent commentaries, like the rabbinic work Tosefta Sota, describe Shirat HaYam as a sort of call and response, with the Israelites repeating after Moses. Rashi adds that the men repeated after Moses and the women after Miriam. Why was it sung in this antiphonal way? In this moment of high emotion, the Israelites needed this supportive framework to praise God. 

Though singing Shirat HaYam and contacting elected officials emerge from fairly different circumstances, the emotional resonance of peoples’ experiences in those moments is worth noting. It is easy to feel that when people are on our side of the sea, or an issue, they do not need convincing or mobilizing. Yet whether it's because of fear–of what had just happened to the Egyptians or of political repercussions–or overwhelm–because of how our bodies respond to trauma or because of the number of legislative issues that come across members’ desks each day–it sometimes takes some trustworthy saying: remember, this is what’s important. I’m here with you. Let’s sing this song, champion this issue together. 

Though when many American Jews think about our families’ stories of migration–across the sea, through the desert, on boats from Europe, via the Middle East or Latin America–it is to some extent part of our foundational narratives, for many today, it is their present reality. There are now estimated to be more than 100 million people who have been forcibly displaced due to persecution and violence. 32.5 million of these people are refugees, defined as people who have been forced to flee their home country due to persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. In my home of New York City, a large number of migrants are in immediate need of a roof over their head and, more long term, a political solution that addresses both root causes of migration and refugee resettlement once displacement has occurred. 

While some of our elected officials may be sympathetic to the cause of refugees and other migrants, there are always many issues coming across their desk, especially during the start of a new Congress. This is why we must help them raise their voices and deploy their political power to champion the cause of refugee resettlement. 

Whether you feel more like Moses talking to Pharaoh or Moses encouraging the Israelites to raise their voices in song when you think about your relationship to your member of Congress, consider learning more about HIAS’s Welcome Campaign, which offers intentional and coordinated opportunities for Jews across the country to encourage new and returning members of Congress to use their political power to champion welcoming refugee policy. 

When the teenagers at L’Taken finished preparing their speeches, got dressed up in their finest suits and dresses and made the sometimes snowy trek to Capitol Hill, they found themselves in offices with a wide range of political positions. Though many of the conversations were meaningful, tonight, after chanting and hearing Pharshat Beshallach earlier today, I am especially thinking about the teens from places like southern California and Brooklyn who came back to us excitedly after productive meetings with Congressional staffers. More than once, these teens–by raising the profile of a particular issue or bill –were the impetus for a member to cosponsor a bill or make a speech about the issue on the House Floor. The members had not previously been opposed to the issue, necessarily, but hearing from enthusiastic constituents drove them to make the issue a higher priority in their office. 

While our approaches to interacting with people vary based on the particulars of the situation, we have a role to play in bringing others, regardless of their position, along with us.