This week's Parsha begins the plagues.
I was thinking about writing about Moses' complicated relationship with the river Nile; because it was the means of saving his life as an infant, he does not start the plagues that affect the river - Aaron begins the first plague, which turns the river to blood.
I also thought about the way God appears in this parsha, and indeed, throughout the book of Exodus, determined that no one else should get any credit for the redemption of the Israelites, or having Moses appear like a magician in competition with Pharaoh's magicians. If you consider the Bible (as I do) as the story of the evolution of the concept of God to the Israelites, this becomes important.
Then I found the video below.
Rabbi Barry Leff was once associated with my synagogue, Congregation Bet Shalom in Tucson, AZ. For some reason, I was not around much that year, so I don't really remember him. But I was talking with a good friend last week, and she suggested I check out his blog, which I did. He is on the Board of Rabbis for Human Rights, and otherwise involved in the peace movement in Israel, where he lives not far from our current rabbi, who is much more conservative in his politics.
This week, he was experimenting with a video format for his d'var Torah, and I would like to share it with you.
I hope you find food for thought there as I did.
Shabbat shalom.