If I Only Had a Brain! – Parashat Vaera 2013, delivered on Friday December 27th, 2013 by Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg

I could wile away the hours
Conferrin’ with the flowers
Consultin’ with the rain
And my head I’d be scratchin’
While my thoughts were busy hatchin’
If I only had a brain

This year does happen to be the 75th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz. But that’s not my only excuse to sing one of my favorite tunes. There actually is a connection between the Wizard of Oz and our Torah portion this week. Both of the stories ask us the same question.

As we know, the brainless scarecrow, heartless Tin Man, the cowardly Lion and the homeless Dorothy face down the Wicked Witch of the West and save the Land of Oz from her terrible power over their land. They sing, over and over again, about what they are lacking. And yet, it is they – that very same scarecrow, Tin Man, lion and little girl – who overcome her in the end.

That very same scarecrow. . .

In our Torah portion, Va-era, we read a genealogy of Aaron and Moses. In this unremarkable, almost boring list of names, we learn who their parents are, what tribe they come from, who they marry, and the names of their children, yada yada yada.

But what catches my attention is the next verse, which says, “It is the same Aaron and Moses to whom God said, ‘Bring forth the Israelites from the land of Egypt. . .’ It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery; these are the same Moses and Aaron.. .Moses, who appealed to God, saying ‘ See, I am a man of impeded speech; how then should Pharaoh heed me!’”

That very same scarecrow – if only he had a brain. . .

That very same Moses – if only he didn’t have a speech impediment. . .

Have you ever looked back at your life and asked, “How could it really have been me?” Maybe you look back and see an accomplishment, a victory, a challenge overcome, a trauma survived and feel like it must have been someone else who did that. Maybe you doubt that you could ever have had the strength or courage or compassion or smarts to do it.
Or perhaps there is a challenge, a task presenting itself to you right now – and you’re asking yourself, “Am I really cut out for this? Do I have the qualities to be a leader in this moment? How did I end up with this responsibility at work or this struggle in my personal life? How could I, who has never faced something like this before, make it through this difficult time or make that difficult decision? How could I, with all of my faults, weaknesses, lack of this or that talent – ever accomplish this goal? Why can’t someone else just do it instead??”

How do I know if I am capable?”

And the truth is, we can’t know. We really can’t know.

That very same Aaron. . . that very same Moses. .. that very same scarecrow. . .

That very same God!

Up until now, God has never played this role before in history. God is accustomed to things like the daily tasks of creating the world. God has a good track record with bringing fertility to patriarchs and matriarchs like Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Rachel and Leah, so that the covenantal will get passed down from one generation to the next.

But liberation of the Israelite nation from the grip of the most powerful nation on earth – Egypt? Deliverance of an entire people from oppression and slavery? Redemption ? This is all new territory, even for God. So new that God has to introduce Godself to Moses and Aaron with a new name.

The Torah portion opens with God saying, “I am Adonai.” (using the name YHVH) “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El Shaddai (a name associated with creation and fertility), but I did not make Myself known to them by My name ‘YHVH’.. . . I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am YHVH. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God.”
This is the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But God must now manifest with a new name and with new ways. God now needs to act as redeemer and deliverer. There is no proof from the past that God is capable of doing these things. We will only know if God can act in these ways when God indeed DOES act.

That very same God. .. that very same Aaron. . . that very same Moses. ..

That very same scarecrow. . .

The scarecrow doesn’t know he already has a brain. The Tin Man doesn’t know he already has a heart. The lion doesn’t know he already has courage. Dorothy doesn’t know that she can go home. Until the moment presents itself and they act.

They overcome the most powerful wicked witch in the land. And then they can look back and see – ah yes, they had that potential all along. Those dimensions, those qualities were hidden within them the whole time.

And so I ask myself – where in my life am I hesitating? What am I capable of? What dimensions of myself are hidden that I might discover through my own action?
God has waited as his People suffered under Egyptian slavery for 400 years– to show this as-of-yet unseen dimension of God’s self – YHVH the Redeemer and Deliverer

We can’t really know what we are capable of until we go ahead and do it. Sitting back and waiting for someone else to do it could mean that it will never get done – or that it won’t get done for another generation.

The Israelites need Aaron and Moses to act – yes, that same Aaron and Moses.
It WAS THEY who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to free the Israelites. They only know that it was THEY who could do it until they DID it.