by Rabbi Tony Eaton, of Simchat Yisrael


This week during the NFL playoffs Randy Moss, a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings made a sensational catch, and scored a touchdown, putting his team ahead to stay in their game against the Green Bay Packers.  He then promptly turned his back and "mooned" the crowd in a display of his distain for them.  As so often happens these days in sports, victory is celebrated by humiliating the opponent.

In this week's Torah portion God has judged the Egyptians.  He has given them every opportunity to free the Israelites peaceably.  Yet despite every effort on God's part to reason with Pharaoh, he has refused to let the Children of Israel go free.  Now at the end a final judgment, far more terrible than any that have gone before strikes the Egyptians.  So terrible, that no household in Egypt is spared.  The death of the firstborn is the deciding blow in this contest, and God's victory is assured.

But there is no victory dance, no taunting of the opponent, not even joy in the usual sense.  Instead God through Moses, tells the Children of Israel

No celebration, but leave with the Bread of Affliction in your mouth remembering, that in humility this victory was won.

God does not taunt his defeated foes.  It was with a great price that the freedom of the Israelites was won.  It cost the Egyptians the lives of their firstborn sons.  A terrible price even for their stubbornness.  God of course is concerned with justice and fairness.  He ensures that the Children of Israel are repaid for their years of service to the Egyptians,

"so the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians." (Exod 12:35-36)

This was just payment for services rendered, not a way to rub it into the Egyptians.

Our victory over foes is not to be celebrated as giving us the right to exercise power over another for our own advantage, but rather that justice itself be served.  All through this struggle between, God, and Pharaoh, it has been a test of a God who in his love and benevolence wants to bless His people Israel, and this man who wants to exercise power over them in order to exploit and humiliate them

To illustrate this point there is a story told of how, when the soldiers of Pharaoh pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea, the angels Michael and Gabriel urged God to exercise His divine justice and destroy them once and for all.  God, convinced they were right, drowned the Egyptians in the sea.  At that moment the ministering angels began to sing for joy. God immediately stopped them saying; "This is not time to sing when My creatures, human beings whom I made, are drowning".  God demonstrates in victory, that he is not looking to destroy Egypt, but to bring them to the point of recognizing Adonai as their God too.

Once when His disciples were arguing over the power they would wield in the Kingdom, Yeshua said to them;

"The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' "But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant. "For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:25-27,NAS)

He has given us a model of servant power.  He tells us that power is always to be exercised for the benefit of those who are weaker.  This is the model we must follow, even when we have triumphed over our foes.  If we win, we win with humility, as the Children of Israel, upon leaving defeated Egypt after 430 years of slavery, leave with the bread of affliction in their hand, and a song of gratitude in their hearts to God.  Not dancing on the graves of our adversaries, but realizing, for every victory there is a defeat.

For now, when we are given victory, or power over another, lets us it for the benefit of the defeated and weak.  The strong will always be able to take care of themselves.  Even if we are proven right, lets keep in mind that our rightness need not be accompanied by smugness and self-righteousness.  No victory is complete when someone loses.  So we wait for and hope in the day when through the total victory of Yeshua our Messiah,