“And these are the names of the Children of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each individual came with his household... And all the souls who emerged from the loins of Jacob were seventy souls...” (Exodus 1:1, 5)
By SHLOMO RISKINparshat 521(photo credit: Israel Weiss)
These opening verses of the Book of Exodus are actually an abridged repetition of a much more detailed account of the family Jacob brought with him on his journey to Egypt to meet his beloved son Joseph: “And Jacob arose from Beer Sheba, and the children of Israel lifted Jacob their father, their children and their wives onto the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to bring them... And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt: Jacob and his sons; the firstborn of Jacob is Reuben.... All the souls of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy” (Genesis 46:5, 8, 27).Rashi and Nahmanides, the two most classical biblical commentators, explain that with these opening verses, the Book of Exodus establishes its connection to and continuity with the Book of Genesis, and both add that the repetition of names expresses the great love God has for Jacob and his family.I believe the seemingly repetitive verses contain a message that goes beyond this, and which holds the key to understanding the major mission and national mystery of the eternity of our people.Please allow me to interpret our opening verses by reference to a totally different issue, a question many young Jews are asking and which raises a serious Jewish existential problem: Why get married? And even more to the point, why have children? ABOUT A decade ago, I was invited to lecture to the faculty, the students and general public at a European university.Since this was my first visit to this particular city, I arrived in the early afternoon, checked into the hotel, and set out for an exploratory walk.It was a perfect autumnal Sunday afternoon. The weather was refreshingly cool and invigorating, the sun shone and I had at least three hours to spare before my lecture. It was an area with many parks, the architecture was interesting and I was greatly enjoying a few hours of rare solitude. But after a while, I felt a nagging sense that something was amiss. Then it hit me: There were hardly any children! Many adults of all ages were strolling about, I even noticed many people walking with their dogs. But almost no children.When the professor who introduced me at the public forum asked if I had had an opportunity to do some sightseeing (I had previously written to him that this would be my first visit), I shared with him and the audience my feelings about the strange dearth of progeny.His response almost bowled me over.“We Europeans have difficulties with younger children,” he said, “who make noise and dirt and cannot be controlled; we have even greater problems with young adult children, who cost a great deal of money to educate, who often fall short of expectations and who are generally ungrateful and insensitive.”I was initially stunned by his words, which described an attitude so very different from the “child worship” which characterizes most of the Jewish and Israeli families I know. After all, the Hebrew-Yiddish word nachas – joyous satisfaction – is heavily identified with celebrations involving one’s children and grandchildren.But then I recognized the logic of his words, and when I looked into the negative population growth of the vast majority of European countries, I realized that perhaps it is observant Jewry which is out of step with a growing percentage of the world. However, I am truly convinced that it is precisely our Jewish obsession with progeny which is responsible for our continued survival and contemporary rebirth, and which will guarantee our future.ONE EARLY talmudic commentator, Rabbenu Asher (1250-1328), maintains that there is no specific command to be married; marriage is merely the necessary preparation for fulfilling the commandment “to be fruitful and multiply” (Ketubot 1:12).For, you see, Judaism is a grand “unfinished symphony”: the Abrahamic mission is to convey to the world of nations a God of love, morality and peace. God promises through His prophets that eventually a more perfect society will be formed and the world will be redeemed.Our narrative is to be found in the Bible, our unique lifestyle, celebrations and memorials detailed in the Talmud, and each Jewish parent lives in order to convey this mission to his/her child. To be a Jew is to parent, or to take responsibility for, a Jewish child of the next generation.Hence the formation of our nation in the Book of Exodus emanates from the continuity of the family in the Book of Genesis. Each family of patriarchs and matriarchs bequeathed continuators. Jacob – the man and his household, the man and his forebears – came along with all of his children and their children into Egypt.These verses are not repetition of past events; they are guideposts for our future. All Jews must carry with them – wherever Jewish destiny takes them – the Jewish portable household civilization which formed our peoplehood.Only on the basis of that glorious past will we be equipped to shape a significant and blessed future.The writer is the founder and chancellor of Ohr Torah Stone colleges and graduate programs and chief rabbi of Efrat.
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