This week we are starting to read Sefer Shemot Whereas Sefer Bereishit tells the story of a family, Shemot tells the story of how this family becomes a nation, the Jewish people. There are many important lessons we can learn from Sefer Shemot, but I would like to share the following with you today:
In our Torah portion it is written: “But as much as they would afflict them, so did they multiply and so did they gain strength.” In other words, the more the Egyptians abused us and subjected us to hard labor with the goal of breaking our spirit, the more we grew and gained strength. By clinging to our identity and to one another, we were not only able to survive– but to flourish.
There is a psychological term that I first heard from Rav Aharon Darmon, which I believe is especially relevant for us today: PTG – Post-Traumatic Growth – a positive change that occurs as a result of trauma.
PTG doesn’t just mean resilience – the ability to return to our daily routines and to normal functioning. It means emotional growth that takes place as a result of the trauma itself. PTG is a treatment goal that aims to help patients achieve higher levels of personal growth that they could not have achieved without suffering the trauma.
Sefer Shemot shows us that PTG – our ability to grow from trauma – has been part of our coping mechanism for thousands of years. For example, after the Holocaust the Jewish people did not sink into despair and paralysis, but continued to grow and to advance in all areas – and even to establish a state of their own in their ancestral homeland.
Try to absorb the words of this powerful verse – “The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and gained strength” – and think about how we can apply them to the challenges we face both in our own personal lives and on the national level.
May we increase our strength by internalizing and connecting to this coping mechanism that has served our people from the very beginning of our journey.
Behold: A Nation!
What is the first statement uttered by the evil Pharoah?
It’s important to pay close attention to his words: “Here is a nation of people who are much too numerous for us.”
Before issuing his evil decrees and enslaving us, Pharoah offers us a gift– he is the first person to define us as a nation, “the Israelite people.”
While in the Book of Bereishit we are depicted as a family, in the Book of Shemot we are promoted to the status of a nation.
Ironically, the person who first identifies the eternal unity and holiness of our people is our enemy. He is able to notice, better than us, that this group of tribes and families who have settled in his country are actually one nation, with one Torah and one defining purpose, and a connection to one another that is impossible to break.
Our enemies have always known this well. Hitler said: Here is a nation.
Sinwar said: Here is a nation. Our enemies know, but the question is do we understand this fact and its significant ramifications.
Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
