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Drash for Shabbat Pesach/Hol Hamoed By Heather McLaughlin - April 6, 2007 Moses, a lilac bush, holiness codes, dry bones, the Arizona desert, Passover and the nature of God. Are these related? What do they have in common? What do they mean to us today? Nothing? Anything? Everything? I saw a lilac bush in full bloom recently. Not anywhere you might expect. In fact in a place where no lilac bush should probably even grow, let alone bloom. Yet there it was covered with purple flowers and giving off that intoxicating lilac scent. Where did I see it? Here in Tucson, growing untended in a yard of a rental house. Moses was a little like that lilac bush. He became what God needed him to become, in spite of the environment in which he was living. His innate nature allowed him to talk to, question, argue and even ask God for help without a ritual structure to support and remind him. Yet even Moses’ understanding of God was limited and he had to work on his relationship with God. He made mistakes and had to do things over. For us, this means that while we cannot ever truly comprehend the nature of God, we can and must work to enhance our understanding of God and grow into better individuals. We may make mistakes and have to do things over, but that is an expected part of the process. Most of us are not like Moses. We need the right environment to work to become spiritually whole. We need structure, love, and ways to help us become closer to God. Part of this week’s parsha enumerates some of the rules, laws, and holidays we observe. All of these are designed to help us become closer to God, become better people, and give us a needed spiritual structure. The holidays are designed to be reminders of where we are going, what we have gained and lost, and where we must go. It is all too easy for us to find other things to look to for spiritual fulfillment, to become sidetracked from God. There are many traps for us today, including money, power, status, recognition, perfection, and love. They are at times necessary and are not harmful until they consume our lives. At that point they become "idols" and ultimately distance us and leave us spiritually empty and dried up. We feel like the "dry bones" in this week’s Haftara. Yet the "dry bones" were allowed to come back to life, a metaphor for our returning to what we have forsaken. Just as we water a drooping plant, we can look inside ourselves and inside our tradition to find and nurture that spiritual fulfillment that outside sources cannot provide. We have to be willing to recognize the "idols" that have consumed our lives. We must tear them down, and destroy them within ourselves. I do not believe it to be a literal physical destruction, as the parsha seems to indicate, but a figurative one. We also must accept that when we make serious mistakes, the repercussions will often be felt and remembered generations later. What family does not have a few skeletons in its closet? Moses made mistakes and we still learn about them. We are expected to learn from the mistakes of others. That is part of punishment and forgiveness. We may not ever forget the mistakes we, or others close to us, made but we can always forgive and go forward with God to lead the way. Passover, which is touched on in this parsha along with the other pilgrimage festivals, is also very much like that lilac bush. With God and Moses’ help we prevailed in an against-all-odds situation. The first Passover may have been the first time, but it certainly won’t be the last. Our celebration of Passover is a reminder that with the help of God and our community we can triumph in the face of adversity, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem. So in the end Moses, a lilac bush, holiness codes, dry bones, the Arizona desert, Passover and the nature of God are related. What do they have in common? Many things, and possibly everything. Shabbat Shalom.
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