At TBS Shabbat services this Friday night, I will speak about the ethical issues inherent in these commandments and the relevance I believe their message holds in our lives today. In this D'var Torah, however, I am drawn, not to the laws themselves, but to the Torah text that immediately follows the Book of the Covenant.
The Torah says:
I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have made ready. Pay heed to him and obey him. Do not defy him, for he will not pardon your offenses, since My Name is in him; but if you obey him and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. (Exodus 23:20-22).
The commentators love these verses! What was this angel? Was it a supernatural creature? A reflection of the Divine? A messenger from on High? Or, as the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai suggests, a human prophet? (Eitz Chayim 474-475)
While the essence of this malach, this angel may be nebulous, the angel's purpose is neatly defined. Pay heed to this angel, God said to our ancestors. Journey onward, knowing that you are guarded and led. Travel, knowing that this angel has your best interests at heart. Act, knowing that this angel wants you to live a moral life. Live, knowing that this angel knows you and reflects you.
And, I wonder: Is it too far a leap for me to read these lines of Torah and imagine that there is, today, an angel still leading us?
In the desert, our ancestors knew that their destiny was inextricably bound up with the fate of those traveling with them. They left Egypt together, wandered together, and would arrive at their Promised Land together. They were led by a malach, a messenger that protected them and unified them. Their path, while unknown to them, was guarded by a divine being, which held their best interests at heart.
We too are wanderers. And, at times, it is all too easy for us to feel that we are journeying alone. But, in this week's Torah portion, we are reminded this is not so. We are a part of a sacred community. The Jewish mystics teach us not only is God one, but all is one. Yes, the Kabbalists teach us, "I thought there were many, but really there was only one."
On this Shabbat, let us focus on the common direction and purpose that unites us all. Let us remember that we do not journey alone. Let us journey as a people who are led by an angel. Let us live our lives believing that, for good or bad, we are guarded and protected. Let us take in the ultimate truth that the interests of our neighbor are really our own. Let us imagine that our paths, wherever they may take us, are blessed by the Divine. Let us use these teachings to inspire us to live lives of deeper purpose and meaning.
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