d’var torah
Put Aside Our Diff erences
Rabbi Gregory S. Marx
I Parshat Vaera
n Parshat Vaera, God speaks to
Moses and self-identifi es as Adonai.

God continues to say that the divine
appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
by a diff erent name, El Shaddai, and that
God was not revealed to them as Adonai.

It was only later that God is referred to
by the tetragrammaton, God’s four-let-
ter name, yod-hay-vav-hay, which we
pronounce as “Adonai.” So, why would
God need to say that to Moses and,
furthermore, why the need to proclaim
the unity of the divine despite being
called by diff erent names?
I suspect that the ancient ancestors
were a diverse community; some must
have referred to God by one name,
I asked myself why was that statement
necessary? Our friendship transcended
politics. Our relationship was deeper than
Republican or Democrat. But somehow
there was a concern that our friendship
might be jeopardized because of the
divisive politics of today.

One of our greatest challenges today
is antisemitism. It is our modern-day
Pharaoh. It is high time we recognize
our unity, just as God reminded Moses
of the divine unity despite “knowing
God diff erently throughout the ages.” It
is high time that we put away our polit-
ical diff erences, as well as our religious
ones and stand shoulder to shoulder
against the rising hate and heat of
antisemitism of our time.

Further in Exodus, God says, “I have
heard the moaning of the Israelites and
I have remembered my covenant.” 6:5
We do so in the deeply held belief that
we cannot confront hate alone, nor can
our allies. We must seek partners with
whom we can stand and, likewise, who
will be there for us. My synagogue,
Beth Or, marched with the members of
Bethlehem Baptist Church following the
shootings in a North Carolina church as
they came to pray with us following the
attacks in Pittsburgh and Poway.

Finally, and most importantly, we must
stop being our own worst enemies
and sniping at each other because we
are a diverse community; enough with
the attacks that you are “too liberal,”
“too extreme,” not “red enough” or
“too progressive.” We have always had
our diff erences, as our Torah portion
indicates, but God told Moses that if
you are to successfully confront evil in
the form of Pharaoh, we as a people
must stand as one.

The time before the Exodus demanded
unity of purpose and community.

Likewise, today, as we confront another
formidable foe, the time for unity amidst
our diversity is now. ■
Rabbi Gregory Marx is the senior
rabbi at Congregation Beth Or in
Maple Glen. The Board of Rabbis
of Greater Philadelphia is proud to
provide diverse perspectives on Torah
commentary for the Jewish Exponent.

The opinions expressed in this column
are the author’s own and do not refl ect
the view of the Board of Rabbis.

We must stop being our own worst
enemies and sniping at each other
because we are a diverse community.

while others identifi ed God diff erently.

They saw in the diverse names diff erent
characteristics, traits and capabilities.

For some, God was the presence
of justice in the face of evil, while for
others, God off ered mercy in the face of
sin. God was worshipped by a diverse
community. Moses, about to confront
the most powerful person in the ancient
world, Pharaoh, needed to know whom
he was representing. So, God reminds
Moses of the unity of the divine and of
the community that adorates Him.

We live in a time when we are
confronted by a multiplicity of
challenges. We are a varied community
with diff erent perspectives and under-
standings of God, as well as politics.

Just recently, I was speaking to a friend
of mine, who is a rabbi, and she told me,
as we began the conversation, “I just
wanted to tell you, I’m a Trump supporter.”
No matter what transpires, or how we
act or believe or practice, God will be
with us. Suff ering transcends divisive-
ness. We are all one as we confront
hate. The antisemite does not care if a
particular Jew keeps kosher or not. The
Jew-hater couldn’t care less if a Jew is a
Democrat or a Republican. We are one.

I suggest that we need to do three
things to confront antisemitism.

First, we must not be afraid to call
hate out when we see it. We must not
shrink from the challenge of calling out
the haters, even if it strengthens the
hand of those who hold us in antipathy.

Second, we must build alliances with
other like-minded people. We are a tiny
minority and need friends in high places
as well as in the common marketplace.

I am pleased that our community has
continually endeavored to build bridges
and relationships that force us to stretch.

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