T orah P ortion
Turning in Order to See
BY RABBI SHELLY BARNATHAN
Parshat Shemot
PARSHAT SHEMOT contains
a story that we know quite
well — the famous story of
Moses and the Burning Bush.

The narrative begins as Moses
tends the flock of his father-
in-law, Yitro, leads the flock to
Chorev, the Mountain of G-d,
and — well, we all know what
happens next — Moshe looks
and sees a bush that is aflame,
but is not burning up.

The exact words of Moshe in
Torah are, “Asurah Na V’Er’eh
et Ha’mar’eh ha’gadol ha’zeh
... Madua lo yiv’ar ha’sneh?”
“I will turn and I will see this
great sight — why is the bush
not burning up?”
I know that we have each
read this story many times
and have seen many artistic
renditions of the burning bush.

Every time I read this parshah,
I think, of course, it is impos-
sible for a bush be on fire and
not to be consumed. Wouldn’t
everyone notice this and be
curious about it?
A Midrash tells us that this
very bush had been burning for
a long time and, that others,
presumably shepherds like
Moshe, had passed by the bush,
never noticing it. Did these
shepherds miss the burning
bush because they were working
so conscientiously, focusing so
carefully on their sheep that they
didn’t even lift their eyes?
Or were they looking after
their flock with their minds
elsewhere — so consumed with
their spouses, their children,
their health or their homes that
they didn’t even process that
a bush was in flames but not
burning up?
Or perhaps these shepherds
did see the fiery bush, much
like we might see someone or
something in danger, inten-
tionally choosing to pass it by,
thinking that they didn’t want to
get involved, and that someone
else would take care of it?
We’ve all been there — so
focused on our task that we
block out everything around
us, or presumably focused on
our task, but really deep in
thought around our personal
lives, trying to solve this
problem or that. And then
there are those times when we
do notice a serious problem
in the world, and we choose
to pass it by, rationalizing to
ourselves that it is OK not to
pay attention because someone
else will take care of it.

So, what made Moshe
Rabbeynu different from the
others who had passed by the
burning bush? The words of
the Torah give us a clue here.

Moses says, “Asurah” — “I will
turn and I will see this great
sight.” The verb “lasur,” to
turn, is used throughout Torah,
sometimes meaning turning
toward/coming closer, and
sometimes meaning turning
aside/departing from. In which
direction, then, can we assume
that Moshe was turning in his
statement “Asurah Na V’er’eh”?
The Torah grammar helps us
out here. Commentator Abraham
Ibn Ezra clarifies that when sur is
followed by a word starting with
the letter mem, it means turn
from, and when the word el (to)
or a word with the letter lamed
follows the verb sur, it means turn
toward, but our Torah phrase,
Asurah Nah V’er’eh, has neither
the mem nor the lamed following
sur! Ibn Ezra then explains that
Moses’ words, “Asurah Na” imply
that Moshe wanted to do both —
to turn aside from his original
spot in order to turn toward the
burning bush.

CAN DL E L IGHTIN G
Jan. 8
Jan. 15
In his turning, Moshe
demonstrates kavanah, inten-
tionality and mindfulness. He
stops, notices that the bush
is not burning up, and then
chooses to turn to approach
this amazing sight. Moses was
drawn to the bush and felt that
it merited his time and atten-
tion. He was willing to step
out of his regular routine of
shepherding, putting himself
in harm’s way to approach a
bush engulfed in flames.

So, who are we in this story?
Are we the shepherds who
pass by the burning bushes in
our lives hundreds of times
— too busy to notice, too
preoccupied to engage, too
self-absorbed to turn toward
that which needs our atten-
tion? Or are we like Moses,
noticing what is around us,
observing what is unusual and
what is calling for our atten-
tion, willing to step out of the
everyday to notice what G-d
might be asking us to do?
When we notice godly
moments and opportunities in
our lives, we can choose to
turn toward them, answering
with a full heart and with
full presence, as Moshe did,
Hineini, here I am, G-d.

History 22
JANUARY 7, 2021
Hineini — I am here, present,
awake, available, ready to turn
my full attention to that which
is before me that needs to be
done in the world.

May we be blessed to be
awake and aware like Moshe,
to notice the moments in our
lives when we are called to
pay attention, to turn and to
respond, moments in which we
can be leaders and partners
with G-d.

Let us answer Hineini when
we are called, so that we, like
Moshe, might turn to stand
on holy ground, to notice, to
act and to make change in the
world, especially now in this
new year of 2021. l
Rabbi Shelly Barnathan is the
rabbi and founder of Or Zarua, a
co-constructed Jewish community
on the Philadelphia Main Line.

The Board of Rabbis 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 reflect the view of the
Board of Rabbis.

Cemetery Continued from Page 4
would see a need there, partic-
ularly if they were already
versed in Yiddish,” Peitzman
said. Staller served as the dispen-
sary’s first president. Gartman,
who hailed from a wealthy
German Jewish immigrant
family and started a cigar
factory at Seventh Street and
Passyunk Avenue before going
into medicine, was the first
treasurer. He graduated from
Jefferson Medical College,
now Sidney Kimmel Medical
College, and practiced urology
before going into private
4:35 p.m.

4:42 p.m.

Continued from Page 5
practice nearby at 525 Pine
St. He specialized in treating
sexually transmitted diseases,
was known for providing
care to sex workers and often
lectured at meetings held by
the anarchist-led Social Science
Club. Segal, a widely respected
pediatrician, was another
graduate of Jefferson Medical
College. His obituary in the
Evening Bulletin
stated that “he first established his
practice at Fifth and Queen
streets, where he became a
charity physician, caring for
the poor at no charge.”
The clinic served local Jewish
laborers and immigrants, who
often suffered from work-re-
lated injuries, STDs and
tuberculosis. Women took
their children to be treated for
earaches and colds.

Peitzman said that models
of providing health care to
the poor changed as the 19th
century gave way to the 20th.

The dispensary movement
faded and was replaced with
charity hospitals. In the 1940s,
the Philadelphia Department
of Health formed health clinics
JEWISH EXPONENT
that assumed some of the
work once done by the city’s
dispensaries. Mount Sinai Dispensary
eventually evolved into Mt.

Sinai Hospital, which remained
open until 1997. Some of the
original dispensary founders
remained, and Staller stayed
on as a visiting surgeon. While
the institution they created had
changed, their mission to fill
gaps in the health care system
had not. l
closed gates. Owner Richard
Levy attributed the problems
to the coronavirus.

Levy was pushed by
Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia and state Rep.

Jared Solomon, among others,
to take care of the cemeteries.

Jewish Federation helped
arrange for a landscaping
crew to cut the grass over the
summer, but visitors say the
cemeteries remain in overall
poor condition. l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
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