Torah inside of the former Glockengasse Synagogue in Cologne (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The parasha this week sees God remember (זכר) the covenant, and take note (פקד), both words appear early in Bereshit, thus it is almost as if this first parasha is a recreation story. Rashi famously asks why the Torah begins with the creation of the world and not at a later point in the Exodus story (Shmot 12:1), to which the answer is given, because of the verse, “He declared to His people on the strength of His works, in order that He might give them the heritage of the nations” (Tehilim 61:6). I would add that similarly Shmot begins where it does in order to set the table for the events preceding the exodus, in addition to draw parallels from the formative parshiyot of Bereshit to the creation of the Israelite Nation, and to establish the deeply rooted relationship between Man and God.
Although not involvingפקד or זכר, the birth of Moshe in the house of his mother proves to be a seminal event with a significant connection to the creation of the world. Upon his birth, Moshe’s mother notes that her newborn son is כי טוב, good, (Shmot 2:3), a phrase that appears repeatedly with regard to God’s acts of creation in the first chapter of Bereshit. Exodus Rabbah 1:20 quotes Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 12a, noting that the birth of Moshe caused the entire dwelling to be filled with light. What is God’s reaction to the light that was born on the first day? כי טוב. Moshe’s birth can therefore be viewed as a parallelism of creation, which leads us directly to Noah.
After destroying the world by way of flood, in a magnificent display of power, God remembers (זכר) Noah and his family who are living aboard the ark (Bereshit 8:1). It is only with the remembering of Noah that God then initiates the gradual recession of the flood waters, paving the way for Noah’s ark to find a resting spot atop a now ubiquitous mountain. Similarly in Shmot 2:24 God hears the suffering of The People, and their crying out which either are a remembrance or cause God to remember (זכר) the covenant that was struck with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. An additional element of the covenant is the Sabbath, which Bnei Yisrael are eventually commanded to זכור. Just as Noah is remembered which results in the repopulation of the Earth, it is through Gods recollection of the covenant that the birth of a nation is set into motion.
God takes note of Sarah in Bereshit 21:1, “God remembered (פקד) Sarah as He had said…” Through use of the verb פקד, it is obvious that a special relationship exists between God and Sarah, with a level of intimacy that was not yet seen in Torah before Sarah. God opens Sarah’s womb, the ultimate act of intimacy, and provides her with a child as previously promised. Using Sarah’s פקד as a model of intimacy with God, we can then better understand the two verses in which it appears in Parashat Shmot. 3:16, “I have surely remembered (פוקד פקדתי) you and what is being done to you in Egypt,” as well as 4:31, “And the people believed, and they heard that the Lord had taken note ((פקד the children of Israel, and they kneeled and prostrated themselves.” From the verses quoted, a relationship has clearly emerged between God and the people, with strong connections to the ancestry that the chapters of Bereshit worked to establish.
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the day on which we proclaim the sovereignty of God, the Torah reading opens with Bereshit 21:1. It should not be surprising that such a reading was selected, as we are establishing on that day our roots with God. Interestingly, the Torah reading for public fast days also includes the root פקד, when, as part of the conclusion of the Attribute of Mercy, God informs the people that they will be punished for their sins for a thousand generations (Shemot 32:7). While the punishment for violating commandments does indeed seem extremely harsh, it also points in the direction of a significant relationship that exists between God and The People; only when in an intimate relationship whose trust has been shattered could the punishment be so far reaching. On fast days, a time of tshuva, we are encouraged to consider our relationship with God and vice versa, treating the day as a semi-Yom Kippur where we are able to reset and recreate the way we interact with God, emerging hopefully with a more intimate relationship and understanding.
פקד and זכר demonstrate the closeness of God to Bnei Yisrael. Even though I have omitted other examples, the recreation of a relationship whose foundation was laid in the early chapters of Bereshit still manages to rise to the forefront. It is therefore my hope for all of us that just as the relationship between God and Bnei Yisrael is recreated in our parasha this week by Gods remembering and taking note of Bnei Yisrael, so too may we merit to be remembered by God as we seek to create and recreate our own relationships God and each other.
Shabbat shalom.
Shibley Haleket 