Shemot
What is there to say about this parsha? What isn’t there to say about this parsha? Everything seems to be happening all at once. We go from seventy people to thousands in a single line. Moshe goes from a baby saved by his mother and sister to a man in less than a chapter. And then there’s a pause. Moshe sees a burning bush and turns aside to look at it.
I want to talk about a specific section of the conversation between Moshe and God, specifically about names. When God first introduces themselves, they say אֱלֹהֵ֣י אָבִ֔יךָ אֱלֹהֵ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִצְחָ֖ק וֵאלֹהֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֑ב. It is a relational statement but also אֱלֹהֵ֣י has contexts of rulers or might. But then Moshe asks how he should introduce God to the people of Israel, and they say אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה. Or HaChaim suggests that this is God revealing which aspect he is using when speaking to Moshe. Referencing the Kabbalistic idea that there are many attributes to God that are all wound up in one being but one or more may be forward facing at any moment. I am not a Kabbalist, but I do think a lot about the power of names. And I think this is a section of the Torah where perhaps God is the most relatable. (Of course, this is then followed by promising to smite the Egyptians which is not as relatable). When I was visiting my mom, there was someone coming over to do some work on the house, and she pulled me aside and asked, “how do you want me to talk about you, as a son or as a child?” Being trans is constantly negotiating how we are seen in the world and how we want others to perceive or interact with us. Putting one face forward. Choosing which name to be known by. And we do similar things throughout our lives. Maybe you go by a nickname with your friends but would never use it at work. Or you speak differently to strangers than to your cousins. It’s not that one version of you is a lie (most of the time) but rather that you bring different parts of yourself forward. And then thinking about names again, people are changing names constantly throughout Tanakh, Jacob becomes Israel, Naomi says to call her Mara, Avram and Sarai become Avraham and Sarah. It’s everywhere. When you convert to Judaism you get to choose a new name, you get to say, “this is an aspect of myself or my family or my life I would like to represent”, or just “this is something I think sounds cool.” Anyway, I love this moment of Moshe looking at God inside of a burning bush and saying “how do you want to be known?”
