In Honour of Parashat Be’ha’alotecha and What It teaches about Juneteenth
At the beginning of this week’s parasha, we are told about the journey the Israelites made out of slavery, toward the Promised Land. After they fled Egypt, and crossed the Red Sea, they traveled through the wilderness under the protection and leadership of Moses, Aaron, Miriam and of course G-d. Sometimes they camped for a day, before moving on, and sometimes a week, month or even a year. When it was safe to move, G-d’s cloud would lift, signaling the Israelites to travel to the next camping spot.
This reminds me of the Underground Railroad, the path the enslaved Africans traveled to free themselves from the slavery through which our country subjected them. Harriet Tubman, who helped found the Railroad, would set up the safe houses along the route. Harriet Tubman was known as Moses to the many slaves she helped free. Supporters throughout the country would hide the slaves, and signal them when it was safe to travel to the next house. House by house, mile after mile, month by month, they were sheltered by the kindness and bravery of strangers, by Harriet Tubman and other leaders, and G-d. Many died along the way, but some made it to the Promised Land of freedom.
During the Israelites’ journey, G-d commanded the freed Israelites to blow the shofar to celebrate festivals and significant moments along their way toward freedom. Juneteenth is the holiday that celebrates the significant moment of freedom for the black slaves of Texas. On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas were finally informed of their freedom granted two years earlier. Juneteenth is the shofar blowing day of freedom for African Americans.
As a native Texan, I grew up with Juneteenth. Every year, Houston and Galveston, which are neighboring cities, would explode with fireworks, music festivals, bbq’s and celebration, on Juneteenth. I thought everyone celebrated it. Only recently did I realise how rooted in Texas it was, and how unknown it was to those in the northern US. It is now a national holiday, that we can all celebrate.
Some ask why. Why should all of America commemorate something that happened so long ago to one specific group of people? Why?: Because all who believe in freedom, and the right of individuals to live in safety, without fear, with the people they love the most; to choose where to live, work, bank, go to school, and have all the opportunities possible to succeed and thrive….all who believe in these rights, should celebrate when those rights were made law for all Americans (all male Americans, that is–those rights would take a bit longer for women).
Our parasha, and most of the Torah, is very clear–freedom from slavery is essential. Freedom of choice is vital. Defeating oppression, intolerance, and injustice based on fear and self-interest, is necessary for all of us to reach the figurative Promised Land. A healthy society, even one in the wilderness, can only survive if all take responsibility for each other. In Parashat Be’ha’alotecha, we are told that each tribe contributes to the community, and all take care of each other. We move forward together, step by step towards freedom for all, or we die together in the wilderness, lost, afraid, and never really seeing the godliness in each other.
Perhaps that is what the metaphoric Promised Land now is for us in our day. It is the ability to set aside the superficial, and see God in each other; to look in the eyes of another who is different from us, and feel care and compassion and a child of God. Perhaps we will find this miraculous Promised Land of the soul once we let go of fear based on bias, and apathy toward the needs of others. We will finally understand that only by supporting and celebrating each other, and seeing the godliness in each other, will we experience true freedom. In the meantime, we celebrate the memory of the taste of freedom, and look forward to the next stage of our journey toward full societal freedom for all.
This Shabbat, may your homes be filled with the hope for the Promised Land. This Monday, on Juneteenth, may you find places to celebrate with fellow Bostonians, and join with others as we all look for the Promised Land together.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Marcia Plumb
