This is an abridged version of the essay Freedom and Truth, written by Rabbi Sacks in 2012.
In the conversation between Moshe and Paroh in this week’s Parsha, he makes it seem as if he only wants three days of freedom, so that the people can leave Egypt, offer sacrifices to God, and then return.
Moshe never asks that the people leave permanently, never to return. He talks of a three-day journey. There is an argument between him and Paroh as to who is to go. Only the adult males? Only the people, not the cattle? But he never speaks about freedom or the promised land. Why not? Why does he create, and not correct, a false impression? Why can he not say openly what he means? Why did Moshe tell Paroh less than the full truth?
We can find the answer by looking at other times in the Torah where the truth is obscured, and start to understand the rules of the pattern.
When Yaakov leaves Lavan’s house with his family, we read, “Yaakov decided to go behind the back of Lavan the Aramean, and did not tell him that he was leaving.” Lavan protests this as deceitful behaviour and says, “How could you do this? Why did you have to leave so secretly? You went behind my back and told me nothing!”
When Yaakov’s sons try to rescue their sister Dina from Shechem the Hivite, they “replied deceitfully” when Shechem and his father proposed that the entire family should come and settle with them, convincing all the males of the town to undergo circumcision.
Three times there is a story where Avraham or Yitzchak, forced to leave home because of famine, pretend that they are their wives’ brothers not their husbands because they fear that they will be killed so that Sarah or Rebecca can be taken to the king’s harem.
These episodes cannot be entirely accidental or coincidental to the biblical narrative as a whole. The implication seems to be this: Outside the promised land Jews in the biblical age are in danger if they tell the truth. They are at constant risk of being killed or, at best, enslaved.
Why? Because they are powerless in an age of power. They are a small family, at best a small nation, in an age of empires. They have to use their wits to survive. By and large they do not tell lies but they can create a false impression. This is not how things should be. But it is how they were before Jews had their own land, their one and only defensible space. It is how people in impossible situations are forced to be if they are to exist at all.
No one should be forced to live a lie. In Judaism, truth is the seal of God and the essential precondition of trust between human beings. But when your people is being enslaved, its male children murdered, you have to liberate them by whatever means are possible. Moshe, who had already seen that his first encounter with Paroh made things worse for his people – they still had to make the same quota of bricks but now also had to gather their own straw – did not want to risk making them worse still.
The Torah here is not justifying deceit. On the contrary, it is condemning a system in which telling the truth may put your life at risk, as it still does in many tyrannical or totalitarian societies today.
Judaism is a faith that values intellectual honesty and moral truthfulness above all things. But what the Torah is telling us in these narratives in Bereishit, and in Moshe’s communications with Paroh in Shemot, is the connection between freedom and truth. Where there is freedom there can be truth. Otherwise there cannot. A society where people are forced to be less than fully honest merely to survive and not provoke further oppression is not the kind of society God wants us to make.
Around the Shabbat Table
Questions to Ponder
Why might the Torah include so many examples of people needing to use deception to survive?
How does having a safe home or community allow people to be more truthful?
Where have you felt this notion in your own life?
On the Parsha
Written by Sara Lamm
Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Parsha in a Nutshell
God promises to free Bnai Yisrael from slavery in Egypt and bring them to the Promised Land, as He promised earlier in Bereishit to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Moshe and Aharon go to Paroh several times with God’s message, “Let My people go, so they can serve Me in the wilderness.” But Paroh refuses their requests, and so God sends the first seven plagues to Egypt.
The Nile turns to blood, frogs swarm the land, lice infest everyone, and wild animals invade. The livestock die, painful boils afflict the Egyptians, and a storm of hail mixed with fire devastates the land. Despite all this, Paroh hardens his heart and won’t let the Israelites go free.
Philosophy of Rabbi Sacks
Delving Deeper
The values of truth and freedom are deeply connected, as Rabbi Sacks explains. Truth can only flourish in a society where people are free from oppression, otherwise they are sometimes forced to hide the truth for their own safety.
Throughout Bereishit and the beginning of Shemot, leaders like Moshe, Yaakov, and Avraham had to use partial truths and false impressions to navigate oppressive and dangerous environments. This of course, is not an endorsement of deceit but a condemnation of systems that make honesty impossible.
Rabbi Sacks also adds that every Amidah ends with the prayer, “My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from deceitful speech,” as further evidence that Judaism values truth as fundamental. But when survival is at stake, a white lie or two may be necessary. Creating a just society where truth can thrive is the ultimate way to reflect God’s vision for a world of freedom and moral integrity.
How can you strike the balance of keeping the peace and keeping it truthful?
Parsha Activity
Safe Spaces
Split into three groups: Helpers, Seekers, and Guards. Helpers secretly choose three safe spaces or “homes” and then the game begins. Helpers must give indirect clues regarding the safe spaces. After each clue, Seekers can move over to where they think the safe spaces are, but then Guards can ask the Helpers one yes or no question to try to guess where the home is. Then Helpers give the next clue or statement to the Seekers.
Guards win by correctly identifying all three home spots before all the Seekers reach safety. Seekers win by reaching home before their safe spaces are identified by the guards. But Seekers only win if they all reach home safely, no-one left behind!
Reflect: Can you think of a time in your own life when you had to be careful with your words to protect someone else?
A Story for the Ages
The Great Escape
In 1991, thousands of Jewish families in Ethiopia needed to escape, and Israel offered them a newer, safer home. However, just as Moshe had to be careful with his words to Paroh, Israeli leaders knew they had to keep their rescue plan secret to protect everyone involved.
They called their mission “Operation Solomon”, and they laid their plans carefully. While the world thought they were just sending regular planes to Ethiopia for business, they were actually planning to rescue more than 14,000 Jews in 35 planes in 35 hours!
The rescue teams worked quickly and quietly. They removed seats from planes to fit more people; one plane even carried 1,088 passengers - a world record! Pilots, doctors, and helpers worked non-stop to bring families to safety. Many of these families had never even seen an aeroplane before.
One of the El Al planes carried at least 1,088 people, including two babies who were born on the flight, and holds the world record for the most passengers on an aircraft. Six other children were born during the airlift process, and everyone made it safely to Israel. Upon landing, the passengers cheered and rejoiced. Twenty-nine-year-old Mukat Abag said, “We didn’t bring any of our clothes, we didn’t bring any of our things, but we are very glad to be here.”
Only after the mission was safely accomplished did the government tell the world what had really happened. Today, the children and grandchildren of those rescued Ethiopian Jews live all over Israel as doctors, teachers, and leaders.Sometimes keeping a secret can help save lives, as we saw in Moshe’s mission so many centuries ago.
Can you think of any situations in modern history when “heroes” used deception to save the day?
On the Haftara
Written by Rabbi Barry Kleinberg
Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
A summary
The Haftara in a Nutshell
Ezekiel 28:25-29:12 (Ashkenazi and Sephardi) Ezekiel 28:24-29:21 (Yemenite)
In Ezekiel 28:25–29:12, the prophet delivers messages of restoration for Israel and judgment against Egypt. God promises to gather His scattered people from exile, establishing them securely in their land. This restoration will demonstrate His holiness and reaffirm His covenant with Israel.
In Ezekiel 29:1–12, Ezekiel prophesies against Egypt, comparing Pharaoh to a prideful crocodile in the Nile claiming ownership of the river. The land will be desolate for 40 years, its people scattered among the nations.
This serves as a warning against relying on Egypt for support, as Judah had done. Later in the chapter God rebukes Pharaoh’s arrogance and declares Egypt will fall to Babylon as a Divine judgment. Then all will recognise God’s sovereignty over nations and His ultimate power to redeem and judge.
Why do you think Pharaoh is likened to a crocodile in the river?
Points to Ponder
Often the prophets speak about events in the distant future and the final redemption of the Jewish people (and the world).
Why do you think they focus on these events?
When dealing with today’s challenges, does this prophecy of the future comfort you?
Tanach Connections
Parsha and Haftara Links
The most obvious connection between the Parsha and Haftara this week is the downfall of Egypt, which will occur at different periods of history.
In the Parsha, Moshe brings the plagues against Egypt. In the Haftara, Egypt will be conquered by Babylonia. But if that is indeed the connection, why does the Haftara begin at Ezekiel 28:25-26? These verses do not relate to Egypt or indeed to the rest of the Haftara! The central part of the Haftara (Ezekiel 29:1-15) is the prophecy concerning Egypt, and the last part is a separate prophecy but also related to Egypt; its subject is the Babylonian King Nevuchadretzar in Tzror being repaid for his actions and being given Egypt. The selection of a prophecy dealing with Egypt and the plagues as the Haftara for Parshat Vaera is obvious, but we are left with the question of why the first two verses were also included, since they do not appear to be in any way connected with Egypt.
It seems that these opening two verses of the Haftara relate to the redemption of Israel and are included in order to draw our attention to the fact that Vaera is, first and foremost, a Parsha about redemption.
Putting the Prophets into Context
The Book of Ezekiel
Ezekiel (Yechezkel) is one of the major prophets of Tanach. He lived in the 6th century BCE during the Babylonian exile. He was likely born into a priestly family in Jerusalem and taken to Babylon in the first wave of exiles around 597 BCE, alongside King Jehoiachin. Ezekiel’s prophetic mission began around 593 BCE, marked by extraordinary visions of God’s glory which emphasised Divine sovereignty and holiness. He lived among the exiles by the Kebar River and addressed their spiritual despair, urging repentance and faithfulness to God. His prophecies initially warned of Jerusalem’s destruction due to idolatry and injustice. Following the city’s fall in 586 BCE, his focus shifted to messages of hope, including the promise of Israel’s restoration, spiritual renewal, and the establishment of a new covenant.
Known for his symbolic acts and vivid imagery, Ezekiel’s teachings underscore themes of Divine justice, accountability, and ultimate redemption. Rabbi Sacks notes that “the prophet Ezekiel was one of those who shaped a vision of return and restoration, and it is to him we owe the first oblique reference to a radically new institution that eventually became known as the Beit Knesset, the synagogue.”
Quote of the Week
“I believe that institutions like prophecy survive when they are translated from utopian ideals into practical policies. The greatness of the Sages, still not fully appreciated by the world, is that guided by the visions of the Prophets, they gave us the instructions for how to get from here to there.”
Why do you think that navua (prophecy) came to an end and the role of leadership passed to the Sages?
Written as an accompaniment to Rabbi Sacks’ weekly Covenant & Conversation essay, the
Family Edition
is aimed at connecting teenagers with his ideas and thoughts on the parsha.
With thanks to the Schimmel Family for their generous sponsorship of Covenant &
Conversation, dedicated in loving memory of Harry (Chaim) Schimmel.
“I have loved the Torah of R’ Chaim Schimmel ever since I first encountered it. It
strives to be not just about truth on the surface but also its connection to a
deeper truth beneath. Together with Anna, his remarkable wife of 60 years, they
built a life dedicated to love of family, community, and Torah. An extraordinary
couple who have moved me beyond measure by the example of their lives.” — Rabbi
Sacks
The Parsha in a Nutshell In Va’era, the story of the exodus begins in earnest, with an unprecedented series of divine interventions into history. Time…
Freedom and Truth
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Vaera
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The Summary
This is an abridged version of the essay Freedom and Truth, written by Rabbi Sacks in 2012.
In the conversation between Moshe and Paroh in this week’s Parsha, he makes it seem as if he only wants three days of freedom, so that the people can leave Egypt, offer sacrifices to God, and then return.
Moshe never asks that the people leave permanently, never to return. He talks of a three-day journey. There is an argument between him and Paroh as to who is to go. Only the adult males? Only the people, not the cattle? But he never speaks about freedom or the promised land. Why not? Why does he create, and not correct, a false impression? Why can he not say openly what he means? Why did Moshe tell Paroh less than the full truth?
We can find the answer by looking at other times in the Torah where the truth is obscured, and start to understand the rules of the pattern.
When Yaakov leaves Lavan’s house with his family, we read, “Yaakov decided to go behind the back of Lavan the Aramean, and did not tell him that he was leaving.” Lavan protests this as deceitful behaviour and says, “How could you do this? Why did you have to leave so secretly? You went behind my back and told me nothing!”
When Yaakov’s sons try to rescue their sister Dina from Shechem the Hivite, they “replied deceitfully” when Shechem and his father proposed that the entire family should come and settle with them, convincing all the males of the town to undergo circumcision.
Three times there is a story where Avraham or Yitzchak, forced to leave home because of famine, pretend that they are their wives’ brothers not their husbands because they fear that they will be killed so that Sarah or Rebecca can be taken to the king’s harem.
These episodes cannot be entirely accidental or coincidental to the biblical narrative as a whole. The implication seems to be this: Outside the promised land Jews in the biblical age are in danger if they tell the truth. They are at constant risk of being killed or, at best, enslaved.
Why? Because they are powerless in an age of power. They are a small family, at best a small nation, in an age of empires. They have to use their wits to survive. By and large they do not tell lies but they can create a false impression. This is not how things should be. But it is how they were before Jews had their own land, their one and only defensible space. It is how people in impossible situations are forced to be if they are to exist at all.
No one should be forced to live a lie. In Judaism, truth is the seal of God and the essential precondition of trust between human beings. But when your people is being enslaved, its male children murdered, you have to liberate them by whatever means are possible. Moshe, who had already seen that his first encounter with Paroh made things worse for his people – they still had to make the same quota of bricks but now also had to gather their own straw – did not want to risk making them worse still.
The Torah here is not justifying deceit. On the contrary, it is condemning a system in which telling the truth may put your life at risk, as it still does in many tyrannical or totalitarian societies today.
Judaism is a faith that values intellectual honesty and moral truthfulness above all things. But what the Torah is telling us in these narratives in Bereishit, and in Moshe’s communications with Paroh in Shemot, is the connection between freedom and truth. Where there is freedom there can be truth. Otherwise there cannot. A society where people are forced to be less than fully honest merely to survive and not provoke further oppression is not the kind of society God wants us to make.
Around the Shabbat Table
Questions to Ponder
On the Parsha
Written by Sara Lamm
Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Parsha in a Nutshell
God promises to free Bnai Yisrael from slavery in Egypt and bring them to the Promised Land, as He promised earlier in Bereishit to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Moshe and Aharon go to Paroh several times with God’s message, “Let My people go, so they can serve Me in the wilderness.” But Paroh refuses their requests, and so God sends the first seven plagues to Egypt.
The Nile turns to blood, frogs swarm the land, lice infest everyone, and wild animals invade. The livestock die, painful boils afflict the Egyptians, and a storm of hail mixed with fire devastates the land. Despite all this, Paroh hardens his heart and won’t let the
Israelites go free.
Philosophy of Rabbi Sacks
Delving Deeper
The values of truth and freedom are deeply connected, as Rabbi Sacks explains. Truth can only flourish in a society where people are free from oppression, otherwise they are sometimes forced to hide the truth for their own safety.
Throughout Bereishit and the beginning of Shemot, leaders like Moshe, Yaakov, and Avraham had to use partial truths and false impressions to navigate oppressive and dangerous environments. This of course, is not an endorsement of deceit but a condemnation of systems that make honesty impossible.
Rabbi Sacks also adds that every Amidah ends with the prayer, “My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from deceitful speech,” as further evidence that Judaism values truth as fundamental. But when survival is at stake, a white lie or two may be necessary. Creating a just society where truth can thrive is the ultimate way to reflect God’s vision for a world of freedom and moral integrity.
Parsha Activity
Safe Spaces
Split into three groups: Helpers, Seekers, and Guards. Helpers secretly choose three safe spaces or “homes” and then the game begins. Helpers must give indirect clues regarding the safe spaces. After each clue, Seekers can move over to where they think the safe spaces are, but then Guards can ask the Helpers one yes or no question to try to guess where the home is. Then Helpers give the next clue or statement to the Seekers.
Guards win by correctly identifying all three home spots before all the Seekers reach safety. Seekers win by reaching home before their safe spaces are identified by the guards. But Seekers only win if they all reach home safely, no-one left behind!
Reflect: Can you think of a time in your own life when you had to be careful with your words to protect someone else?
A Story for the Ages
The Great Escape
In 1991, thousands of Jewish families in Ethiopia needed to escape, and Israel offered them a newer, safer home. However, just as Moshe had to be careful with his words to Paroh, Israeli leaders knew they had to keep their rescue plan secret to protect everyone involved.
They called their mission “Operation Solomon”, and they laid their plans carefully. While the world thought they were just sending regular planes to Ethiopia for business, they were actually planning to rescue more than 14,000 Jews in 35 planes in 35 hours!
The rescue teams worked quickly and quietly. They removed seats from planes to fit more people; one plane even carried 1,088 passengers - a world record! Pilots, doctors, and helpers worked non-stop to bring families to safety. Many of these families had never even seen an aeroplane before.
One of the El Al planes carried at least 1,088 people, including two babies who were born on the flight, and holds the world record for the most passengers on an aircraft. Six other children were born during the airlift process, and everyone made it safely to Israel. Upon landing, the passengers cheered and rejoiced. Twenty-nine-year-old Mukat Abag said, “We didn’t bring any of our clothes, we didn’t bring any of our things, but we are very glad to be here.”
Only after the mission was safely accomplished did the government tell the world what had really happened. Today, the children and grandchildren of those rescued Ethiopian Jews live all over Israel as doctors, teachers, and leaders.Sometimes keeping a secret can help save lives, as we saw in Moshe’s mission so many centuries ago.
On the Haftara
Written by Rabbi Barry Kleinberg
Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
A summary
The Haftara in a Nutshell
Ezekiel 28:25-29:12 (Ashkenazi and Sephardi)
Ezekiel 28:24-29:21 (Yemenite)
In Ezekiel 28:25–29:12, the prophet delivers messages of restoration for Israel and judgment against Egypt. God promises to gather His scattered people from exile, establishing them securely in their land. This restoration will demonstrate His holiness and reaffirm His covenant with Israel.
In Ezekiel 29:1–12, Ezekiel prophesies against Egypt, comparing Pharaoh to a prideful crocodile in the Nile claiming ownership of the river. The land will be desolate for 40 years, its people scattered among the nations.
This serves as a warning against relying on Egypt for support, as Judah had done. Later in the chapter God rebukes Pharaoh’s arrogance and declares Egypt will fall to Babylon as a Divine judgment. Then all will recognise God’s sovereignty over nations and His ultimate power to redeem and judge.
Points to Ponder
Often the prophets speak about events in the distant future and the final redemption of the Jewish people (and the world).
Tanach Connections
Parsha and Haftara Links
The most obvious connection between the Parsha and Haftara this week is the downfall of Egypt, which will occur at different periods of history.
In the Parsha, Moshe brings the plagues against Egypt. In the Haftara, Egypt will be conquered by Babylonia. But if that is indeed the connection, why does the Haftara begin at Ezekiel 28:25-26? These verses do not relate to Egypt or indeed to the rest of the Haftara! The central part of the Haftara (Ezekiel 29:1-15) is the prophecy concerning Egypt, and the last part is a separate prophecy but also related to Egypt; its subject is the Babylonian King Nevuchadretzar in Tzror being repaid for his actions and being given Egypt. The selection of a prophecy dealing with Egypt and the plagues as the Haftara for Parshat Vaera is obvious, but we are left with the question of why the first two verses were also included, since they do not appear to be in any way connected with Egypt.
It seems that these opening two verses of the Haftara relate to the redemption of Israel and are included in order to draw our attention to the fact that Vaera is, first and foremost, a Parsha about redemption.
Putting the Prophets into Context
The Book of Ezekiel
Ezekiel (Yechezkel) is one of the major prophets of Tanach. He lived in the 6th century BCE during the Babylonian exile. He was likely born into a priestly family in Jerusalem and taken to Babylon in the first wave of exiles around 597 BCE, alongside King Jehoiachin. Ezekiel’s prophetic mission began around 593 BCE, marked by extraordinary visions of God’s glory which emphasised Divine sovereignty and holiness. He lived among the exiles by the Kebar River and addressed their spiritual despair, urging repentance and faithfulness to God. His prophecies initially warned of Jerusalem’s destruction due to idolatry and injustice. Following the city’s fall in 586 BCE, his focus shifted to messages of hope, including the promise of Israel’s restoration, spiritual renewal, and the establishment of a new covenant.
Known for his symbolic acts and vivid imagery, Ezekiel’s teachings underscore themes of Divine justice, accountability, and ultimate redemption. Rabbi Sacks notes that “the prophet Ezekiel was one of those who shaped a vision of return and restoration, and it is to him we owe the first oblique reference to a radically new institution that eventually became known as the Beit Knesset, the synagogue.”
Quote of the Week
“I believe that institutions like prophecy survive when they are translated from utopian ideals into practical policies. The greatness of the Sages, still not fully appreciated by the world, is that guided by the visions of the Prophets, they gave us the instructions for how to get from here to there.”
A Sage is Greater than a Prophet, Shoftim, Covenant & Conversation ‘I Believe’ series
Further Ponderings
Why do you think that navua (prophecy) came to an end and the role of leadership passed to the Sages?
Written as an accompaniment to Rabbi Sacks’ weekly Covenant & Conversation essay, the Family Edition is aimed at connecting teenagers with his ideas and thoughts on the parsha.
With thanks to the Schimmel Family for their generous sponsorship of Covenant & Conversation, dedicated in loving memory of Harry (Chaim) Schimmel.
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