Rabbi's Message

Super Bowl 59 is THREE days away, and in case you are wondering…. THE EAGLES ARE PLAYING!  

Who is excited for Sunday? I certainly am!  As I mentioned in shul this past Shabbat since the Eagles won the NFC Championship game nearly two weeks ago, I have been looking for signs in the book of Exodus indicating that we should be confident that the Eagles will lift the Lombardi trophy on Sunday night.  While there is no mention of eagles in this week’s parashah, Beshalah, we will read the famous story of God parting the Red Sea. Could it be a precursor for the best offensive line in the league parting a sea of red Kansas City Chief defenders for some big Saquon Barkley runs on Sunday?!

And then, at Shabbat minha on Saturday afternoon, we will move to next week’s Torah portion, Yitro, where there is most certainly a mention of eagles.  Exodus 19:4 reads: “Thus shall you say to the house of Israel: you have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to Me,” (Exodus 19:4). What does this metaphor mean, especially considering the context of it coming just after the Exodus from Egypt? Perhaps the statement points to an important message about God’s loving protection.  To be carried on an eagle's wings indicates that God will care for and shield the Israelites as a parent cares for a child.  Even more, the Torah’s use of eagle's wings in this context indicates a remarkable, memorable, and special experience.  An experience in which God’s presence was felt, an experience in which human hearts and minds were uplifted, an experience that will never be forgotten.  

To be carried on eagle's wings, to soar higher and higher, seems to be a biblical indicator of a peak moment.  We all experience peak moments, times that bring us tremendous happiness, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment.  Sports are often a key source of peak moments, but our greatest conduit for peak moments is Judaism.  Through the mitzvot, observing Shabbat, giving tzedakah, and allowing Judaism to permeate our daily lives, we raise ourselves up and open ourselves up to the peak moments surrounding us.  

We hope to experience peak moments through our connection to God and also to one another.  This leads to one more interpretation of the verse. The text states: “v’esa etchem al kanfei nesharim - I lifted you up on eagles wings.”  Not on a single eagle but on eagles wings.  Yes, it seems that God is the eagle in this metaphor, but perhaps, considering that it is plural, it can be all of us as well.  We can help carry each other- our family, friends, and loved ones through life.  That is what God did for us as He carried our ancestors from the peak moment of the Exodus to the peak moment of Sinai.  So, too, it is what we hope God will do for us today.  But most of all, it is what we must do for each other.  Peak moments are what they are because of the people that form them - the people that surround us, that carry us, and we them.

I hope that we all experience a peak moment on Sunday evening when green confetti is showering down on the field, and the Eagles are crowned Super Bowl Champions. However, that is only a small piece of the peak moment. The peak moment will be the memories we carry with us from the big game, the hugs we share with our family and friends, the high fives, the embracing of our children and grandchildren, the believing, the being together.  Win or lose, it is those moments and those memories that we will, and that we must, carry with us. 

FLY EAGLES FLY 

Shabbat Shalom.