The Power of Identity: From Pharaoh’s Hatred to Moses’ Blessings
A Late-1960S Psychedelic Rock Studio Recording, Fast-Paced And Driving At The Same Tempo As Classic Underground Rock Tracks (~180 Bpm). Sharp, Staccato Electric Guitar Rhythm Riff With Light Reverb. A Deep, Steady Bassline Drives The Song Alongside Tight, Crisp Drumming With An Urgent Snare And Steady Hi-Hat. A Warm, Swirling Electric Organ Adds Sustained Chords And Fills, Creating A Hypnotic Texture. Gritty, Urgent Lead Vocals Are Up-Front In The Mix, Slightly Compressed, With A Raw But Clean Tone. The Overall Sound Should Be Punchy, Hypnotic, And Rhythm-Driven, With A Slightly Overdriven Edge But Tighter And More Polished Than A Live Show—Capturing The Same Energy And Pacing As Late-60S Studio Psychedelic Rock Recordings. , powerful, country, swing, indie, phonk, bounce drop, disco, aggressive, spatial
The Power of Identity: From Pharaoh’s Hatred to Moses’ Blessings
A Late-1960S Psychedelic Rock Studio Recording, Fast-Paced And Driving At The Same Tempo As Classic Underground Rock Tracks (~180 Bpm). Sharp, Staccato Electric Guitar Rhythm Riff With Light Reverb. A Deep, Steady Bassline Drives The Song Alongside Tight, Crisp Drumming With An Urgent Snare And Steady Hi-Hat. A Warm, Swirling Electric Organ Adds Sustained Chords And Fills, Creating A Hypnotic Texture. Gritty, Urgent Lead Vocals Are Up-Front In The Mix, Slightly Compressed, With A Raw But Clean Tone. The Overall Sound Should Be Punchy, Hypnotic, And Rhythm-Driven, With A Slightly Overdriven Edge But Tighter And More Polished Than A Live Show—Capturing The Same Energy And Pacing As Late-60S Studio Psychedelic Rock Recordings. , powerful, country, swing, indie, phonk, bounce drop, disco, aggressive, spatial
Lyrics
A couple was in the middle of a terrible fight when a gunman broke into their home. He pointed a rifle at the wife and asked her name.
“Elizabeth,” she whispered.
“This is your lucky night,” he said. “My mother’s name was Elizabeth. I can’t kill you.”
Then he turned to the husband. “What’s your name?”
Shaking, he replied: “Harry… but they call me Elizabeth.”
It is a funny story, but it points to something very deep. Sometimes our very identity is the difference between life and death.
Moses’s Strange Declaration
In this week’s parsha, Ki Tavo, after forty years in the desert, Moses says: “Pay attention, Israel. Today, you have become a people to the Lord your God.”
But how can that be? Hadn’t we already been a people for generations? Pharaoh himself, back in Egypt, was the first to call us a nation. He saw us as a threat and turned us into a people defined by fear, persecution, and antisemitism. So why does Moses say only now — “today you have become a nation”?
Pharaoh’s Definition vs. Moses’ Definition
Pharaoh defined us by hate. We were a people because he despised us, because he wanted to destroy us, because in his eyes our blood was cheap.
Moses gives us a new definition: “You are a people because you entered a covenant with God. You are bound not by hate but by Torah, not by enemies but by destiny.” Rabbi Saadya Gaon said it best: “Our nation is not a nation except through its Torah.”
Pharaoh’s Voice Still Echoes
Too often in history, Jews have clung to Pharaoh’s definition:
• In the Holocaust, Nazis did not care if you were religious or secular, Zionist or anti-Zionist. You were Jewish, so you were hated.
• On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists butchered Jews in their homes, at a music festival, on kibbutzim — not because of what they did, but because of who they were.
This is Pharaoh’s definition: “You are a people because you are hated.”
Moses’ Answer
But Moses cries out: “Hayom hazeh nihyeta la’am!” Today you become a people — not because Pharaoh hates you, but because God loves you. Not because you are united in fear, but because you are united in faith.
The Klausenberger Rebbe, who lost his wife and eleven children in the Holocaust, once interrupted the Torah reading when the curses were read in a whisper. He banged on the lectern and cried: “Louder! We have already lived through the curses. Let God hear that it is time for the blessings!”
And then he built a hospital, a city, and a community in Israel — not on curses, but on blessings.
The Choice Today
Pharaoh’s voice still tries to define us: “You are Jews because you are hated.” Moses’ voice challenges us: “You are Jews because you are chosen to bring love, light, justice, and holiness into the world.”
Our children cannot remain Jewish if their only definition is Pharaoh’s. We must give them Moses — a Judaism of joy, meaning, and mission.
Yes, we remember the curses. But we live by the blessings.
Shabbat Shalom, and Shana Tovah