Shemot
Ex. 1:1 - 6:1
Précis: With this parasha, we begin the second book of the Bible,
Exodus. In Hebrew, the title for this book is “Shemot” (names) because the first verses begin with a listing of
“names” of the Israelites who came down to Egypt with Jacob, to dwell in Goshen
in response to Joseph’s and Pharaoh’s offer.
A
new Pharaoh has arisen who “does not remember Joseph.” He enslaves the
Israelites and orders the killing of all male children. A Levite male child is
born, is hidden by his parents, and is sent down the river in a reed basket
where he is saved by Pharaoh’s daughter. He is subsequently identified as
Moses.
Nothing
appears in the text about Moses’ childhood, other than that he is raised in the
house of Pharaoh. As an adult, Moses witnesses a taskmaster beating a Hebrew
and slays the taskmaster. Next, he witnesses a fight between two Hebrews. When
he attempts to intervene, one Hebrew mentions Moses’ killing of the Egyptian.
Fearing disclosure, Moses flees to the desert.
There,
Moses becomes a shepherd in the camp of Jethro, a Midianite “priest.” He
encounters the burning bush and learns God’s “name.” Moses receives his charge
to free the Israelites and is provided with signs to authenticate his mission.
Before leaving Jethro, Moses marries Zipporah and they have a child. Moses and
his brother Aaron go before Pharaoh and ask that the people be freed to worship
God in the desert. They are refused, and the burdens are increased on the
slaves, who become angry with Moses for his interference. The parasha ends with
God telling Moses, “You now will see what I will do to Pharaoh.”
I
begin this week’s d’var with a question raised by Rabbi Carole Balin (The
Torah: A Women's Commentary): why is this most unbelievable story of the
Exodus the one tale in the Torah in which so many Jews actually believe?
She notes that this belief flies in the faces
of external evidence. The date of the Exodus is disputed. Traditional
commentators point to 1446 BCE (based on a statement in I Kings 6:1 that the
Temple was erected by Solomon 480 years after the Exodus). But this date does
note square with the archaeological record (which seems to place the Exodus
some 2 centuries later). Further, the
record is clear that Canaan was under the control of Egypt in 1446 BCE.
The second problem with the story is the
statement in Ex. 12:37 that 600,000 men participated in the Exodus, which would
equate to something like 2 million people. How could the wilderness support
such numbers?
We next add on the miracles described in the
Book: the plagues, splitting of the Sea, feeding the People by manna. This
seems hard to reckon with, even if “scientific” explanations for each
event have been offered.
Rabbi Balin suggests that dismissing the story
because it conflicts with historical data misses the point. The Torah is not a
history book; it is a text meant to convey moral messages. One who believes
that every word of Torah is the literal truth misses the forest for the trees.
The Torah teaches us in this Book that there is a God, that God can intervene
in history, that there is a special relationship between God and the Jewish
People, and that we are ordered to live lives which are holy. That is the
meaning of Shemot.
