Shemot
Ex. 1:1 - 6:1
PrĂ©cis: 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 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. Moses is saved by Pharaoh’s daughter. As an adult, Moses witnesses a taskmaster beating a Hebrew and slays the taskmaster, and flees to the desert.
There, Moses becomes a shepherd in the camp of Jethro, a Midianite “priest” and marries his daughter, Zipporah. He encounters the burning bush and is charged to lead the Israelites to freedom. Moses and his brother Aaron go before Pharaoh and ask that the people be freed to worship God and are refused. The parasha ends with God telling Moses, “You now will see what I will do to Pharaoh.”
Ex. 3:15-22, 4:1, 4:10 “And God said further to Moses, ‘Thus you shall speak to the Israelites The Lord, the God of your fathers…has sent me to you…But Moses spoke up and said, ‘What if they don’t believe me ad do not listen to me?’…. But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Please, O Lord, I have never been a man of words…. I am slow of speech…’”
Yesterday's attempted coup and invasion of the Capitol by a mob, many carrying Trump banners, others American flags, and others toting the Confederate Battle flag of traitors reminded me that our Jewish tradition can be a source for solace at this awful time.
Michelle Missagieh, writing in MyJewishLearning.com (1/17/17) talks about the excuses Moses makes in attempting to reject his responsibilities of leadership. She cites three instances. First, Moses is instructed to gather the Israelite leaders, and when he demurs, God promises to smite the Egyptians (presumably with plagues) in Exodus 3:15-22. Moses says he will lack proof, but God tells Moses how to turn a rod into a snake as evidence of his competence (Ex. 4:1). Moses again offers an excuse: he is “slow of speech.” God reassures him once again. God pushes Moses, Moses pushes back. Moses is the opposite of our current President: he rejects his right to leadership. Missaghieh suggests that Moses’ hesitation comes from the common human fear of failure. She cites Buber’s account of the Hassidic Rabbi Zusya, of the late 1700’s, who before his death said, “In the coming world, they will not ask me: ‘Why were you not Moses?’ They will ask me: ‘Why were you not Zusya?’”
All Moses needed to do was to be himself. What is important is not overestimating oneself with the sin of narcissism, and what is equally important is not unduly humbling oneself. What is important and necessary is knowing one’s place in the world, and understanding one’s obligations. We are not challenged to do more than we are capable or permitted to do, but neither are we free to do less that we are able to accomplish.
This week, I offer a challenge to Americans of good faith everywhere, and to President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Harris in particular: do not do more than you are legally capable of, but do no less. Know your place under our constitutional government, and respond to the needs of all of the American People, with the kind of leadership which Moses exhibited.
Remember, the story of the Exodus was not over in a single day; in fact, it was a more than 40-year struggle. But that struggle ended with the realization of great hope: the attainment of the land. May our own goals for a reunion of the American polity and a rededication to our constitutional processes come soon and in our day. Ken yehi ratzon.
