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’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.
