This week we begin the second of the 5 books Moshe (Moses) transcribed from haShem (god). The book is called Shmot (Exodus), which is also the name of this week’s parsha. It begins with a very quick history of how the family of Yisrael came to be in Egypt and how they came to be enslaved. It then tells us of Moshe’s birth and how he came to flee Egypt and meet god in a burning bush. HaShem tells Moshe that his task is to lead the family of Yisrael out of Egypt and tells him to go back and talk to the elders of the family, and to Pharaoh. The results of these things is that Pharaoh makes life more difficult for the children of Yisrael, and a distraught Moshe.
While a lot of things grabbed my attention as I read the parsha this year, two things really stood out. The first came out of R. Boris’s weekly Torah discussion group.
R. Boris pointed out that the Torah tells us nothing about Moshe’s childhood. In Shmot 2:9-10 we learn that after Pharaoh’s daughter pulled the baby out of the river, she gave him (unknowingly) to his mother to be nursed and when he was weaned, she returned him to Pharaoh’s daughter who named him Moshe. Verses 2:11-12 then begins by telling us that Moshe had grown and went out to his brothers, saw an Egyptian strike a Hebrew, and Moshe killed the Egyptian. The rest of the book of Shmot, and the rest of the Torah (3 more books) is about the rest of Moshe’s life.
Why the gap in Moshe’s life?
The answer that came out of the discussion was that haShem must not have felt Moshe’s childhood was important. What was important is that he was born, and what he did as an adult.
We didn’t stop there. We delved into the question of why is his childhood not important. After all, in today’s world it seems to be a given that all our problems as adults stems from what happened to us as children.
The only thing we could conclude is that the modern way of thinking is wrong. Yes, we all have our issues that stem from our childhood. But they are not important. What is important is who I am, what I do as an adult. As an adult, I can shape my beliefs. I can decide how I wish to interpret the events of my childhood. And I will do so in accordance to what kind of adult I wish to be; what kind of life I wish to have. This is the Torah’s lesson for us here.
I now want to jump to the end of the parsha and the second thing that stood out for me. We read of Moshe’s return to Egypt and his telling Pharaoh to let the people go so they can serve haShem. Pharaoh refuses, and instead, makes their work more difficult. The people are understandably upset and ready to kill Moshe. Even Moshe is distraught enough about this to ask haShem why he sent Moshe to make life worse for them (Shmot 4:29-5:22).
Is it not understandable why the people want to kill Moshe? It certainly makes sense to Moshe. God’s reply starts with chapter 6 in Shmot, and continues until this day. The answer is: Relax, it is all part of the plan, you just don’t see it yet. Things are about to get better.
In other words, what the Torah wants us to learn is patience and trust. Sometimes it takes a little time for the good we are trying to create to manifest. The problem here is that we are often too involved in the minutiae to see the big picture. If we knew the big picture, then we would know that things are moving in the right direction.
This is what the people did not get when they were ready to kill Moshe. And it makes sense.
Often the weekly parsha plays out in our lives. This week, I was hoping to start a new workshop. I was full of hope that I would be successful as I have been studying how to be a conscious marketer for change and had spent the last month working very hard and putting in a lot of time to get the word out and get people excited about the workshop. I even planned to do a free introductory evening at a local cafe, something that helped me fill an earlier class.
Well, this time, the cafe put me in a loud corner. Few people came. Nobody signed up for the workshop. My hopes were dashed and I was left wondering if I was trying to do the impossible.
The next day, I read the end of the parsha and saw this teaching and realized it was a lesson for me!
The truth is since I will not be doing the 3 month workshop, I can use that time to really sit down and understand what people want, and how best to provide it. I can do this without rushing. I can really plan things out so they are done well. With this new understanding, I feel a little like how I imagine Moshe must have felt when god answered him and told him not to worry, redemption was on its way.
Before I end this, I do want to ask you to do me a favor: could you please answer the following two questions (as a comment on my blog):
What thing or things do you wish to know about Judaism? What do you feel is missing in your Judaism?
If you want to read what I wrote about this parsha last year, click here.
About the Author
Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.