My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) - Sh'mot
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on December 27, 2007 | Tags: Shmot
We begin the book of Exodus with Parshah Sh’mot. It takes us from Joseph’s death to the start of the showdown with the new Pharaoh in quick, terse passages. Look, for example, at chapter 2, where in verse 10 Pharaoh’s daughter is rescuing the baby from the Nile and naming him Moses, and verse 11 which begins, “Some time after that, when Moses had grown up…” and immediately takes into the incident where Moses kills the cruel Egyptian taskmaster and subsequently flees. Sixteen verses later (Exo. 3:2) he’s confronting the burning bush. Even Hemingway didn’t write this starkly. The Torah gives us Moses’ life only insofar as it has to do with God’s plans for the Israelites. In an era where everyone from politicians to movie stars to athletes reveals much of their privates lives, you may want to know about the parts the Torah jumps over. The Midrashim about Moses fill in the gaps, such as the legend that Pharoah offered the child a choice between a jewel and a hot coal, to see if the child was smart enough to know the difference and thus posed a danger. Through divine intervention, the child touched the coal to his lips, which supposedly explains why later Moses says he's unable to speak well. As you read the text you may be surprised by what’s there – and what isn’t.
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
