Vignette 1
Some time after that, when Moses had grown up, he went to his kinsfolk and witnessed their labors. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen. He turned this way and that and, seeing no one about, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Vignette 2
When he went out the next day, he found two Hebrews fighting; so he said to the offender, "Why do you strike your fellow?" He retorted, "Who made you chief and ruler over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was frightened, and thought: Then the matter is known! When Pharoah learned of the matter, he sought to kill Moses; but Moses fled from Pharoah. He arrived in the land of Midian, and sat down beside a well.
Vignette 3
And the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. [JPS]
Translation | Original |
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12. And Moses said to the Lord, See, you say to me, Bring up this people; and you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and I have also found grace in your sight. 13. Now therefore, I beg you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight; and consider that this nation is your people. 14. And he said, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. |
יב וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל יְקֹוָק רְאֵה אַתָּה אֹמֵר אֵלַי הַעַל אֶת הָעָם הַזֶּה וְאַתָּה לֹא הוֹדַעְתַּנִי אֵת אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁלַח עִמִּי וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ יְדַעְתִּיךָ בְשֵׁם וְגַם מָצָאתָ חֵן בְּעֵינָי:יג וְעַתָּה אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ הוֹדִעֵנִי נָא אֶת דְּרָכֶךָ וְאֵדָעֲךָ לְמַעַן אֶמְצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה כִּי עַמְּךָ הַגּוֹי הַזֶּה:יד וַיֹּאמַר פָּנַי יֵלֵכוּ וַהֲנִחֹתִי לָךְ:
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1. After years of being in relationship with God, how does Moses attempt to know God more deeply?
2. In what ways does God comply with Moses’s request, and in what ways does God hold back?
3. As a leader working for social change, what pieces of the full picture can you see? What part can’t you see, and why?
4. How can your community acquire more context and information about social justice issues for their workd as activists?
Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek, Dvar Torah on Parshat Vaera, American Jewish World Service, 2006
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God didn’t harden Pharaoh’s heart ten times in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt; God hardened Pharaoh’s heart again and again so that Moses, and everyone who learned from his life, would know that working to change the world can be frustrating and demands awesome persistence and discipline.
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