Random Notes on the Parashat Hashavua, Shemot

Here are some of the things I noticed while studying the first third of Shemot, this week's Torah portion in Temple Emunah's triennial cycle. in addition to the text and dictionary on Sefaria,com, I read some of Avivah Zornberg's The Particulars of Rapture : Reflections on Exodus, The Five Books of Miriam, and the Soncino Chumash, with its notes by traditional commentators.

What is Pharaoh's problem? Fear of the other. To him, being different means no loyalty to native people.

I read somewhere that just as Sarah afflicted Hagar, an Egyptian, so---middah kenegged middah (measure for measure)---the Egyptians afflict Sarah's descendants.

The root word for afflict is עָנָה. Below are a verse in this parsha, the related verses in Genesis about Sarai and Hagar and about the prophecy that Abram receives about being oppressed (afflicted, I think) for 400 years. BTW, Moses' son, Gershom, reflects another part of this prophecy: "your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs."

And, alas, because Sefaria makes this relatively easy, a couple of more verses from later in Exodus about how we should not afflict widows and orphans; they are also of interest because verse 22:22 uses the word for cry out that appears in verse 2:23 of this week's Torah portion.

Avivah Zornberg notes that Pharaoh sees differences---sons vs. daughters, Hebrews vs. Egyptians---while the midwives see similarities---we are all human, both/all genders deserve to be born.

Pharaoh sees the world in terms of death: the Hebrews might kill him so he must kill their babies. In fact, the first action of Moses as a grownup is to kill an Egyptian.

The midwives and other women in the story see the world in terms of birth and life: Hebrew women are "lively," so all babies survive their birth. Miriam, Yocheved and Batya (Pharaoh's daughter) work hard to make sure Moses lives.

Sforno notes that as the Pharoah wanted Hebrew babies killed by drowning, so the Egyptian army is drowned in the Sea of Reeds. (Another case of middah kenegged middah.)

Some notes on names and the lack thereof:

The first people introduced in Shemot who are named are Shiphrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives. They are the first to show courage and kindness. Avivah Zornberg notes that the midwives are also the first to "fear God;" Abraham is a God-fearing man, but they rate a verb, not just an adjective.It is unclear whether they are Egyptian or Hebrew: Are they midwives for Hebrew women or are they Hebrew women themselves? The words are ambiguous. As The Five Books of Miriam points out, if they are Egyptian, then their willingness to help the stranger is even more commendable. [p.92]

Sforno suggests that the generations after Jacob are unnamed because they are not worthy of being named. Avivah Zornberg discusses this in her book, The Particulars of Rapture : Reflections on Exodus.

Ibn Ezra, commenting on Ex 1:22, says that Pharaoh is a title, not a name.

Ex 2:1-9---the marriage of Moses' parents until the time when Moses is old enough to become the son of Pharaoh's daughter---contain no names. Only in verse 10 is Moses named, by his adoptive mother, with an explanation. And then we go back to no names until verse 18, after Moses has fled Egypt and helped Reuel's daughters at the well. Zipporah is named as is their son, Gershom, with an explanation.

Finally, at the end of the chapter, God remembers, by name, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and sees the children of Israel.

Moses is placed in an ark; the same word is used for Noah's vessel.

Why is Moses raised in the Egyptian court? The commentator in the Soncino Chumash suggests that he is thus able to learn leadership skills that he wouldn't learn as a slave and that the Hebrew slaves are more likely to respect him because he isn't one of them. So Moses being able to show that he is one of them by identifying the Hebrew God correctly is important.

Moses is not the only outsider leader in history and stories.

As The Five Books of Miriam notes, Moses' story is the reverse of many tales in which a prince is taken from his royal home by a villain and must overcome trials to regain his rightful place. Here, Moses is taken into a royal home by a heroine and returns to his humble beginnings. [p. 97]

Moses' first adult encounter with the Hebrew slaves doesn't go well. Even though he has saved a man's life by killing another, the slave must have told others what had happened. And when Moses tries to stop a fight between two slaves, the aggressor's reaction is snarky, the first in a long line of snarky responses to Moses and God. Rashi says the two slaves are Dathan and Abiram and that they informed Pharaoh of Moses' deadly attack.

Avivah Zornberg, quoting Rashi (and others?), explains that when Moses said, "the matter is known," his thought is that, indeed, the Hebrews have not shown themselves worthy of being redeemed, but that nonetheless....

Once again a marriage begins at a well: Jacob meeting Rachel. And Eliezer bringing Rebecca back to Isaac.

Rashi suggests that the "bread" Reuel offers is marriage to one of his daughters. Similarly, says Rashi, Potiphar puts Joseph in charge of everything except Potiphar's bread.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein is about an outsider, raised on Mars, who is something like Moses.

Moses' son has the honor of being named, but we learn very little about him and he does not follow in his father's footsteps.

The second chapter ends with God finally paying attention to the plight of the Hebrews. Moses' life, from birth to the burning bush is only one chapter.