Shemot - January 5, 2013

This past Shabbat we explored the first portion of the book of Exodus – Shemot.  Shemot is both the name of the Torah portion and the entire book, in Hebrew.  Shemot means “names”. 

During our exploration of the portion, we discussed the events surrounding the crowning of the new king, the decree to the midwives, and Moses’ birth and deposit in the river.  We discussed Moses’ life growing up as a Hebrew in the Pharoah’s palace, as Pharoah’s daughter’s son.  We read of the murder of the Egyptian at Moses’ hands, and the discovery that others knew about this crime.  Moses was a stranger in both lands – Egyptian and Hebrew, so he ran off to Midian.  There he found a home and a wife, until God heard the crying of the Children of Israel (literally, the descendants of Jacob/Israel) and requested of Moses that he be the one to lead the people out of Egypt.  Of course, God spoke to Moses out of a Burning Bush.

Our time was complete before we finished the portion, but there was still much to discuss.

A question that arose was:

In verse 1:22, could the “his” refer to God, as in “God’s people”.  I have not found any other references in this way to that, but if the Jewish tradition had that interpretation, they would have capitalized “his” in the English translation to refer to God. 

However, Rabbi Jose ben R. Hanina did comment that this “casting of the sons into the river” applied to all male children, Israelite and Egyptian, because Pharaoh was so concerned that his astrologers had predicted that “Israel’s savior” would be born, that he wanted to make sure that the prediction could not come true if all chances of a male child living were destroyed.  So the

There was also a question concerning a linkage to the experience of slavery with the sacrifice that was later required as a part of “worship” of God.  I am not finding any links in the commentaries I have explored, but will continue to look.  I welcome any of your own thoughts on this.

Enjoy your reading of Va-eira.  I hope it “appears” to be very interesting to you!

  

Rabbi Roxanne J.S. Shapiro, RJE