Divrei Torah for Sefer Shmot

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Parshat Shmot-The Making of a King from Hemdat Yamim

Moshe Rabbeinu certainly had an unusual path to the leadership of the Jewish people. He started out as an Egyptian prince, fled Egypt and continued his life with the Midianites, and only later was sent by Hashem as a messenger of salvation who suddenly arrived on the Israelite scene. What was the significance of Moshe's specific and unusual upbringing?

Ibn Ezra (Shemot 2:3) brings two insights into the advantageous elements of Moshe's situation. Firstly, he learned the ways of leadership and self-confidence as a prince in the greatest power of his time and was spared having a spirit broken by the harsh realities of slavery. We see the bravery and self-confidence manifested in the saving of the Jew being beaten by an Egyptian and of the daughters of Yitro at the well. Another advantage was that, having grown up separate from his brothers, he was able to maintain a level of authority over the nation which over-familiarity would have made difficult.

One can add that exposure to Bat Paroh and Yitro taught Moshe about the psychological recipe to making great spiritual changes in a short amount of time. As time went on, Moshe would need to educate Bnei Yisrael and facilitate their meteoric rise from a band of slaves to a "kingdom of priests" prepared to receive the Torah.

Despite the advantage of Moshe's growing up in non-Jewish surroundings, one Jewish experience which Hashem knew he could not do without was the preliminary development in the embrace of his saintly mother, Yocheved. She provided him not merely with milk. The spiritual basis for all future undertakings was provided by the purity of his mother. Certainly, the prodigious, young Moshe absorbed many spoken and unspoken lessons from this period.

Our ability to succeed at certain life challenges and tasks may benefit from our exposure to a variety of outside influences. However, the basic building blocks of our personality must be formed in purity.

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             Parshat Beshalach by Shlomo Ressler

After the Jews made it across the sea, this week's Parsha introduces the first and only time in the Torah that anyone sings, and it happens twice. Moshe sang with the men (15:1), and then Miriam sang with the women (15:21). Both of them sang, while the people responded.  However, when Miriam sang, the Passuk (verse) says that she responded to "them" in masculine form. If she sang with the women, why is the word in masculine form? Also, of all the verses that Miriam chose to repeat of Moshe's song, she chose this: "sing to G-d because He's great; horse and wagon drowned in the sea". Why did she choose this seemingly random verse?

To understand this, we must ask ourselves why the horses drowned, if only their riders had sinned? Rav Chashin tells of a much deeper exchange between Moshe and Miriam: After Moshe sang with the men, Miriam responded to MOSHE by telling him that the horses were punished just like the soldiers on the backs because they facilitated those soldiers. By the same token, Miriam is telling Moshe that the women deserve just as much credit as the men, regardless of their difference in roles. Miriam's message couldn't be more true today: Helping someone follow the Torah's laws is as important as following the Torah's laws! If we all try our best to follow the Torah's laws, and help others do the same, we'll all sing together, in harmony.

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Parshat Yisro by Shlomo Ressler

Parshat Yitro describes Yitro hearing of the travels and trials of the Jews, being moved to convert, coming to Moshe for the conversion, and then leaving. If Yitro was so moved, why would he ever leave a situation where he’s surrounded by G-d, clouds, heavenly food, and Moshe as a teacher? And how could Moshe, as a leader, allow Yitro to just leave the camp? After all, he was the only Jew NOT to have witnessed the giving of the Torah!

Rabbi Leibowitz asked this question in Majesty of Man, and luckily he answers by explaining that Yitro was SO moved by G-d, the Torah and the Jews that he felt that he had to go back to his home to try to convert his family and friends. Yitro was willing to give up being surrounded by what he obviously believed in and WANTED to be around, just for the sake of others! If this was the determination of someone that had no responsibilities toward the people he was trying to help, how much more determination should we demonstrate when we actually HAVE a responsibility to help one another!? The Parsha is named after Yitro because he was willing to change his life for Judaism. He was so proud of it that he didn’t hide his Judaism, but went out and told others how beautiful it was. If only we expressed the Yitro that we undoubtedly have within us…

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                    Parshas Ki Sisa by Jay Spero

In this week’s portion the Jewish people commit the grievous sin of worshipping the golden calf. After the sin is committed there is a feeling of despair. After such betrayal of G-d how would it even be conceivable for them to seek G-d’s forgiveness? After the sin, Moshe spent an additional forty days on the mountain beseeching G-d to forgive the Jewish people.

After G-d granted forgiveness to the Jewish people, Moshe was to come down a second time for Mount Sinai with the tablets in his hands. After Moshe had carved out the second tablets (unlike the first tablets, which were made directly by G-d), G-d told Moshe that whenever the Children of Israel sin they should perform thirteen attributes of mercy before G-d and He will forgive them (Rosh Hashanah 17b).

The thirteen attributes are listed in this week’s portion (Exodus 34:6-7). Let us focus on the first two, which are G-d, G-d. Why is G-d’s name mentioned twice, and furthermore, what does it mean when G-d told Moshe to "perform" these attributes?

The Talmud states (ibid.) that the repetition of G-d’s name is teaching us that just as G-d is merciful before one sins (the first mention of G-d’s name), so too He is merciful after we have sinned (the second mention of His name).

This gives us a unique perspective on our relationship with G-d. In reality true understanding of G-d defies human ability. G-d is perfect. Thus by definition He is unchanging.

Many times in Jewish writings human expressions are attributed to G-d. R’Yoseph Albo writes in his Book of Principles (Sefer Haikrim) that human characteristics are attributed to G-d in order to help us understand Him.

G-d is constant. It is we, who are changing. We either move closer, or G-d forbid, farther away from Him.