There is a claim that Moses makes quite often as to why he is not the right person to lead the Jews out of Egypt. That claim, however, I think may be more of an excuse. “Ani aral siphatayim – I am a man of impeded speech” (Shemot 6:13 & 30). On the surface this is a very plausible negative trait in a leader. One must be able to effectively communicate and difficulty in this area is a severe disadvantage. But if we remember Moses’ history, it is not a valid excuse. Moses grew up as a prince in the house of Pharaoh. Clearly Pharaoh, a father-like figure to Moshe, would understand the slurred speech of Moses; the speech impediment would be expected and not be a barrier because of his familiarity with it. So why does Moses continually bring this up?
It is plausible that it is out of sheer fear – fear that God is speaking to him, fear that he won’t live up to God’s commands, fear of returning to Egypt and the house of his childhood, fear of reuniting with his real family. Moses has no real excuse so he resorts to whatever he can think of, which happens to be an invalid reason. We have all experienced our logic failing us and ridiculous things coming out of our mouths in unfamiliar situations. But it was not just once that Moses used his speech impediment as a reason to not be the God’s spokesperson to Pharaoh, but many times. Each time, God resolves the issue by appointing Moses’ brother, Aaron, as the spokesperson for Moses.
I think that we can understand this problem through a d’var Torah by Rabbi Ronnie Cohen (found here). In his short analysis of this week’s parsha he focuses on the importance of names: how they define us to ourselves and to others, how different names are used for different settings, etc. In this week’s parsha, God appears as we know Him today, as Hashem/YHWH, for the first time. It begins:
God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am YWWH. I appeared to Avraham, Yitchak, and Ya’akov as El Shaddei, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name. (Shemot 6:2-3)
Why does God reveal Himself to Moses in a different way than to our patriarchs? Rabbi Cohen speaks of the universal and individual God of Bereshit, as compared to the nationalistic God of Exodus that we first encounter here in God’s conversation with Moses. He summarizes it as follows:
And the parallelism is that just as we can understand God as having said to Abraham, “This is such a momentous change for you, that we must mark it by changing your name,” here we can understand God as saying to Moses, “This is such a momentous change for how I am perceived in the world that we must mark it by changing MY NAME. I will no longer be known as El Shaddai, as I was to the patriarchs, but I will now be known as YHWH.” And indeed, today, and for the last 2000 years at least, it is to Adonai, YHWH, that Jews the world over address their prayers.
Additionally, according to Rashi, this name of God that we use represents God’s attribute of faithfulness and keeping His promises (to the Jewish people).
God is, for the first time, relating to the people in a way that shows we must have faith in Him. (Certainly others had, historical, had faith; but it wasn't the primary way God related to the people, nor was this faith used as a comforting measure for previous generations.) And this was not what Moses was expecting, nor what he was used to. Moses was used to relating to God in a different way, not as leader of a nation. Our patriarchs followed the path that God led them on but were never called upon to lead a nation. Even Yosef, who was viceroy in Egypt, was not commanded to do so but did so because of circumstances that came about through events determined by the actions of man (although certainly God’s hand was hidden behind the scenes, it was not explicit like in the case of Moses). So here is Moses, someone that may be fully prepared to be a servant of a personal God and a God that is concerned with the wellbeing of His world and the creatures in it. He is completely stunned by the command to be a leader of a nation and to lead that nation out of slavery. God tempers this shock by relating to Moses (and, subsequently, all people including us) as YHWH, a faithful God that can be relied upon. A God that we can put our faith in and who has put His faith in the ability of man to choose the right path, to do the right thing, to learn from our mistakes and ultimately repair what was broken when Adam and Chava ate from the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
But Moses doesn’t completely relate to God in this way at this time. Later in his life he shows that he has developed the attribute of faith that is related through God’s new name. For now, he is hesitant. For this reason, God also provides Aaron as a spokesperson for Moses. Moses’ only excuse for not wanting to represent the people before Pharaoh was his speech impediment and God made this a non-issue.
And so begins our journey to relate to God, Adonai, YHWH, with faith. Faith that He exists and faith that He is involved in our lives. It is to this aspect of God that “Jews the world over address their prayers” – we pray to the God in whom we have faith, and we pray hoping that we can find faith in this God. God revealed himself in a way that Moses was not ready to relate to, the way the Kind David so beautifully attached himself to in psalms:
Adonai is the stronghold of my life, whom shall I fear? (27:2) Let the sea and all within it thunder, the world and its inhabitants; let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains sing with joy, at the presence of the Lord, for He is coming to rule the earth. (98:7-8)
Where not the Lord my help, I would soon dwell in silence. When I think my foot has given way, Your faithfulness, O Adonai, supports me. When I am filled with worries, Your assurance soothes my soul. (94:17-19).
This Shabbat, let us make a special effort to find our faith in the faithful God who revealed Himself to Moses and to Whom we, the Jewish people, have put our hope, trust, and faith in for countless generations. We, and the world, could certainly use a little more.
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