Shemot: Moshe is the people of Israel, and the people of Israel is Moshe

Rav Johnny's original thoughts on the weekly parsha

If I were to list my Top Ten most inspiring Torah Interpretations, at least two of them would be interpretations of a verse in Parshat Shemot, and specifically, of Shemot 2:11. In this Dvar Torah I would like to share both these insights and then explain how each have been brought to life over the past 90 very challenging days.

Shemot 2:11 gives us the first snapshot of Moshe as a young adult, stating: ‘And it was in those days when Moshe had grown up that he went out to his brothers (echav); and he saw their hard labour (vaya’ar b’sivlotam), and he saw an Egyptian man hitting an Israelite man from his brothers (me’echav)’.

As should be clear, the expression ‘brother’ appears twice in this verse, and most commentaries assume that both expressions refer to Moshe’s relationship with the Israelites. However, according to the Ibn Ezra, the first occasion that this word is used (i.e. ‘he went out to his brothers’) actually refers to the brotherhood which Moshe felt towards the Egyptians. This is because Moshe was raised in the royal palace, and he was immersed in Egyptian culture. So, when Moshe grew up and went out to his ‘brothers’, it means that he went out to the Egyptians whom he initially considered to be his ‘tribe’.

But then Moshe saw something that rocked his world. He saw how the Egyptians were treating the Israelites, and specifically, he saw an Egyptian man hitting an Israelite. In that moment something so deep and so powerful happened, and the biological and spiritual bond between Moshe and his real ‘tribe’ was awakened from its slumber. And in that moment, Moshe realized that he was not a brother of the Egyptian hitting the Israelite. Instead, the Israelite man being hit was one of his brothers (me’echav).

Over the past 90 days there have been Jews who until this point have been closet Jews, hidden Jews, silent Jews, or unidentifying Jews. Some may have known that were Jewish, while some may not have known. Still, prior to Simchat Torah, they didn’t consider Jews in general, and specifically Jews living in Israel, as their fully fledged brothers or sisters.

But then they saw something – namely they saw their brothers and sisters being hurt, harmed, murdered, massacred and taken hostage. And in that horrific moment something rocked their world because they realized that they were not brothers or sisters of the nations or societies either persecuting Jews, promoting Jew hatred, or tolerating Jew hatred. Instead, they came to the sudden realization that those being hurt, harmed, murdered, massacred and taken hostage were – in fact – their brothers and sisters.

I’d now like to share a further interpretation from Rashi (quoting the Midrash) who seeks to explain the meaning of the phrase, ‘he saw their hard labour (vaya’ar b’sivlotam)’. The question is what does it mean to see another’s labour and anguish? Rashi answers by explaining that Moshe, ‘focused his eyes and his heart to be distressed about their [anguish]’. What this means is that Moshe intentionally directed his eyes and his heart to feel the pain of his brothers and sisters during their time of anguish.

Here too, over the past 90 days, Jews have felt the anguish of those whose relatives were murdered, raped and taken hostage on Simchat Torah, as well as those who have died while fighting this war against evil.

Our Sages teach us that the actions of our biblical ancestors serve as a sign for us - their descendants (Ma’aseh Avot Siman L’Banim). Sometimes this fact is more evident, and sometimes less so. But what I can say is that over the past 90 very challenging days, the feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood amongst the Jewish people has reached greater heights than during any other moment in my lifetime, and the feelings of love, concern and empathy towards the Jewish people in general, and especially towards those living in Israel, has been remarkable.

But there is one further point to make which is, in fact, the primary point of almost every single verse which follows Shemot 2:11 up until the end of the Torah. Moshe did not merely empathize with the Israelites. He didn’t just see and feel their pain. And he didn’t stand by the sidelines in silence. Instead, Moshe got involved. He protested. He stood up for justice. And when tasked by God to be a leader of the Jewish people, he (eventually) accepted this role. And just as he did, so must we.

The Rabbis of the Midrash (Bemidbar Rabbah 19:28) teach us that ‘Moshe is [the people of] Israel, and [the people of] Israel is Moshe’ which I understand to mean that Moshe represents what each of us should represent: a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood towards the rest of the Jewish people; an intolerance of injustice, and a profound sense of empathy for the anguish of the Jewish people.

May we continue to follow in the ways of our great ancestors, and just as we’ve joined together in pain, so too, may we have many opportunities to join together in celebration.

Shabbat Shalom!

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