Shemot

Last year's post on this parasha is really filled with ideas and suggestions for analyzing this week's reading. Since the calendar is different this year, most of us are reading Shemot before the December vacation (if we have one) so the narrative that ended the book of Breisheet should be fresh in the minds of our students.  With that noted, please re-read that post and pick out some of the issues you didn't have time for last year.

When I re-read the parasha just now a couple of questions jumped out at me.  Interestingly, some were the same ones that troubled me last year, and some were a little different.

1. In chapter 1 verses 15 - 21 the text tells the story of the midwives, Shifra and Puah.  Here's what popped out for me in this reading - Why didn't Par'o punish them for disobeying his orders?  Also, when so many women who played roles in the story of the Jewish people remain nameless in the text, why are these two named?
2. Why did Par'o allow his daughter to keep the baby, who was obviously one of the Hebrews?
3. Chapter 2:25 - why do the Israelites cry out to God only after the Par'o who had enslaved them died?
4. Chapter 6:1 - isn't it strange that Par'o is described as having a "yad hazakah", a "strong hand", a term that I've always associated with God!?

Regarding the story of the midwives, and what they did to save a people in danger, an additional resource I would like to suggest is Facing History and Ourselves, which is a wonderful site about making moral choices in life.  It has excellent teaching ideas that help sensitize students to the importance of being "upstanders" in the face of evil.

Shemot

New year, new book of the Torah, new ideas (I hope)!

Beginning with the first verses of the parasha, we have a review of the names of those who came into Egypt.  As teachers we know that before we can go forward we have to be sure our learners remember what came before (although I sincerely doubt that in the early days of Torah study this parasha came after the December vacation.  Of course, it doesn't always fall out that way now either!)
We also learn from the text that the descendants of Yaakov have become quite numerous - so numerous that they are viewed as a threat by the Egyptians.  And, according to verse 12, their numbers apparently "embarass" the Egyptians.

• Why should the Egyptians be "embarassed"?
• Do you think the Hebrews are assimilated into the general population or not?  What is your evidence? 

The story of the two midwives (Shifrah and Puah) who rebel against Paro's orders to kill the Hebrew boy babies is familiar to most of us, but I never noticed the reward before (look at 1:21)

• Do you think the midwives are Hebrews or Egyptians?  What is your evidence?
• Why do you think they disobeyed Paro's direct order?  Did they really think he would believe the story they told him about why the babies lived?  What might the consequences be for their disloyalty?
• If the midwives were in fact Egyptian, can you think of a different time in history when people who were not part of the Jewish people saved Jews?  Explain your answer.

Skipping down to the second chapter we learn of the birth of a baby to an as-yet unnamed couple from the tribe of Levi.  We all know that he was put in a "teva" at the age of 3 months and adopted by Paro's daughter.  For a few years he is nursed by his birth mother.
In 2:10 Moshe comes to live with Paro's daughter.

In 2:11 he is described as "grown".

• Fill in the blanks - what happened between verse 10 and verse 11?
• What was Moshe's childhood like?  How was he treated by the Egyptians around him?  Did he think he was different from them?  Did he wonder about his birth parents?  Did they wonder about him?  Did everyone know what his background was?  How did he see himself - as an Egyptian noble?  as a Hebrew?

When Moshe saw the Egyptian who was attacking a Hebrew, he looked around - 

• Why?
• What was he looking for?
• What did he find?

The next day (according to the text) he went out again and tried to stop a fight between two Hebrews.

• What happened?
• Why did Moshe run away?
• According to the text, Paro was ready to kill Moshe.  But he had raised him as a grandson.  What does that suggest to you about Paro? 

Moshe marries the daughter of Yitro, a Midianite priest.  He names their first son Gershom

• What does Gershom mean?
• Who is the 'Ger'?  Where is the 'sham'?  Think about the possibilities.

In 2:24 we hear that God heard the groaning of the people, and remembered his covenant with Avraham, with Yitzhak, and with Yaakov.

• Why now?
• Where has God been all this time?

In 4:14 we read that God is angry with Moshe.

• Why is God angry?
• Do you think God has a right to be impatient with Moshe?

In 4:23 God tells Moshe what to threaten Paro with.

• Why is this here?
• What is the relationship between the threat here and what is to come?

6:1   Then the Lord said to Moshe, "Now you will see what I will do to Paro,  for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land."

• Does anything strike you about this phrase (look at the Hebrew if you are not sure)?
• Does the wording surprise you?  Explain.

Here are a few sources you may want to read for help in answering the questions above.  

• Becoming a Leader by Rabbi Shimon Felix may help you understand how Moshe evolved as a leader.
• This article from Haaretz by Naftaly Gliksberg focuses on the interchange between Paro's daughter and Moshe's sister - very interesting and not a perspective I have thought about before.
• The Bumpy Road to Redemption by Rabbi Avraham Fischer deals with the impatience we often feel when things don't go quickly enough for us.
• Rabbi Avi Weiss, of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, uses the story to ask some important questions about our willingness to take a stand when necessary.