Post by Rabbi Neil on Feb 9, 2020 19:21:43 GMT
There’s a particularly interesting midrash about Moses’ childhood that deserves our attention as we start the book of Exodus this Shabbat. Moses is suckled, which midrash – creative Rabbinic commentary - understands as him being suckled for two years before being weaned. As an aside, although that’s very late in comparison to the average contemporary Western baby, that’s actually quite early for the global average and certainly would have been quite short at that time. Torah then adds AND THE CHILD GREW which midrash uses to suggest that he grew abnormally, although it doesn’t explain in what way. After he is suckled, Torah says (Ex. 2:10) AND SHE BROUGHT HIM UNTO PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER. That doesn’t seem like a sentence worthy of commentary, and yet this is Judaism, so of course there’s commentary!
One midrashic commentary on this verse (ExR 1:26) says “Pharaoh's daughter used to kiss and hug him, loved him as if he were her own son and would not allow him out of the royal palace. Because he was so handsome, everyone was eager to see him, and whoever saw him could not tear himself away from him. Pharaoh also used to kiss and hug him, and he [Moses] used to take the crown of Pharaoh and place it upon his own head, as he was destined to do when he became great. … The magicians of Egypt sat there and said: ‘We are afraid of him who is taking off thy crown and placing it upon his own head, lest he be the one of whom we prophesy that he will take away the kingdom from you.’ Some of them counselled to slay him and others to burn him, but Jethro was present among them and he said to them: ' This boy has no sense. However, test him by placing before him a gold vessel and a live coal; if he stretch out his hand for the gold, then he has sense and you can slay him, but if he make for the live coal, then he has no sense and there can be no sentence of death upon him.’ So they brought these things before him, and he was about to reach out for the gold when [the angel] Gabriel came and thrust his hand aside so that it seized the coal, and he thrust his hand with the live coal into his mouth, so that his tongue was burnt, with the result that he became slow of speech and of tongue.”
It’s an interesting midrash that takes a verse with seemingly little content and uses it to explain why Moses has a speech problem. It also points to the Pharaoh’s homicidal decree to come and suggests that maybe it came not just from him but also from his advisers. But this midrash also leaves us with a number of questions which deserve attention. Firstly, what are Pharaoh’s magicians playing at? Secondly, what’s Jethro playing at? Thirdly, what’s Gabriel playing at?
Let’s look at each of these questions in turn. What are Pharaoh’s magicians playing at? What do they care if Pharaoh is usurped by another, is their job so tied to political power that they have to pledge allegiance? Isn’t an adviser an adviser regardless of who’s in charge? Looking at today’s political system, one might suggest not. If we assume that the magicians actually have some political role, then they’re like the Cabinet, perhaps one magician with the role of agriculture, another magician in charge of transport and so on, but instead of forming political policies on these things, they tried to use magic to solve the difficulties. So, this midrash suggests an important power dynamic that we might not have instantly picked up on – that the magicians were an integral part to the power base of the Pharaoh. Because of this, they’re worried that that the Pharaoh could be undermined because it could leave them undermined. If this Pharaoh is out, they could be out. So, they don’t say to Pharaoh, “Are you not afraid…?” but, rather, “We are afraid…” They clearly have Pharaoh’s ear but only in order to ensure their own power. Of course, we don’t know the nature of the relationship between them – perhaps magic was seen to be so powerful that it was understood that the Pharaoh had his own autonomy but when the magicians spoke, he had to follow their bidding, too. Maybe there were two differing sources of ultimate power in Egypt – political and magical. Maybe the younger Pharaoh had yet to flex his political power so the magicians were in charge.
Our second question is perhaps even more interesting. Jethro is not yet Moses’ father-in-law, obviously, because Moses is only a child. In fact, he hasn’t even been mentioned in Torah yet. So, what’s he playing at here? Is he actually a magician of Pharaoh? The midrash certainly seems to suggest that he is, in which case, what’s he doing there - how is a shepherd of Midian a magician of Pharaoh? This out-of-place character reminds me of the Talmudic story of Rabbi Natan who would go and watch gladiators fighting, despite the fact that the Rabbis shunned such combat. Why did he do this? So that when one gladiator beat another, at the point when the Emperor would decide whether to allow the victor to kill the loser, he would shout “Release him!” in order to try to influence the crowd to influence the Emperor to spare the loser’s life. Was Jethro the same? Was he the only good apple in a bad bunch, was he the reasonable voice amongst vicious baby-killing magicians? That would be a generous reading and it’s certainly possible. But then what kind of test does he provide? To put a glittering piece of gold and a dirty lump of coal before a baby and to say that if the child reaches for the gold he deserves death? That’s ridiculous…. of course the baby’s going to reach for the gold - that’s what babies do! So, if we weren’t being generous, is Jethro actually, at least at the time, a bad apple? Does he actually think that this boy should probably be killed and therefore sets Moses up with a task which he’s bound to fail – at least in his eyes? Or, does he have such extraordinary faith in the child that he knows that Moses will somehow reach for the right one? It’s impossible for us to know why the Rabbis decided to insert Jethro into this narrative. This is the man who ends up being Moses’ father-in-law and who indeed helps Moses just before the Sinai revelation to reorganize the management structure of the Israelite people. So, we can perhaps assume that the Rabbis had a positive motive in mind when inserting Jethro into Pharaoh’s court. Perhaps they were framing Jethro as someone who looks after Moses from birth.
The third question from our midrash is, what is the angel Gabriel doing? The test is simply a test of whether or not Moses will reach out for the gold or the coal. What does Gabriel do? He takes Moses’ hand, thrusts into onto the coal and then forces Moses to put the burning coal into his mouth! What was he thinking? Is he suggesting not just that the child isn’t interested in gold but is, in fact, so dense that he puts a burning coal in his mouth? How do Pharaoh and his magicians not realise that as soon as a baby picks up a hot coal, they immediately drop it? Shouldn’t they actually be incredibly threatened by a baby who can somehow pick up a burning coal but also have the superhuman strength to then put it in his mouth? I would! Why cause such harm to the baby? Of course, this is a gloss to explain why Moses was slow of speech, but nonetheless, it’s a rather disturbing was to present it.
Our Torah verse is remarkably simple – Moses was weaned, grew up and was returned to Pharaoh’s daughter. But from this one simple verse, so many questions and thoughts arise. And this is the richness of our heritage, this is the wonder of our tradition – the ability to constantly question, renew, challenge, provoke, and provide new relevant answers. Too many people today take Midrash as history, but to do so totally misses the point. This kind of creative play with our sacred texts is central to Jewish exegesis. What has kept Judaism alive for millennia is not the acceptance of answer, but the creation of new questions.
This Shabbat, may we search new depths in our texts through new questions, and may our Judaism be invigorated as a result, and let us say, Amen.
One midrashic commentary on this verse (ExR 1:26) says “Pharaoh's daughter used to kiss and hug him, loved him as if he were her own son and would not allow him out of the royal palace. Because he was so handsome, everyone was eager to see him, and whoever saw him could not tear himself away from him. Pharaoh also used to kiss and hug him, and he [Moses] used to take the crown of Pharaoh and place it upon his own head, as he was destined to do when he became great. … The magicians of Egypt sat there and said: ‘We are afraid of him who is taking off thy crown and placing it upon his own head, lest he be the one of whom we prophesy that he will take away the kingdom from you.’ Some of them counselled to slay him and others to burn him, but Jethro was present among them and he said to them: ' This boy has no sense. However, test him by placing before him a gold vessel and a live coal; if he stretch out his hand for the gold, then he has sense and you can slay him, but if he make for the live coal, then he has no sense and there can be no sentence of death upon him.’ So they brought these things before him, and he was about to reach out for the gold when [the angel] Gabriel came and thrust his hand aside so that it seized the coal, and he thrust his hand with the live coal into his mouth, so that his tongue was burnt, with the result that he became slow of speech and of tongue.”
It’s an interesting midrash that takes a verse with seemingly little content and uses it to explain why Moses has a speech problem. It also points to the Pharaoh’s homicidal decree to come and suggests that maybe it came not just from him but also from his advisers. But this midrash also leaves us with a number of questions which deserve attention. Firstly, what are Pharaoh’s magicians playing at? Secondly, what’s Jethro playing at? Thirdly, what’s Gabriel playing at?
Let’s look at each of these questions in turn. What are Pharaoh’s magicians playing at? What do they care if Pharaoh is usurped by another, is their job so tied to political power that they have to pledge allegiance? Isn’t an adviser an adviser regardless of who’s in charge? Looking at today’s political system, one might suggest not. If we assume that the magicians actually have some political role, then they’re like the Cabinet, perhaps one magician with the role of agriculture, another magician in charge of transport and so on, but instead of forming political policies on these things, they tried to use magic to solve the difficulties. So, this midrash suggests an important power dynamic that we might not have instantly picked up on – that the magicians were an integral part to the power base of the Pharaoh. Because of this, they’re worried that that the Pharaoh could be undermined because it could leave them undermined. If this Pharaoh is out, they could be out. So, they don’t say to Pharaoh, “Are you not afraid…?” but, rather, “We are afraid…” They clearly have Pharaoh’s ear but only in order to ensure their own power. Of course, we don’t know the nature of the relationship between them – perhaps magic was seen to be so powerful that it was understood that the Pharaoh had his own autonomy but when the magicians spoke, he had to follow their bidding, too. Maybe there were two differing sources of ultimate power in Egypt – political and magical. Maybe the younger Pharaoh had yet to flex his political power so the magicians were in charge.
Our second question is perhaps even more interesting. Jethro is not yet Moses’ father-in-law, obviously, because Moses is only a child. In fact, he hasn’t even been mentioned in Torah yet. So, what’s he playing at here? Is he actually a magician of Pharaoh? The midrash certainly seems to suggest that he is, in which case, what’s he doing there - how is a shepherd of Midian a magician of Pharaoh? This out-of-place character reminds me of the Talmudic story of Rabbi Natan who would go and watch gladiators fighting, despite the fact that the Rabbis shunned such combat. Why did he do this? So that when one gladiator beat another, at the point when the Emperor would decide whether to allow the victor to kill the loser, he would shout “Release him!” in order to try to influence the crowd to influence the Emperor to spare the loser’s life. Was Jethro the same? Was he the only good apple in a bad bunch, was he the reasonable voice amongst vicious baby-killing magicians? That would be a generous reading and it’s certainly possible. But then what kind of test does he provide? To put a glittering piece of gold and a dirty lump of coal before a baby and to say that if the child reaches for the gold he deserves death? That’s ridiculous…. of course the baby’s going to reach for the gold - that’s what babies do! So, if we weren’t being generous, is Jethro actually, at least at the time, a bad apple? Does he actually think that this boy should probably be killed and therefore sets Moses up with a task which he’s bound to fail – at least in his eyes? Or, does he have such extraordinary faith in the child that he knows that Moses will somehow reach for the right one? It’s impossible for us to know why the Rabbis decided to insert Jethro into this narrative. This is the man who ends up being Moses’ father-in-law and who indeed helps Moses just before the Sinai revelation to reorganize the management structure of the Israelite people. So, we can perhaps assume that the Rabbis had a positive motive in mind when inserting Jethro into Pharaoh’s court. Perhaps they were framing Jethro as someone who looks after Moses from birth.
The third question from our midrash is, what is the angel Gabriel doing? The test is simply a test of whether or not Moses will reach out for the gold or the coal. What does Gabriel do? He takes Moses’ hand, thrusts into onto the coal and then forces Moses to put the burning coal into his mouth! What was he thinking? Is he suggesting not just that the child isn’t interested in gold but is, in fact, so dense that he puts a burning coal in his mouth? How do Pharaoh and his magicians not realise that as soon as a baby picks up a hot coal, they immediately drop it? Shouldn’t they actually be incredibly threatened by a baby who can somehow pick up a burning coal but also have the superhuman strength to then put it in his mouth? I would! Why cause such harm to the baby? Of course, this is a gloss to explain why Moses was slow of speech, but nonetheless, it’s a rather disturbing was to present it.
Our Torah verse is remarkably simple – Moses was weaned, grew up and was returned to Pharaoh’s daughter. But from this one simple verse, so many questions and thoughts arise. And this is the richness of our heritage, this is the wonder of our tradition – the ability to constantly question, renew, challenge, provoke, and provide new relevant answers. Too many people today take Midrash as history, but to do so totally misses the point. This kind of creative play with our sacred texts is central to Jewish exegesis. What has kept Judaism alive for millennia is not the acceptance of answer, but the creation of new questions.
This Shabbat, may we search new depths in our texts through new questions, and may our Judaism be invigorated as a result, and let us say, Amen.