What We Missed:

• A whole new ballgame: A new Pharaoh who enslaves the Israelites.

• The remarkable midwives Shifra and Puah who save Israelite babies

• Birth of Moses; a boy raised by Pharaoh’s daughter

• Learning about his identity; Moses witnesses Hebrew slave labor

• Moses kills an Egyptian who beat an Israelite

• Moses tried to intercede in a quarrel between Hebrews

• Pharaoh learns about the real Moses and wants to kill him

• Moses escapes to the Priest of Midian and marries Tzipporah

What We Read:

► Theophany at the Burning Bush: Moses Gets Religion
Moses is no longer the elite prince of Egypt; he is a modest shepherd working for his father in law Yitro; the Priest of Midian.  Working on Mt. Horeb. Moses witnesses a bush which burns but is not incinerated.  It is at this bush where Moses encounters the God of Israel and takes the initial steps toward becoming Israel’s great leader. Our entire triennial reading today addresses this dialogue between God and a reluctant and insecure Moses. Although you can read the details, the following are a few highlights:

► The first attention grabber is the unnatural phenomenon of a bush, which burns, yet the bush was not consumed. It may be evident to us that God was reflected in that bush; but each of us may offer a different interpretation of the unusual symbolism.  For me, an unconsumed fire suggests that even though humanity (not just the Hebrews) dismisses or rejects any identification with a personal God; God never gives up.  This relentless God of Israel will stand by the people eternally; and under all conditions. God’s flame for Israel, as it were; will burn brightly even when Israel attempts to extinguish that flame.  

► Moses is part of a continuum: He stands in the presence of his forbearers, who set the table for the future b’nai yisrael.  Even today, we owe appreciation to generations of the past, which set the table for contemporary Jewish life.  Therefore, when people argue about Judaism being a matter of personal choice; my counter-argument is that although we must re-design the Judaism of today our obligation to the past is sacrosanct and not subject to personal discretion. 

► Could we expect Moses to transform himself from Midian shepherd to prophet of Israel; without a period of physical or spiritual doubt and existential crisis?  We would probably be more concerned (and less inclined to identify with Moses) were this modest shepherd to immediately embrace God’s ‘calling.’  As the text suggests, Moses and God spar for a few rounds before Moses embraces his life-changing, enormous responsibilities:

● Round One: Moses questions his legitimacy as the leader of any people.

● Round Two: Moses asks a practical question: How can he be God’s spokesperson if he does not even know basic facts, such as God’s name?

● Round Three: Even if Moses agrees; what Israelite in his/her right mind would listen to this lowly shepherd, who once fled from a Pharaoh who sought to kill him?

● Round Four: Now, Moses shares his main concern: He is a stutterer.  The Israelites would have good reason to mock and ignore him; he is simply unqualified for a job, which requires being a spokesperson. Can we imagine anyone today-with a severe speech impediment- being hired for a job that demands an articulate spokesperson with gifted verbal skills? Moses is not just being timid here, he asks valid questions and conveys legitimate concerns. 

In each of the above ‘rounds’; God appropriately responds. Yet, in my commentary today, I am more interested in validating Moses’ doubts and fears; because sometimes we need to focus on the questions rather than on the answers.  Not only in matters of faith, but in a variety of instances when people speak to us about their innermost concerns, we tend to be fixers; coming to the rescue.  Sometimes the fixing is secondary to merely validating one’s questions. In this marvelous story about a burning bush  I praise the Torah for having the courage, wisdom and honesty to describe Moses’ odyssey from reluctant shepherd to loyal man of faith.  His odyssey begins with the burning bush; and it is the odyssey which I believe reflects the Torah at its finest.

Haftorah Reading: Isaiah 26:6-28:13; 29:22-23

Israel suffered in Egypt yet the people were eventually delivered by God. The Israel of Isaiah's time needs to learn the same lesson: The people will be liberated from Assyrian and Egyptian authority in order to rebuild their homeland.  They must place their faith in God, even if the immediate future seems bleak.