Shemot Rabbah Reader

“Moses said: I will turn now, and see this great sight; why will the bush not burn?” (Exodus 3:3). “Moses said: I will turn [asura] now and see.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Moses took five steps at that moment, as it is stated: “I will turn [asura]19It should have said asur. The numerical value of the additional heh alludes to the five steps that Moses took. now and see.”

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: He turned around and looked, as it is stated: “The Lord saw that he had turned to see” (Exodus 3:4). Once he looked at it, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘He is suitable to shepherd Israel.’ “The Lord saw that he turned to see, and God called to him from the midst of the bush and He said: ‘Moses, Moses.’ He said: ‘Here I am’” (Exodus 3:4).

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is “that he had turned [sar] to see?” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘This one is depressed and upset [sar veza’ef]20An allusion to I Kings 20:43, 21:4. over seeing Israel’s suffering in Egypt; therefore, he is suitable to be their shepherd. Immediately, “God called to him from the midst of the bush.” “He said: ‘Moses Moses.’”

You find in “Abraham, Abraham” (Genesis 22:11), there is a pasek21A biblical cantillation sign connoting a break between the two names. between them; “Jacob, Jacob” (Genesis 46:2), there is a pasek between them; “Samuel, Samuel” (I Samuel 3:10), there is a pasek between them. However, “Moses Moses,” there is no pasek between them. Why is it so? This is analogous to a person who placed upon himself a great burden, and calls: So-and-so so-and-so, my dear, unload this burden from me.22Due to the urgency of the matter he calls without pausing.

Alternatively, with all the prophets, He ceased speaking with them; however, with Moses, He did not cease all his days. Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai taught: What is “Moses Moses?” It is an expression of fondness and encouragement. Alternatively: “Moses Moses” – it is he who taught Torah in this world, and he is destined to teach in the World to Come, as Israel is destined to go to Abraham and say to him: ‘Teach us Torah.’

He will say: ‘Go to Isaac, who studied more than I did,’ and Isaac will say: ‘Go to Jacob, who attended [to his teachers] more than I did;’ and Jacob will say to them: ‘Go to Moses, who learned it from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He.’ That is what is written: “They will go from strength to strength, they will appear to God [Elohim] in Zion” (Psalms 84:8), and elohim is in fact Moses, as it is stated: “See I have placed you as elohim to Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:1).

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Anyone whose name is doubled is in two worlds.23This world and the world-to-come. “He said: Do not draw near; remove your shoes from your feet, for the place upon which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). “He said: Here I am” (Exodus 3:4) – here I am for priesthood and kingship. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘You are standing in the place of the pillar of the world: Abraham said: “I am here” (Genesis 22:1), and you said: “I am here.”’

Moses asked that priests and kings emerge from him. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Do not draw [tikrav] near [halom]” – meaning, your descendants will not be sacrificing [makrivin], as the priesthood is fated for Aaron your brother. Halom – this is kingship, as it is said: “That you have brought me [King David] to this point [halom]” (II Samuel 7:18), and it says: “Has a man [Saul] come here [halom] yet?” (I Samuel 10:22).

The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Kingdom is fated for David.’ Nevertheless, Moses received both of them. Priesthood, as he served during the seven days of inauguration; kingdom, as it is written: “There was a king in Yeshurun” (Deuteronomy 33:5). “Remove your shoes” – any place that the Divine Presence reveals itself, wearing shoes is prohibited. Thus with Joshua: “Remove your shoes” (Joshua 5:15). And thus the priests served in the Temple only barefoot.

“He said: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid of looking at God” (Exodus 3:6). “He said: I am the God of your father” – that is what is written: “A fool [peti] believes everything” (Proverbs 14:15). What is a peti?

It is a lad, as in Arabia they call a lad petaya. Alternatively, peti is nothing but an expression of seduction, as it is stated: “If a man seduces [yefateh] a woman” (Exodus 22:15). Rabbi Yehoshua Ha-Kohen bar Neḥemya said: At the moment that The Holy One blessed be He appeared to Moses, Moses was a novice at prophecy. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If I appear to him in loud voice, I will terrify him; in soft voice, he will take prophecy lightly.’

What did He do? He appeared to him with the voice of his father. Moses said: ‘Here I am; what does Abba1The Aramaic term by which Jews to this day refer to their fathers. want?’ The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I am not your father [Amram], but rather the God of your father.

I have come to you with inducements so you will not be afraid.’ “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” – Moses was joyful and said: ‘Abba is enumerated with the patriarchs. Moreover, he is greater, as he was mentioned first.’2In the verse, God introduces himself as “the God of your father,” and then as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” “Moses hid his face” – he said: ‘The God of my father is standing here and I am not hiding my face?’

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa and Rabbi Hoshaya, one of them says: Moses did not act properly when he hid his face, as had he not hidden his face, The Holy One blessed be He would have revealed to him what is above, what is below, what was, and what is destined to be. Ultimately, he requested to see, as it is stated: “Please show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘I came to appear to you, and you hid your face.

Now I say to you: “For man will not see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20); when I wanted, you did not want.’ Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Nevertheless, He showed him.3Even though according to the previous opinion, hiding his face was inappropriate, God showed him the three mysteries mentioned above. As reward for “Moses hid his face” – “the Lord spoke to Moses face to face” (Exodus 33:11); as reward for “For he was afraid,” – “they were afraid to approach him (Exodus 34:30); as reward for “of looking [mehabit]” – “and the likeness of the Lord he beholds [yabit]” (Numbers 12:8).

Rabbi Hoshaya the Great said: He acted properly when he hid his face. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘I came to reveal My face to you, and you honored Me and hid your face; by your life, you are destined to be with Me on the mountain for forty days and forty nights, without eating and without drinking, and you are destined to enjoy the aura of the Divine Presence, as it is stated: “Moses did not know that the skin of his face glowed” (Exodus 34:29).

However, Nadav and Avihu uncovered their heads and feasted their eyes on the aura of the Divine Presence, as it is stated: “Against the nobles of the children of Israel He did not extend His hand” (Exodus 24:11), and they did not receive punishment for what they did.

“The Lord said: I have seen My people’s affliction that is in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, as I know their pain” (Exodus 3:7). “The Lord said: I have seen My people’s affliction” – that is what is written: “For He knows vain men [metei shav]” (Job 11:11); The Holy One blessed be He knows the people who die [metim] to perform vanity. Alternatively, The Holy One blessed be He knows the people who are destined to perform vanity and be killed, as it is stated: “Your men [metayikh] will fall by the sword” (Isaiah 3:25).

In contrast, “He sees iniquity but does not consider it” (Job 11:11). How so? You find that at the moment that Hagar left Abraham’s house, she and her son, what is written? “The water in the skin finished…she went and sat down at a distance” (Genesis 21:15–16).

Rabbi Berekhya said: She began reproaching Heaven; she said: ‘Master of the universe, yesterday You said to me: “I will multiply your descendants,” and today he is dying.’ Immediately, “the angel of God called to Hagar” (Genesis 21:17). Rabbi Simon said: The ministering angels sought to denounce him [Ishmael]. They said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, a person who is destined to cause your children to die of thirst,4The reference is unclear.

Possibly it refers to the story in Lamentations Rabba 2:4 in which the Ishmaelites caused refugees from Nebuchadnezzar to die of thirst. are You bringing up a well for him? It is proper to bring it up for six hundred thousand who are destined to recite before You: “This is my God and I will glorify Him”’ (Exodus 15:2). He said to them: ‘Now, is he righteous or wicked’? They said before Him: ‘He is righteous.’

He said to them: ‘I only judge a person at his time.’5Although God perceives future sins, He judges only those actions already performed. Therefore it is written: “He sees iniquity but does not consider it.” Likewise, when Israel was in Egypt, The Holy One blessed be He saw what they were destined to do; that is what is written: “The Lord said: I have seen [ra’o ra’iti].” It does not say ra’iti, but rather, ra’o ra’iti.6That is, the verb is doubled, combining the absolute infinitive ra’o with the first person past ra’iti, meaning ‘I have seen.’

This formulation is common in Biblical Hebrew and is often understood to indicate emphasis. Nevertheless, the midrash takes the opportunity to expound the double verb. The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘You see one sight but I see two sights. You see them arriving at Sinai and receiving My Torah, and I see them receiving My Torah, that is ra’o; [but I also see] ra’iti, that is the sight of the deed of the calf, as it is stated; “I have seen [ra’iti] this people” (Exodus 32:9).

When I come to Sinai to give them the Torah, I descend in my tatramoli,7A quadriga, a chariot drawn by four animals abreast. The allusion is to the divine chariot depicted in Ezekiel 1. and they look at me and remove one of them8One of the creatures depicted in the divine chariot in Ezekiel is a bull. and anger me with it. Nevertheless, I am not judging them on the basis of the actions that they are destined to do but rather according to the situation now.

For I have heard their cry, even though I know their pain that they are destined to cause.’ That is ra’o ra’iti. What is: “As I know their pain?” I know how much they are destined to pain Me in the wilderness,9The midrash is interpreting makhovav, “its pain,” to refer to pain inflicted by Israel, rather than pain they experienced. as it is stated: “How often did they defy Him in the wilderness, and aggrieve Him in the wasteland” (Psalms 78:40).

Nevertheless, I will not refrain from delivering them. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Otniel ben Kenaz argued this matter before the Holy One blessed be He. He said: ‘Master of the universe, this is what you promised to Moses, whether they do Your will or they do not do Your will, you deliver them, as it is stated: “The spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel”’10This is a reference to Otniel ben Kenaz. (Judges 3:10). Therefore, it is written: “As I know their pain.” Nevertheless, I will deliver them.

“I have come down to deliver them from the hand of Egypt and to take them up from that land to a good and expansive land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Emorites and the Perizzites and the Hivvites and the Yevusites” (Exodus 3:8). “I have come down to deliver them from the hand of Egypt…” – the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘I told their patriarch Jacob: “I will go down with you into Egypt and I will take you up…” (Genesis 46:4).

Now I have come down here to take his descendants up, as I said to Jacob their patriarch. To where will I take them up? To the place from which I took them, to the land about which I took an oath to their ancestors.’ That is what is written: “And to take them up from that land…” “And now, behold, the outcry of the children of Israel has come to Me and I have also seen the oppression that the Egyptians are oppressing them” (Exodus 3:9).

“And now, behold, the outcry of the children of Israel has come to Me,” – until now, their outcry has not come to Me, as the end that I said to Abraham had not yet arrived: “And [they] will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years” (Genesis 15:13). “Go now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and take My people the children of Israel out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10). “Go [lekha] now, and I will send you to Pharaoh” – Rabbi Elazar said: Lekha [ending with the letter heh] is emphatic, saying that if you do not deliver them there is no one else to deliver them.11The midrash is reading lekha, go, as a conjunction of lekh ata, go you.

“Moses said to God: 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children of Israel out of Egypt?’” (Exodus 3:11) “Moses said to God: Who am I [anokhi]?” Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: This is analogous to a king who married off his daughter and committed to give her one province and gentlewoman as a maidservant, and he gave her a Kushite maidservant. His son-in-law said: ‘Didn’t you commit to give me a gentlewoman as a maidservant?’

So, Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, when Jacob descended to Egypt, didn’t you say this to them: “I [Anokhi] will descend with you into Egypt and I [Anokhi] will take you up” (Genesis 46:4), and now you say to me: “Go now, and I will send you to Pharaoh”? It is not I [anokhi] about whom you said: “And I [Anokhi] will take you up.”’12Moses is, as it were, pointing out to God that He promised to take Israel out of Egypt Himself, and not by means of an agent.

Another interpretation: Rabbi Nehorai says: Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You say to me: Go and take Israel out. Where do I shelter13Following Rabbi David Luria’s emendation mashkinam rather that mashkim. them in the summer due to the sun, and in the winter due to the cold? From where do I provide food and drink? How many birth mothers are among them, how many pregnant women, how many children are among them, how many types of foods have you provided them to sustain them, how many delicacies have you prepared for the pregnant women, how much toasted grain and how many nuts have you provided for the children?’

Where is this matter explicated? It is in Song of Songs, as it is stated: “Tell me, whom my soul loves…” (Song of Songs 1:7). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘The bread that came out with them from Egypt will suffice them for thirty days; you know how I am destined to lead them.’ Another interpretation: “Who am I?” – He [Moses] said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, how am I able to enter a place of robbers and a place of murderers?

That is: “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh…” “And that I should take the children of Israel out” – what merit do they possess that will enable me to take them out?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Because I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). One says “I will be with you” only to someone who is afraid. “He said: Because I will be with you, and this is your sign that it is I who sent you: When you take the people out of Egypt, you will serve God upon this mountain” (Exodus 3:12).

“And this is your sign that I sent you” – and in this manner it will be apparent that you are My emissary, because I will be with you and anything you wish I will perform. “When you take the people out of Egypt, you will serve God upon this mountain.” That which you said: ‘With what merit will I take them out of Egypt?’ Know that due to the merit of the Torah that they are destined to receive through you on this mountain they will emerge from there.

Another matter: “[you will serve] God” – what is it that He said to him: “That I [anokhi] sent you”?14Why does the verse change from first person to third person? “This is your sign that it is I who sent you…you will serve God.” Our Rabbis of blessed memory said: A sign of the first deliverance is that Israel went down to Egypt with anokhi, as it is stated: “I [anokhi] will go down with you to Egypt” (Genesis 46:4), and with anokhi I will take you up.

A sign of the ultimate redemption is that with anokhi they will be cured and are destined to be delivered, as it is stated: “Behold I [anokhi] will send you Elijah the prophet” (Malachi 3:23).

“Moses said to God: Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they say to me: What is His name? What shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13). “Moses said to God: Behold, when I come…” – Rabbi Shimon of Lod said in the name of Rabbi Simon in the name of Reish Lakish: Moses said: I am destined to become an intermediary between You and them when You give them the Torah and say to them: “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2). “The God of your fathers has sent me to you” – at that moment, Moses was clarifying his undertaking, as he feared if they asked him “what is His name” what would he say to them? At that moment, Moses requested that the Holy One blessed be He make known to him His great name.

“God said to Moses: 'I will be what I will be,' and He said: 'So shall you say to the children of Israel: I will be has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). “God said to Moses” – Rabbi Abba bar Mamal said: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: You seek to know My name? I am named according to My actions. At [different] times I am named God Almighty [El Shaddai], [Lord of] Hosts [Tzevaot], God [Elohim], the Lord [Y-H-V-H].15The ineffable name, pronounced Adonai.

When I judge [My] creatures, I am called Elohim. When I wage war against the wicked, I am called Tzevaot. When I abide a person’s sins, I am called El Shaddai. When I have mercy on My world I am called Y-H-V-H, as Y-H-V-H is nothing other than the attribute of mercy, as it is stated: “Y-H-V-H, Y-H-V-H, merciful and gracious God” (Exodus 34:6).

That is, “I will be what I will be,” I am named based on My actions. Rabbi Yitzḥak says: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Say to them: It is I who have been with you in the past, and it is I now, and it is I in the future;’ therefore, “I will be” is written three times. Another interpretation: “I will be what I will be,” – Rabbi Yaakov son of Rabbi Avina said in the name of Rabbi Huna of Tzipporin: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Say to them: In this servitude I will be with them and into servitude they are going and I will be with them.’

He said before Him: ‘Is that what I should say to them? The present trouble is sufficient.’16An expression meaning that one should not concern oneself with future troubles that are not in one’s control. He said to him: ‘No, “so shall you say to the children of Israel: I will be has sent me to you.” I am informing you, but I am not informing them.’

Another interpretation: “I will be [ehyeh]” – Rabbi Yitzḥak said in the name of Rabbi Ammi: They are standing with mortar and bricks, and to mortar and bricks they are going. Likewise, regarding Daniel: “I, Daniel, was stricken [niyeti]17The verb root is the same as ehyeh. The verse in Daniel serves as a prooftext to the notion that the root heh yod heh can refer to suffering. and became ill” (Daniel 8:27).

He [Moses] said before Him: ‘Is that what I should say to them?’ He said to him: ‘No, but rather “Ehyeh has sent me to you.”’18As in the previous opinion, God tells Moses to inform them only that God will help them in the present suffering and not about His help in any future suffering. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I will be for whom I will be for individuals; but for the masses, even against their will, not for their well-being, while breaking their teeth, I will rule over them, as it is stated: “As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with outpoured fury, I will rule over you” (Ezekiel 20:33).

Another matter, as Rabbi Ananiel ben Rabbi Sason said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘When I wish, one of the angels, who is one-third the size of the world, extends his hand from the heavens and touches the earth, as it is stated: “He19An angel. extended the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head” (Ezekiel 8:3). And when I wished, I made three of them sit under a tree, as it is stated: “And recline under the tree” (Genesis 18:4).

And when I wish, My glory fills the entire world, as it is stated: “Don’t I fill the heavens and the earth? – the utterance of the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:24). And when I wished, I spoke to Job from the tempest, as it is stated: “The Lord answered Job from the tempest” (Job 38:1); and when I wish, from the midst of the bush.’

“God said further to Moses: So shall you say to the children of Israel: The Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you; this is My name forever, and this is My memorial for all generations” (Exodus 3:15). “God said further to Moses: So shall you say to the children of Israel: The Lord [Y-H-V-H], the God of your fathers…” Go and speak to them in My name, which is the attribute of justice, with which I conduct Myself with them due to the merit of their forefathers.

Know that I am speaking about the forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; that is what is written: “The Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” When Moses heard that He did not mention his father as He had initially,20Exodus 3:6. See the midrash on that verse. he said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, are there sinners in the grave?’ He said to him: ‘No.’ He said before Him: ‘In the past, You said Your name in association with my father, and now You have removed it.’

He said to him: ‘Initially, I tempted you with inducements, from this point forward, I speak words of truth with you.’ “This is My name forever [leolam]” – [leolam is written] without a vav,21When spelled that way it evokes haalama, meaning concealment. so that a person will not enunciate God’s name, as it is written. “And this is My memorial for all generations” – so that one refers to Him only with an appellation.

“Go and gather the elders of Israel, and say to them: The Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have remembered you, and what is being done to you in Egypt” (Exodus 3:16). “Go and gather the elders of Israel.” The elders always uphold Israel, and thus it says: “And all Israel, and its elders, and its officers, and its judges, stood on this side and on that side of the ark” (Joshua 8:33).

When is Israel capable of standing? It is when they have elders. Why, when the Temple was standing, did they consult with the elders, as it is stated: “Ask your father and he will tell you; your elders and they will say to you” (Deuteronomy 32:7)? It is because anyone who takes counsel from elders does not fail.

Know that when ben-Hadad sent to the king of Israel, as it is stated: “So said ben-Hadad: Your silver and your gold are mine” (I Kings 20:3), the king of Israel sent to him: “As you said, my lord king: I, and everything that I have are yours” (Ibid. 20:4). He sent to him a second time: “But tomorrow at this time, I will send my servants to you and they will search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it will be, that everything precious [maḥmad] to you, they will seize, and take it” (I Kings 20:6).

Was everything that he demanded initially not precious? He demanded silver and gold and they are precious, as it is stated: “And the precious items [ḥemdat] of all the peoples will come” (Haggai 2:7). 22The following verse in Haggai states: “Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold, the utterance of the Lord of hosts.” He demanded women and they are precious, as it is stated: “Son of man, behold, I am taking away from you the desire [maḥmad] of your eyes…” (Ezekiel 24:16).

He demanded children, and they are precious, as it is stated: “And I will slay the beloved fruit [maḥmad] of their womb” (Hosea 9:16). You must say: Everything he demanded initially was precious, and “everything precious to you” is an item that is ultimately precious, that is the Torah, as it is stated: “More precious than gold and more than much fine gold” (Psalms 19:11). When the king of Israel heard this, he said: ‘This is not mine, but rather it belongs to the elders.’

Immediately, “The king of Israel called all the elders of the land…and all the elders and all the people said to him: Neither heed nor consent” (I Kings 20:7–8). Once he heeded the counsel of the elders, immediately: “The king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and the chariots” (I Kings 20:21). That is Israel consulting the elders. Therefore, the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “Go and gather the elders of Israel.”

“Say to them…I have remembered [pakod pakadeti].” He said to him: ‘They have a tradition from Joseph that I will deliver them with this expression.23“God will remember [pakod yifkod] you” (Genesis 50:24). Go and say to them: This is the sign.’ What is pakod pakadeti?

Pakod in Egypt, pakadeti at the sea; pakod in the future, pakadeti in the past. “And what is being done to you in Egypt” – in other words, I will remember for the Egyptians what they are doing to you, as it is stated: “I remember what Amalek did to you” (I Samuel 15:2). 24The verse actually states: “I remember what Amalek did to Israel.” This statement precedes God’s command to King Saul to annihilate Amalek.

“And I said: I will take you up out of the affliction of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites and the Hitites and the Emorites and the Perizites and the Hivites and the Yevusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. They will listen to your voice and you shall go, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him: The Lord, God of the Hebrews, happened upon us. And now, please, let us go a journey of three days in the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to the Lord our God.” (Exodus 3:17-18).

“And I said: I will take you up” – Say to them that, as I said to Jacob their ancestor, so I will do. What did He say to him [Jacob]? “I will also take you up” (Genesis 46:4). 25God promised Jacob when he went to Egypt that he would take his descendants out of Egypt. Likewise, Jacob said to his sons: “God will be with you and He will return you…” (Genesis 48:21).

Immediately, “they will heed your voice.” Why? It is because they have a tradition of deliverance, that any deliverer who comes and says to them a double expression of remembrance [pakod pakadeti] is a genuine deliverer. Then “you shall go, you and the elders of Israel…” – He showed respect for the elders.

“You shall say to him: The Lord, God of the Hebrews, happened upon us.” Why does it call them Hebrews [ivrim]? It is because they crossed [avru] the sea. “And now, please, let us go a journey of three days...”

Why did they say three days and did not say, please let us go forever? Why did they say this? It was so the Egyptians would be misled and pursue them when they left, and would say: ‘He delivered them only so they would go three days and sacrifice to Him, and it is they who have delayed for so long.’ And they will pursue them after three days and He will drown them in the sea to punish them with a punishment to fit their crime, as they said: “Every boy that is born you shall cast into the Nile…” (Exodus 1:22).

“And I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, except by a mighty hand” (Exodus 3:19). “And I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go.” The Holy One blessed be He saw what the wicked Pharaoh is destined to do; [that he will] increase the workload of the people from the moment that he [Moses] goes [to Pharaoh] as His emissary. And so that he [Moses] would not be misled by this thing, the Holy One blessed be He made known to him that Pharaoh is destined to do such and such when you go on My mission so that he would not reproach Heaven. 26In order that Moses would not complain to God that his mission was a failure, as he in fact did in Exodus 5:22-23.

Nevertheless, he reproached Heaven, and about him it is stated: “For oppression turns a wise man into a fool” (Ecclesiastes 7:7).

“I will extend My hand, and smite Egypt with all My wonders that I will perform in its midst; after that he will let you go” (Exodus 3:20). “I will extend My hand…” I will do what I spoke of to Abraham: “And also that nation which they will serve, I will judge” (Genesis 15:14), in order to punish them with a punishment to fit their crime. Therefore, I will render them obstinate, and after I complete administering their punishment, “he will let you go.”

“I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it will be when you go, you will not go empty-handed” (Exodus 3:21). “I will give this people favor” – what I said to Abraham: “And afterward they will emerge with great wealth” (Genesis 15:14). I am destined to grant you favor in the Egyptian’s eyes, so they will lend to them and they will leave well-stocked. This is so that Abraham our patriarch will have no claim, saying: “They will serve them, and they will afflict them” (Genesis 15:13), He [God] fulfilled for them, but “then they will emerge with great wealth” (Genesis 15:14), He did not fulfill for them. “Every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of she who lives in her house, silver vessels, and gold vessels, and garments; and you shall place them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and you shall despoil the Egyptians” (Exodus 3:22). “Every woman shall ask of her neighbor…” – this teaches that garments were especially dear to them, as when a person sets out on the road, if he lacks garments, he is embarrassed. “And you shall despoil [venitzaltem] the Egyptians” – they are destined to make Egypt like the depths [metzulot] that have no fish.

“Moses answered and said: But they will not believe me, nor heed my voice; for they will say: The Lord did not appear to you” (Exodus 4:1). “Moses answered and said: But they will not believe me.” At that moment, Moses spoke improperly. The Holy One blessed be He had said to him: “They will heed your voice” (Exodus 3:18), and he said: “But they will not believe me”?

Immediately, the Holy One blessed be He responded to him in kind, providing him with signs based on his words. Look what is written afterward: “The Lord said to him: What is that [mazeh] in your hand? He said: A staff” (Exodus 4:2). In other words, from that [mizeh] which you have done, you must be punished, as you have slandered My children; they are believers, the children of believers.

Believers, as it is stated: “The people believed” (Exodus 4:31); children of believers, as it is stated: “He [Abraham] believed in the Lord” (Genesis 15:6). “He said: Cast it on the ground. He cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent. Moses fled from before it” (Exodus 4:3).

Moses adopted the way of the serpent who slandered his Creator, as it is stated: “For God knows [that on the day you eat of it, your eyes will open, and you shall be as God, knowers of good and evil]” (Genesis 3:5). Just as the serpent was punished, so, too, this one [Moses] is destined to be punished. See what is written: “He said: Cast it on the ground. He cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent.”

Because he performed the action of the serpent, He therefore showed him the serpent, meaning, you performed this one’s action. “Moses fled from before it.” A [Roman] gentlewoman said to Rabbi Yosei: ‘My god is greater than your God.’ He said to her: ‘Why?’

She said to him: ‘When your God revealed Himself to Moses at the bush, Moses concealed his face, but when he saw the serpent, which is my god, immediately: “Moses fled from before it.”’ He said to her: ‘May her bones wither.27Presumably Rabbi Yosei did not direct this curse directly at the Roman woman. This sotto voce comment made before he replied to her challenge is his response to her blasphemous contention that Moses feared the snake more than God.

When our God revealed Himself at the bush, there was no place to flee. Where could he flee; to the heavens, to the sea, or to dry land? What is stated regarding our God? “Don’t I fill the heavens and the earth – the utterance of the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:24).

However, the serpent, that is your god, when a person flees two or three steps from it, he can be saved; therefore, it is written: “Moses fled from before it.”’ Another interpretation: Why did he flee? It is because he sinned with his words, as had he not sinned, he would not have fled, because it is not the serpent that kills, but rather the sin that kills, as it is written in the incident involving Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa.28See Berakhot 33a. “The Lord said to Moses: 'Extend your hand, and grasp its tail.’

He extended his hand, and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand. So that they will believe that the Lord, God of their fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has appeared to you” (Exodus 4:4-5). “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Extend your hand, and grasp its tail.’” We already said how the serpent corresponded to Moses, but what sign was there for Israel in this?

Rabbi Eliezer said: That is why the staff was transformed into a serpent, corresponding to Pharaoh, who was called a serpent, as it is stated: “The great serpent” (Ezekiel 29:3), and it says: “Against Leviathan the bar-serpent” (Isaiah 27:1), because he would bite Israel. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Have you seen Pharaoh, who is like a serpent? You are destined to strike him with a staff and in the end he will become like wood.

Just as a staff does not bite, so, too he will not bite.’ That is what is written: “Extend your hand, and grasp its tail…. So that they will believe that the Lord…has appeared to you.” ‘Go perform this sign for them, so that they will believe that I have appeared to you.’

“The Lord said to him further: Put your hand in your bosom. He put his hand in his bosom and took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous, like snow” (Exodus 4:6). “The Lord said to him further: Put your hand in your bosom.” He said to him: ‘It is just like the serpent who, when he engaged in slander, I afflicted him with leprosy, as it is stated: “Cursed [arur] are you from all the animals” (Genesis 3:14), as you say: “Malignant [mameret] leprosy”’ (Leviticus 13:51).

Rabbi Elazar said: Those spots on it [the serpent] are leprous marks; so do you deserve to be afflicted with leprosy. Why did he place it in his bosom? It is because slander is typically told in secret. Likewise it says: “He who slanders his neighbor in secret, I will destroy [atzmit]” (Psalms 101:5).

Atzmit [refers to] nothing but leprosy, as it is stated: “In perpetuity [litzmitut]” (Leviticus 25:23), which is translated as completely [laḥalutin]29In Targum Onkelos. and it is taught: “The difference between a quarantined leper and a confirmed leper [muḥlat] is only… (Megilla 8b).”30The midrash cites the mishna to show that the word muḥlat, which is derived from the same root as laḥalutin, is used in the context of leprosy.

“He put his hand in his bosom and took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous, like snow.” He received his due because he engaged in slander. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: From here you learn that anyone who suspects another of something which is untrue of him, is afflicted in his body. “He said: Put your hand back in your bosom.

He put his hand back in his bosom; and he removed it from his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his flesh” (Exodus 4:7). “He said: Put your hand back in your bosom.” How is there a sign for Israel in this? [It is as if God were saying:] Go and say to them: Just as a leper causes impurity, so do the Egyptians render you impure. And just as he [the leper] is purified, so is the Holy One blessed be He destined to purify Israel, as it is written: “And behold, his hand was leprous, like snow,” and in the healing it is written: “He removed it from his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his flesh.”

Our Rabbis say: So as not to cast aspersions on Moses’s flesh [i.e. his bosom]; therefore, his hand was not afflicted with leprosy until he removed it from his bosom. However, regarding the healing, it was healed in his bosom. Alternatively, from here punishments are delayed before being exacted upon the righteous, while the [divine] attribute of goodness takes effect quickly. “And it shall be that if they do not believe even these two signs, and they do not heed your voice, you shall take from the water of the Nile and pour it out on dry land; and the water that you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land” (Exodus 4:9).

“It will be, if they will not believe even these two…” Why did the Holy One blessed be He perform three signs for him? It is corresponding to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “You shall take from the water of the Nile.” He indicated to him that, by means of something he will say to Israel, the water is destined to be transformed into blood, and he will be punished through it [the water], as it is written: “Hear now, defiant ones” (Numbers 20:10), and he struck the stone and extracted [water], as it is stated: “Behold, He struck the rock, and water flowed out [vayazuvu]” (Psalms 78:20).

Vayazuvu is an expression of nothing other than blood, as it is stated: “If a woman will have a flow [yazuv zov] of her blood” (Leviticus 15:25). That is why he struck the stone twice, as initially it produced blood and finally water. In the first two signs, you find that they were restored to their original state, but the sign of the blood was not restored to its original state because He did not wish to forgive Moses for the sin of the water. And how was there a sign for Israel in this? He said to them: ‘With this sign the Egyptians will be afflicted first.’

“Moses said to the Lord: Please my Lord, I am not a man of words, neither yesterday, nor the day before, nor since You spoke to Your servant; for I am slow of speech, and slow of tongue” (Exodus 4:10). “Moses said to the Lord: Please my Lord [Adonai].”31The name of the Lord is spelled alef, dalet, nun, yod. Moses said to the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You are the lord [adon] of the world, and it is me you want to be an emissary?

“I am not a man of words…”’ The Sages said: Seven days previously, the Holy One blessed be He was inducing Moses to go on His mission, but he did not want to go until the incident at the bush. That is what is written: “I am not a man of words,” one; “yesterday,” two; “neither [gam],” three; “the day before,” four; “nor [gam],” five; “since,” six; “You spoke,” seven. “The Lord said to him: Who makes a man's mouth, or makes a man mute, or deaf, or sighted, or blind?

Is it not I, the Lord? Now, go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak” (Exodus 4:11-12). Rabbi Pinḥas HaKohen said; Moses said: ‘I am not a man of words, and I do not see [how] words [can be effective] here, because the person to whom I am going [Pharaoh]32Presumably, Pharaoh is regarded as a slave because Ham is the ancestor of Egypt and the descendants of Ham are cursed with slavery.

See Genesis 9:25. Alternatively, “the man” refers to the typical Israelite slave. is a slave and he does not accept admonition, as it is stated: “A slave will not be admonished with words” (Proverbs 29:19). <variant reading:="" if="" i="" am="" not="" going="" to="" afflict="" him,="" i="" will="" not="" go,="" immediately:="" “the="" lord="" said="" [to="" him:="" who="" makes="" a="" man's="" mouth,="" or="" makes="" a="" man="" mute,="" or="" deaf,="" or="" sighted,="" or="" blind?="" is="" it="" not="" i,="" the="" lord?]”="">. If I am going to afflict him I will go immediately.’

“The Lord said to him: Who makes a man’s mouth?” He [God] said to him: ‘If you are not a man of words do not be concerned; haven’t I created all the mouths in the world, and I rendered mute whomever I wished, and [likewise determined who is] deaf and blind, and sighted and hearing? Had I wished for you to be a man of words, so would you be. Rather, I wish to perform a miracle with you.

When you speak, your words will be exact,33Alternative translation: correct, fitting. as I will be with your mouth.’ That is what is written: “And I will be with your mouth.” What is “and teach you [vehoreitikha]”? Rabbi Abbahu said: I will shoot [moreh] My words into your mouth like an arrow, as it states: “Or will be shot [yaro yiyareh]” (Exodus 19:13).

Rabbi Simon says: I will create you into a new being, as it is stated: “The woman conceived [vatahar] [and bore a son]” (Exodus 2:2).

“He said: Please Lord, send by means of whom You send” (Exodus 4:13). “He said: Please [bi] Lord [Adonai],34The name of the Lord is spelled alef, dalet, nun, yod. send by means of whom You send.” Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said: He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, with me [bi], You seek to deliver the children of Abraham, who established You as the lord [adon] over all Your creations? “Send, please, by means of whom You send.”’35Send whomever You usually send for such tasks.

He said before Him: ‘Who is dearer to a person, his nephew or his grandson? You must say, it is his grandson. When you sought to rescue Lot, Abraham’s nephew, You sent angels to rescue him. Abraham’s descendants, who are six hundred thousand, you are sending me to rescue them?

Send the angels whom You are accustomed to send. Another matter: ‘For Hagar the Egyptian, You sent five angels to her; to six hundred thousand descendants of Sarah, it is me You are sending to rescue them?’ The Rabbis say: Did you suppose that Moses was refusing to go? That is not the case.

Rather, it was in deference to Aaron, as Moses was saying: ‘Before I arose, Aaron my brother has been prophesying for them in Egypt for eighty years.’ That is what is written: “I made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt” (Ezekiel 20:5). From where [can it be known] that Aaron was prophesying? For it says like this: “A man of God came to Eli, and said to him: So said the Lord: Didn’t I reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, subject to Pharaoh's house?

Did I not choose him from all the tribes of Israel to be My priest?”36Implying that Aaron was chosen already in Egypt. (I Samuel 2:27–28). Moses said: ‘Will I now encroach upon my brother and upset him?’ For that reason he did not wish to go. Immediately, “the wrath of the Lord was enflamed against Moses” (Exodus 4:14).

“The wrath of the Lord was enflamed against Moses, and He said: Surely Aaron your brother the Levite, I know that he can speak. And behold, he is coming out to meet you, and he will see you, and be glad in his heart” (Exodus 4:14). What enflamed wrath was there? [At that moment,] the priesthood was taken from Moses and given to Aaron. Our Rabbis of blessed memory say: “Surely Aaron your brother the Levite” – from the fact that He said “your brother,” don’t I know that he is a Levite?

Rather, He said to him: ‘You were fit to be a priest, and he, a Levite. Because you refuse to fulfill My words, you will be a Levite, and he, a priest.’ “I know that he can speak.” Because you said: “I am not a man of words,” therefore, he will speak.

And that which you thought that he would be upset, that is not so; rather, he will be glad, as it is stated: “He will see you, and be glad in his heart.” Rabbi Shimon ben Rabbi Yosei said: The heart that was glad over the greatness of his brother will don the Urim ve’Tumim,37Part of the priestly vestments used as an oracle. as it is stated: “They shall be upon Aaron’s heart” (Exodus 28:30). “You shall speak to him and place the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct you what you shall do.

He shall speak for you to the people and he shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be in God’s stead for him” (Exodus 4:15–16). When you fear to speak all these matters, “I will be with your mouth.” “He shall speak for you to the people and he shall be a mouth for you” – a spokesperson. “And you shall be in God’s stead for him.”

Even though he is your older brother, fear of you will be upon him. From here they said: Fear of your teacher is like the fear of Heaven. He [God] said to him: ‘Just as fear of Me is upon you, so, too, fear of you is upon him.’ “You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs” (Exodus 4:17).

“You shall take in your hand this staff.” You said: “I am not a man of words” (Exodus 4:10). “A slave will not be admonished with words” (Proverbs 29:19). What does one do to a slave?

One afflicts him with a staff. So should you take the staff with which to afflict him; that is what is written: “You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you will perform the signs.”

“Moses went and returned to Yeter his father-in-law and he said to him: Please, let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt and see if they are still alive. Yitro said to Moses: Go in peace” (Exodus 4:18). “Moses went and returned to Yeter his father-in-law” – that is what is written: “[Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place?]

He who has clean hands and is pure of heart, [who has not taken My name in vain, nor taken an oath deceitfully]” (Psalms 24:3–4). Who is able to climb the mountain of God? One who has these attributes; and all of them were stated in Moses’s regard. “Clean hands” – this is Moses, as it is stated: “I have not taken [nasati] one donkey from them…” (Numbers 16:15).

Had he taken a donkey that was theirs, how would he be different from robbers? Rather, so said Moses: All those journeys that we traveled in the wilderness, I did not say to one of them to take an item of mine and load it on his donkey. Nesia is an expression of nothing other than loading, as it is stated: “Each man loaded his donkey” (Genesis 44:13). “Pure of heart” – this is Moses, who did not set out on the mission of the Holy One blessed be He, until he clarified his undertaking, as it is stated: “And they will say to me: What is His name, [what shall I say to them?]” (Exodus 3:13).

“Who has not taken My name in vain” – this is the life of the Egyptian, as he killed the Egyptian only after he judged him and saw that he was liable for execution.1This derivation is based on the unusual way in which the verse states “My name” – nafshi, which is from the word nefesh, which generally means life. Alternatively, it is based on the opinion that Moses killed the Egyptian by mentioning the name of God (See Shemot Rabba 1:29).

“Nor taken an oath deceitfully” – this is Moses. When he went to Yitro he took an oath to him that he would not leave without his knowledge. When he went on the mission of the Holy One blessed be He, he went to Yitro and nullified his oath.2He received permission from Yitro to leave, and therefore did not violate his oath (Yefei Toar). That is what is written: “He returned to Yeter his father-in-law.”

Another interpretation: “Moses went” – that is what is written: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). Who is “a friend loves”? This is Yitro, who accepted Moses when he was fleeing from Pharaoh. From here you learn that one who accepts upon himself to perform a mitzva, that mitzva does not cease from his household.

Yitro’s mitzva was that he accepted into his house a deliverer who fled from an enemy. From his house, one emerged who accepted an enemy who fled from a deliverer, and killed him. Who is that? Sisera, as it is stated: “Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Yael, wife of Ḥever the Kenite” (Judges 4:17), and it is written: “The children of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses” (Judges 1:16).

Therefore, it says: “A brother is born for adversity” – because Yitro loved Moses and was his friend, therefore his descendants became brethren to Israel in their time of trouble, and Yael killed Sisera. When the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Go now, and I will send you to Pharaoh” (Exodus 3:10), he said to Him: ‘Master of the world, I am not able to do so, because Yitro accepted me and opened his house to me and I am like a son to him.

One who opens his door to another, [the latter] owes him his life.’ Likewise, you find regarding Elijah when he went to the widow from Tzarefat, her son died. He began pleading and saying: “Have You brought evil even upon the widow with whom I lodge, to kill her son?”3Due to Elijah’s debt of gratitude toward the widow, he risked his life on her behalf by praying impertinently for her son’s revival.

Similarly, Moses risked his life for Yitro by not undertaking God’s mission without Yitro’s permission (Etz Yosef). (I Kings 17:20). And it is written: “The Lord heeded the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child was restored” (I Kings 17:22). Moreover, anyone who opens his door to another, [the latter] is obligated in his honor more than in the honor of his father and mother. You find that at the moment that Elijah was taken from Elisha, and [Elisha] was privileged to take a double portion of his spirit, as it is stated: “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” (II Kings 2:9), he should have gone to his father and mother and revived them as he did the son of his hostess.4See II Kings, chap. 4.

Likewise, Elijah should have revived his ancestors, as he did the son of the [widow from] Tzarefat, but he risked his life [only] on behalf of his hostess. That is why Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Yitro accepted me and treated me with respect; I will go only with his permission.’ Therefore, it is written: “Moses went and returned to Yeter his father-in-law.”

Another interpretation: “Moses went” – that is what is written: “He is one; who can respond to Him” (Job 23:13). Rabbi Pinḥas expounded: Because He is one in the world, He judges all mankind alone, and no one can overturn His words Shir HaShirim Rabba, Parasha 1>. Our Rabbis said: What is “He is one; who can respond to Him”? Whatever He issues as a decree on a person, there is no overturning His words.

How much did Bilam seek to curse Israel, but against his will and against his best interests he would bless them, as it is stated: “How will I curse if God has not cursed?” (Numbers 23:8). How much did Jonah seek not to go on the mission of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “He went down to Yafo, and found a ship going to Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3), and he went against his will, as it is stated: “Jonah arose and went to Nineveh” (Jonah 3:3).

How much did Jeremiah seek not to prophesy, and he prophesied against his best interests, as it is stated: “Do not say I am a lad, because to wherever I will send you, you shall go” (Jeremiah 1:7). How much did Moses seek not to go on the mission of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Send, please, by means of whom You will send” (Exodus 4:13), but ultimately, he went against his will, as it is stated: “Moses went and returned to Yeter his father-in-law.”5The phrase “Moses went” is not referring to his going to Yitro, as the word “went” would have been unnecessary.

The verse is therefore alluding to the fact that although Moses did not go right away, ultimately it was impossible for him not to carry out his mission.

Another interpretation: “Moses went” – it was necessary to say only: “Moses returned.” Rather, our Rabbis said: Initially, he went to Pharaoh on the mission of the Holy One blessed be He, and then: “He returned to Yeter his father-in-law.” This is what the Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘If Yitro will say anything to you about the oath, say to him: The Master of the oath6God, in whose name the oath was taken (Etz Yosef). absolved me of my vow.’

Therefore, “Moses went,” and then: “He returned to Yeter his father-in-law.” The son of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said: He did not go to Pharaoh until Yitro annulled his vow. If you say, why is it stated: “Moses went”? Where did he go?

He went to take his wife and sons. Yitro said to him: ‘Where are you leading them?’ He said to him: ‘To Egypt.’ He said to him: ‘Those who are in Egypt are seeking to leave, and you are leading them there?’

He said to him: ‘Tomorrow they are destined to leave and to stand at Mount Sinai and hear from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He: “I am the Lord, Your God” (Exodus 20:2). Will my sons not hear it like them?’ Immediately, “Yitro said to Moses: Go in peace.” He said to him: ‘Go in peace, enter in peace, and come in peace.’

“The Lord said to Aaron: Go toward Moses to the wilderness. He went, and he met him at the mountain of God and he kissed him” (Exodus 4:27). “The Lord said to Aaron: Go toward Moses to the wilderness” – that is what is written: “If only you were as my brother [who nursed from the breasts of my mother; I would find you outside, I would kiss you]” (Song of Songs 8:1). Regarding which brother is the verse speaking?

If you say it is regarding Cain, but is it not written: “Cain rose against his brother Abel and killed him”? If you say it is like Ishmael to Isaac, did we not learn: Ishmael hates Isaac? If you say it is like Esau to Jacob, is it not written: “Esau hated Jacob” (Genesis 27:41)? If you say it is like Joseph’s brothers, but is it not written: “They hated him” (Genesis 37:4), and it is written: “His brothers envied him” (Genesis 37:11).

Rather, it is like Joseph to Benjamin, “who nursed from the breasts of my mother” (Song of Songs 8:1),1Joseph and Benjamin were from the same mother, Rachel, whereas their other brothers were not sons of Rachel. [and] like Moses to Aaron, as it is stated: “He went, and he met him at the mountain of God and he kissed him.” Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said: All kisses are indecent except for three: The kiss of greatness, the kiss of separation, and the kiss of reunion.

The kiss of greatness, as it is stated: “Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him” (I Samuel 10:1); the kiss of separation: “Orpa kissed her mother-in-law” (Ruth 1:14); the kiss of reunion, as it is stated: “He went, and he met him at the mountain of God and he kissed him.” Some say: Even a kiss of closeness is not disgraceful, as it is stated: “Jacob kissed Rachel” (Genesis 29:11), who was his relative.

Rabbi Pinḥas said: There was an incident involving a brother and a sister, one of whom was in Gush Ḥalav and one of whom was in Beit Maron. The house in Gush Ḥalav caught fire. His sister came from Beit Maron and fell upon him and was hugging him and kissing him. She said: ‘I am not accustomed to come to you [and to kiss you], but I was afraid, as you are my brother and were in distress, and you emerged from it.’

“I would find you outside, I would kiss you” (Song of Songs 8:1) – where outside? It is in the wilderness, where the brothers, Moses and Aaron, kissed each other.

Rabbi Ḥama said: At twelve years old, Moses our master was torn from his father’s house. Why was it so? It is because had he grown in his father’s home, and come and related these signs to Israel, they would not have believed him. They would have said: Your father passed it to you; as Joseph passed it to Levi, and Levi to Kehat, and Kehat to Amram.2A midrash (Shemot Rabba 3:8, 5:13) states that when Moses said, in the name of God, “I have remembered [pakod pakadti] you” (Exodus 3:16), the elders believed him because there was an oral tradition that the redeemer of Israel would say those words when he revealed himself.

That is why he was torn from his father’s home. Therefore, when he went and told Israel all these matters, they believed him, as it is stated: “The people believed” (Exodus 4:31).

“Moses went and returned to Yeter his father-in-law, and he said to him: Please, let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt and see if they are still alive. Yitro said to Moses: Go in peace [lekh leshalom]” (Exodus 4:18). “He said to him: Please, let me go and return.” You find that everyone in whose regard “go in peace [leshalom]” is stated, he went and returned, and everyone in whose regard beshalom3David said to Avshalom: “Go in peace [beshalom]” (II Samuel 15:9), and he did not return. is written, he went and did not return. Yitro said to Moses: “Go in peace [leshalom],” and he went and returned.

“The Lord said to Moses in Midyan: Go, return to Egypt; as all the men who sought your life are dead” (Exodus 4:19). “The Lord said to Moses in Midyan: Go, return to Egypt.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The Torah teaches you proper behavior. One who takes an oath to another should annul it only in his presence, so that he will not suspect him that he took a false oath, as you find that Moses took an oath to Yitro and went to Midyan and annulled his oath in his presence, as it is stated: “The Lord said to Moses in Midyan.”

The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘In Midyan you took the oath; go and annul your oath in Midyan.’4The midrash is interpreting the verse differently than it is generally translated, as follows: God said to Moses (at the burning bush): Go to Midyan and return to Egypt (Etz Yosef). “As all the men…are dead” – did they die? But were they not Datan and Aviram, and they were with Koraḥ in his dispute?5See Numbers 16:1.

Since Datan and Aviram were still active in the incident with Koraḥ, clearly they had not died during the events the midrash is describing. Rather, what is “are dead”? They became impoverished. Four are considered as though they are dead: A blind person, a leper, an impoverished person, and one without children Avoda Zara 5a>.

“Moses took his wife and his sons, and mounted them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God in his hand” (Exodus 4:20). “Moses took his wife and his sons” – why did he lead them there? It was so they would be with Israel to receive the Torah. “He mounted them on a donkey” – this is one of the eighteen matters that the Sages changed for King Ptolemy.6In the talmudic account of the writing of the Septuagint (Megilla 9a–b), the Sages changed “donkey” to “people carrier.” “Moses took the staff…” – he acted in accordance with what the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “You shall take this staff in your hand” (Exodus 4:17).

“The Lord said to Moses: When you go back to Egypt, see all the wonders that I have placed in your hand and perform them before Pharaoh; but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go” (Exodus 4:21). “The Lord said to Moses: When you go…” Of which wonder did He speak? If you say it is regarding the serpent, the leprosy, and the blood; didn’t the Holy One blessed be He say to him to perform them only for Israel?

Moreover, we do not find that Moses performed those signs before Pharaoh. Rather, what is “all the wonders that I have placed in your hand”? This is the staff upon which all ten plagues were written in acronym form, as detzakh adash be’aḥav.7This is an acronym of the initials of the plagues: Blood [dam], frogs [tzefarde’a], lice [kinnim] – detzakh; wild beasts [arov], pestilence [dever], boils [shekhin] – adash; hail [barad], locusts [arbeh], darkness [ḥoshekh], firstborn [bekhorot] – be’aḥav.

The Holy One blessed be He said to him: These are the plagues that I have placed in your hand. Perform them before Pharaoh with this staff.

“I will harden his heart” – in order to administer their sentence. “You shall say to Pharaoh: So said the Lord: My son, My firstborn, Israel” (Exodus 4:22). “You shall say to Pharaoh: So said the Lord: My son…” – the Holy One blessed be He revealed to him that Pharaoh will not let Israel go until the plague of the firstborn; therefore, it was not necessary for the verse to inform him of it later.8When God said to Moses: “One more blow I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterward he will send you forth from here” (Exodus 11:1), He did not specify what that blow would be.

However, Moses knew that if it was the last blow it must be the plague of the firstborn, and he warned Pharaoh accordingly (Exodus 11:5). What is “My son, My firstborn, Israel”? It is a reference to Jacob their ancestor, who purchased the birthright from Esau so he would be able to serve God.9The firstborn were initially designated to perform sacrificial rites in service of God. Israel is another name for Jacob.

You shall say to him: “Let My son go, and he will serve Me” (Exodus 4:23). He said to him: ‘If you prevent My firstborn from serving Me, I will prevent your firstborn from serving you, as I will kill them all.’

"And it came to pass on the way, at the lodging place" (Exodus 4:24). Beloved is circumcision, for Moses did not delay over it even one hour. Therefore, when he was on the way and busied himself at the lodging place and was slothful about circumcising Eliezer his son, immediately "the LORD met him and sought to kill him" (Exodus 4:24). You find that it was an angel of mercy, and even so "he sought to kill him." "And Zipporah took a flint" (Exodus 4:25). Now from where did Zipporah know that it was over the matter of circumcision that Moses was endangered? Rather, the angel came and swallowed Moses from his head down to the circumcision. When Zipporah saw that it had swallowed him only as far as the circumcision, she recognized that it was over the matter of circumcision that he was harmed, and she knew how great is the power of circumcision, that the angel could not swallow him beyond that point. Immediately "she cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to his feet, and said: Surely a bridegroom of blood are you to me" (Exodus 4:25). She said: You shall be my bridegroom, given to me by the merit of this blood of circumcision, for behold, I have fulfilled the commandment. Immediately "the angel let him go" (Exodus 4:26). "Then she said: A bridegroom of blood, with regard to the circumcision" (Exodus 4:26). She said: How great is the power of circumcision, for my bridegroom was liable to death because he was slothful in performing the commandment of circumcision, and had it not been for it, he would not have been saved.

“It was on the way at the lodging, the Lord met him, and sought to kill him” (Exodus 4:24). “It was on the way at the lodging” – circumcision is dear, as Moses’s punishment for [not performing] it was not delayed for even one moment. Therefore, when he was on the way and was preparing the lodging and was indolent in circumcising his son Elazar, immediately, “the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.”

You find that it was an angel of mercy,10“The Lord” is the name that represents the attribute of mercy. and, nevertheless, “He sought to kill him.” Tzipora took flint, cut her son’s foreskin, and cast it at his feet; she said: You are to me a bridegroom of blood” (Exodus 4:25). “Tzipora took flint” – how did Tzipora know that it was over matters of circumcision that Moses was endangered? Rather, the angel came and swallowed Moses from his head to the [place of] circumcision.

When Tzipora saw that he swallowed him only until the circumcision, she understood that he was being harmed due to matters of circumcision. She realized just how great the power of circumcision is, as he was unable to swallow him beyond there. Immediately, “she cut her son’s foreskin, and cast it at his feet.” “She said: You are to me a bridegroom of blood” – she said: ‘My bridegroom, may you be given to me thanks to this blood of circumcision, as I fulfilled the mitzva.’

Immediately, “he let him alone” (4:26). “He let him alone. Then she said: A bridegroom of blood regarding the circumcision” (Exodus 4:26). “Then she said: A bridegroom of blood regarding the circumcision” – she said: How great the power of circumcision is, as my bridegroom was liable to be executed because he was indolent in performance of the mitzva of circumcision, and were it not for it, he would not have been saved.11Once he was liable to be killed, it was only the performance of circumcision that caused him to be saved.

“The Lord said to Aaron: Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. He went, and he met him at the mountain of God and he kissed him” (Exodus 4:27). “The Lord said to Aaron: Go into the wilderness to meet Moses” – that is what is written: “God thunders marvelously with His voice” (Job 37:5). What is “thunders”?

When the Holy One blessed be He gave the Torah at Sinai, He displayed His voice to Israel with miracles and wonders. How so? The Holy One blessed be He would speak, and the voice emerged and circulated throughout the world. Israel heard the voice coming to them from the south and were running to the south to greet the voice.

From the south it shifted for them to the north, and they were running to the north. From the north it shifted to the east, and they were running to the east. From the east it shifted for them to the west, and they were running to the west. From the west it shifted for them to the heavens, and they were raising their eyes.

It shifted to the earth, and they were looking at the earth, as it is stated: “From the heavens, He sounded His voice to you to admonish you [and on the earth He showed you His great fire]” (Deuteronomy 4:36). Israel were saying to each other: “But wisdom, where shall it be found?” (Job 28:12). Israel was saying: ‘From where does the Holy One blessed be He come, from the east or from the south?’ As it is stated: “The Lord came from Sinai and shone to them from Seir” (Deuteronomy 33:2), and it is written: “God came from the south” (Habakkuk 3:3), and it says: “All the people were seeing the voices” (Exodus 20:15).

Voice is not written here, but “voices.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The voice would emerge and divide into seventy voices for seventy languages, so that all the nations could understand. Each and every nation would hear a voice in the language of that nation, and their souls departed. But Israel heard and they were not harmed.

How would the voice emerge? Rabbi Tanḥuma said: It would emerge in two forms: It would kill the idolaters, who did not accept it, and would give life to Israel, who accepted the Torah. That is what Moses said to them at the end of forty years: “For who is there of all flesh who heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire [as we have, and lived?]” (Deuteronomy 5:22). You heard His voice and lived, but idolaters heard and died.

Come and see how the voice would emerge to each one of Israel, each and every one in accordance with his capability; the elderly according to their capability, the young men according to their capability, the children according to their capability, the nursing babies according to their capability, the women according to their capability, and Moses, too, according to his capability, as it is stated: “Moses would speak, and God would answer him with a voice” (Exodus 19:19), with a voice that he could withstand.

Likewise it says: “The voice of the Lord is powerful [bako’aḥ]” (Psalms 29:4). It does not say His capability, bekoḥo, but rather bako’aḥ, according to the capability of each and every one, and even pregnant women according to their capability. That is: Each and every one according to his capability. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: If you are astonished about this matter, learn from the manna that would fall for Israel only according to the capability of each and every one of Israel.

The young men would eat it as bread, as it is stated: “Behold I will rain bread for you from the heavens…” (Exodus 16:4); the elderly, like honey wafers, as it is stated: “And its taste was like wafers with honey” (Exodus 16:31); the nursing babies, like milk from his mother’s breasts [shedei], as it is stated: “Its taste was like the taste of a cake [leshad] with oil” (Numbers 11:8); and the ill, like fine flour mixed with honey, as it is stated: “My bread that I gave you, fine flour, and oil, and honey, with which I fed you” (Ezekiel 16:19); the idolaters tasted it bitter like a coriander seed, as it is stated: “The manna was like a coriander seed” (Numbers 11:7).

Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: If the manna, which was one type, transformed into several types to fill the need of each and every one, the voice that had power in it,12The voice of God, in accordance with the verse cited above: “The voice of the Lord is powerful” (Psalms 29:4). all the more so that it would change for each and every one so they would not be harmed. From where is it derived that the voice divided into several voices so they would not be harmed?

It is as it is stated: “All the people were seeing the voices” (Exodus 20:15). That is: “God thunders marvelously with His voice” (Job 37:5). Another interpretation: “God thunders marvelously with His voice” – Rabbi Levi said: Three sounds carry from one end of the world to the other, and creatures are between them and do not hear anything, and these are they: The day, the rains, and the soul at the moment that it leaves the body.

The day, from where is it derived? Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Ilai said: This is the star that moves stealthily in the heavens, but is actually like a saw [variant reading, like a nail] that cuts into wood. The rains, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Depth calls to depth at the sound of your watercourses” (Psalms 42:8).

How so? There is a tree whose roots descend twenty cubits, another [whose roots descend] thirty [cubits], another fifty, and some descend only three handbreadths. If the rains from above irrigate [to a depth of] only three handbreadths, those [whose roots descend] fifty cubits will die. If those of fifty cubits are irrigated, it will destroy those of three handbreadths.

Rather, the upper depth13In the heavens calls to the lower depth14Under the earth and says to it: ‘Ascend, and I will descend.’ And the lower says to it: ‘Descend and I will ascend.’ The upper descends and irrigates those of three handbreadths, and the lower ascends and irrigates those of fifty cubits. Come and see how far it is between these and those and they call to each other, and people are in the middle but do not hear.

That is: “God thunders marvelously with His voice.” The soul, at the moment that it leaves the body [also makes a very loud sound], and the people sitting with him do not hear. That is: “God thunders marvelously with His voice.” Rabbi Reuven said: When the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses in Midyan: “Go, return to Egypt” (Exodus 4:19), the speech was divided into two voices and assumed two forms.

Moses heard in Midyan: “Go, return to Egypt,” and Aaron heard: “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses” (Exodus 4:27). That is: “God thunders marvelously with His voice.”

“He went, and he met him [at the mountain of God and he kissed him]” – that is what is written: “Kindness and truth met, righteousness and peace kissed” (Psalms 85:11). “Kindness [ḥesed]” – this is Aaron, as it is stated: “Of Levi he said: Your Tummim and your Urim for the man of your piety [ḥasidekha]” (Deuteronomy 33:8). “And truth” – this is Moses, as it is stated: “My servant Moses is not so, [in all My house he is trusted]” (Numbers 12:7).

That is: “Kindness and truth met,” as it is stated: “He went, and he met him at the mountain of God.” “Righteousness” – this is Moses, as it is stated: “He executed the righteousness of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 33:21). “And peace” – this is Aaron, as it is stated: “He walked with Me in peace and uprightness” (Malachi 2:6). “Kissed” – “and he kissed him.”

Our Rabbis say: All kisses are indecent except for three. “He kissed him” – what is “he kissed him”? This one was glad for the prominence of that one, and that one was glad for the prominence of this one. Alternatively, “he kissed [vayishak]15This is an expression of economy [meshek], indicating a transaction. him” – they took the priestly and Levite status; this one took the priestly status and transferred the Levite status, and that one took the Levite status and transferred the priestly status.

Another interpretation: “He kissed him” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: This is comparable to a goldsmith to whom they brought a coin and he saw that inside it was earthenware and outside it was gold. Later, they brought him a coin that was solid gold. He said to them: The first was earthenware and was plated with gold, but this is solid gold. Similarly, the kiss that Esau kissed Jacob was only dross, as it is stated: “An earthen vessel plated with silver dross” (Proverbs 26:23).

What was its end? “Burning lips and a wicked heart” (Proverbs 26:23) – he did not seek to kiss him, but rather to bite him. But the kiss of Aaron and Moses was a kiss of truth. In their regard it says: “Kindness and truth met.”

Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon says: “Kindness” – this is Aaron; “and truth” – this is Moses. Rabbi Azarya says: “Kindness” – this is Moses, who performed kindness with Joseph. “Truth” – this is Aaron, as it is written: “The law of truth was in his mouth” (Malachi 2:6). That is: “Kindness and truth met” – this is Moses and Aaron.

“He kissed him” – we do not know to whom the Holy One blessed be He accorded deference, whether it was to Aaron or to Moses.16In other words, who was the one who was kissed. Some say that it was to Aaron, who was in Egypt and prophesying to Israel that the Holy One blessed be He is destined to deliver them. [Moses accorded him honor] so that [when] Moses would come and testify in support of Aaron’s words, Israel would say: Aaron was prophesying the truth.

Some say that it was to Moses, [and Aaron accorded him honor] so that Moses would come and they would believe his words.

“Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord that He had sent him, and all the signs that He had charged him” (Exodus 4:28). “Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord…” – Moses began saying to him all the words and all the signs that He commanded him to perform before the people. Just as the Holy One blessed be He said to him, so he did: “You shall speak to him, and place the words in his mouth” (Exodus 4:15).

“Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the children of Israel” (Exodus 4:29). “Moses and Aaron went and gathered…” – Rabbi Akiva said: Why was Israel analogized to the bird? Just as a bird flies only by virtue of its wings, so too, Israel is able to stand only by virtue of the elders [zekenim].17Zaken is an acronym for zeh shekana ḥokhma, one who acquired wisdom. Therefore, there can be both elderly Sages and young Sages. Great is Zikna; if it is in the elderly, they are beloved before the Holy One blessed be He, and if they are lads, their youth is their secondary [characteristic].18Their wisdom grants them maturity beyond their years. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: In several places we have learned that the Holy One blessed be He accorded honor to the elders: At the [burning] bush, as it is written: “Go and gather the elders of Israel” (Exodus 3:16); at Sinai, as it is written: “To Moses He said: Come up to the Lord, [you and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel]” (Exodus 24:1); at the Tent of Meeting, as it is written: “Moses summoned Aaron and his sons [and the elders of Israel]” (Leviticus 9:1); and likewise, in the future, as it is stated: “For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His elders will be glory” (Isaiah 24:23). Rabbi Avin said: The Holy One blessed be He is destined to seat the elders of Israel like a threshing floor,19In a circle and He will sit at the head of all of them as the head of the court, and they will judge the idolaters, as it is stated: “The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people, and its princes” (Isaiah 3:14). It is not written: Of the elders of His people, but rather “with the elders of His people.” He will be sitting with them, and they will judge the idolaters. What does He say to [the idolaters]? “You have consumed the vineyard” (Isaiah 3:14) – this is Israel, as it is written: “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel” (Isaiah 5:7). “The theft of the poor [he’ani] is in your houses” (Isaiah 3:14) – and it is written: “For the Lord had founded Zion, and in it the afflicted [aniyei] of His people will take refuge” (Isaiah 14:32).20This proves that the term ani in Isaiah 3:14 is referring to the Jewish people. Likewise, it was the way of the kings to sit in the shape of a round threshing floor, as it is stated: “The king of Israel and Yehoshafat king of Judah each sat on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they sat in a threshing floor” (II Chronicles 18:9). Were they sitting in a threshing floor? Rather, as we learned: The Sanhedrin would sit in a semicircular shape like a threshing floor so that they could see each other, and the two judges’ scribes were sitting before them…21Sanhedrin 36b. Solomon said: I saw Him sitting with them and judging in their midst, as it is stated: “Her husband is known at the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land” (Proverbs 31:23).22This chapter in Proverbs analogizes Israel and God as a wife and husband. The midrash states that King Solomon, the author of Proverbs, saw with divine spirit the time when God will judge together with the elders.

“Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and performed the signs before the eyes of the people” (Exodus 4:30). “Aaron spoke all the words” – he acted in accordance with what the Holy One blessed be He had said: “He will speak for you to the people” (Exodus 4:16). “And performed the signs before the eyes of the people” – as [God] had said [to him] above.23Exodus 4:17 “The people believed; they heard that the Lord had remembered the children of Israel, and that He had seen their affliction, and they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves” (Exodus 4:31).

“The people believed” – they acted in accordance with what the Holy One blessed be He had said: “They will heed your voice” (Exodus 3:18). Could it be that they did not believe until they saw the signs? No, rather, “they heard that the Lord had remembered”; they believed because of what they heard, and not the seeing of the signs. What led them to believe?

It was the sign of the remembrance that he said to them, as they had a tradition from Jacob that Jacob passed the secret to Joseph, and Joseph to his brothers, and Asher son of Jacob passed the secret to his daughter Seraḥ, who was still alive. This is what he said to her: Any deliverer who will come and say to my descendants: “Pakod pakadti etkhem,” he is a genuine deliverer. When Moses came and said: “I have remembered you [pakod pakadti etkhem]” (Exodus 3:16), immediately, “the people believed.”

What led them to believe? It was because they heard the remembrance. That is what is written: “That the Lord had remembered [pakad] the children of Israel, and that He had seen their affliction, and they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.” “They bowed” – for the remembrance, “and they prostrated themselves” – for “that He had seen their affliction.”

He said to them: And what are His deeds? They said to him: He stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth; His voice hews out flames of fire; He shatters mountains and breaks rocks; His bow is fire, His arrows a flame, His spear a torch, His shield clouds, His sword lightning; He forms mountains and hills; He covers the mountains with grasses; He sends down rains and dews; He makes the green herbs sprout; He answers the beasts; He fashions the embryo in its mother's womb and brings it forth into the air of the world. He said to them: From the very start you speak falsehood, for I am the lord of the world, and I created myself and the Nile, as it is said: "My river is my own, and I have made myself" (Ezekiel 29:3).

“Afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said to Pharaoh: So said the Lord, God of Israel: Let My people go, and they will hold a feast to Me in the wilderness” (Exodus 5:1). “Afterward Moses and Aaron came” – where did the elders go, that they were not included with them, as the Holy One blessed be He already said to him: “And you shall come, you and the elders of Israel” (Exodus 3:18)? Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said: The elders accompanied them, but secretively stole away one at a time or two at a time and left.

When they reached Pharaoh’s palace not one could be found, as it is written: “Afterward Moses and Aaron came.” Where were the elders? They had left. The Holy One blessed be He said to them: This is what you did; by your lives, I will pay you back.

When? At the time that Moses and Aaron ascended Mount Sinai with the elders to receive the Torah, the Holy One blessed be He turned them back, as it is stated: “To the elders he said: Wait here for us” (Exodus 24:14). “And said to Pharaoh: So said the Lord, God of Israel: Let My people go, and they will hold a feast to Me in the wilderness” – Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: That day was the day of Pharaoh’s reception of ambassadors, and all the rulers came to honor him and brought gifts of crowns, and they crowned him, as it was the day that he was ruler of the world.

They brought their gods with them. After they crowned him, Moses and Aaron were standing at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace. His servants entered and said: Two elderly people are standing at the entrance. He said to them: Let them enter.

When they entered, he was looking at them; perhaps they would crown him or perhaps they would submit a writ [of submission or appeasement], but they did not even greet him. He said to them: ‘Who are you?’ They said to him: ‘We are the emissaries of the Holy One blessed be He.’ ‘What do you seek?’ They said to him: “So said the Lord [God of Israel]: Let My people go…” At that moment, he became angry: ‘“Who is the Lord that I should heed His voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2).

He did not have the sense to send me a crown, but you come to me with mere words? “I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go”’ (Exodus 5:2). He said to them: ‘Wait for me until I search my ledger.’ Immediately, he entered his palace and was looking at each and every nation and its gods.

He began reading about the gods of Moav, the gods of Amon, and the gods of Sidon. He said to them: ‘I searched for His name in my archives and I did not find Him.’ Rabbi Levi said: To what is this matter analogous? To a priest with a servant who was an imbecile.

The priest left the country. The servant went to search for his master in the graveyard. He began shouting to the people who were standing there: ‘Have you seen my master?’ They said to him: ‘Is your master not a priest?’

He said to them: ‘Yes.’ They said to him: ‘Imbecile, who ever saw a priest in a graveyard?’ So Moses and Aaron said to Pharaoh: ‘Imbecile, does one typically seek the dead among the living? Are the living with the dead?

Our God is living and these that you mention are dead. But our God is the living God and King of the world. He said to them: ‘Is He young or old? How old is He?

How many cities has He conquered? How many countries has He captured? How many years have passed since He became king?’ They said to him: ‘Our God, His power and His might fill the world.

He was before the world was created and He will be at the end of the entire world. He created you and placed in you a living spirit.’ He said to them: ‘What are His actions?’ They said to him: ‘“He stretched the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth” (Isaiah 51:13), His voice “hews flames of fire” (Psalms 29:7), He “smashes mountains and shatters rocks” (I Kings 19:11), His bow is fire, his arrows are a flame, His javelin is a torch, His shield is clouds, His sword is lightning, He forms mountains and hills, He blankets mountains with vegetation, He causes rain and dew to fall, He causes grasses to grow, He answers mothers in childbirth, He shapes the fetus in his mother’s womb, He takes it out to the atmosphere of the world, and “He removes kings and installs kings”’ (Daniel 2:21).

He said to them: ‘From the outset, you are telling a lie, as I am the lord of the world, and I created myself and the Nile,’ as it is stated: “My river is mine, and I made myself” (Ezekiel 29:3).24The verse in Ezekiel attributes this verse to Pharaoh. At that moment, he assembled all the wise men of Egypt. He said to them: ‘Have you heard the name of the God of these people?’ They said to him: ‘We heard that He is the son of wise men and the son of the ancient kings.’

The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘You call yourself wise men, and Me [you call] the son of wise men, as it is stated: “The wise counselors of Pharaoh are a senseless counsel; how can you say to Pharaoh: I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings” (Isaiah 19:11)? See what is written there: “The princes of Tzoan are utter fools” (Isaiah 19:11); “The wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their understanding men will be hidden”’ (Isaiah 29:14).

He responded to them: ‘Your God, I do not know who He is,’ as it is stated: “Who is the Lord that I should heed His voice?” (Exodus 5:2). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Wicked one, “who [mi] is the Lord,” you said? You will be afflicted with mi’; mem – forty, yod – ten, they are the fifty plagues that the Holy One blessed be He brought upon the Egyptians at the sea, as it is stated: “The magicians said to Pharaoh: It is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:15), and at the sea, what does it say: “Israel saw the great hand” (Exodus 14:31).

With how many were they afflicted with the finger: Ten plagues. Calculate: There are five fingers on the great hand, and on each and every one ten plagues; that is fifty. Another interpretation: “Who [mi] is the Lord” – reverse the order of mi [and the result is] yam;25Mi is spelled mem-yod; yam is spelled yod-mem. it is the sea that informed you of God.26As it is stated at the sea: “Egypt said: I will flee before Israel, as the Lord is waging war on their behalf against Egypt” (Exodus 14:25).

You said: “Who is the Lord”; you are destined to say: “The Lord is righteous” (Exodus 9:27). You said: “I do not know the Lord”; you are destined to say: “I have sinned to the Lord your God” (Exodus 10:16). You said: ‘“And I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2); had the elderly Israel27Jacob been there, I would have placed the basket and the rake on his shoulder.’28And made him work as well. A parallel midrash (Tanḥuma, Va’era 5) continues: “Tomorrow you will take hold of each and every one of them and say: ‘Go in peace. “Take both your flocks and your herds”’ (Exodus 12:32).

“They said: The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go, please, three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He afflict us with pestilence or with the sword” (Exodus 5:3). “They said: The God of the Hebrews has met with us” – Moses and Aaron said: If you say that we changed the language from the one which the Holy One blessed be He said to us, and we said to him: “So said the Lord, God of Israel,” and that is why [Pharaoh] questioned us; [therefore,] they then said: “The God of the Hebrews.”

“Lest he afflict us with pestilence or with the sword” – it should have said rather: Lest He afflict you. What is “lest he afflict us”? It is to teach you that they treated him with deference, to teach you that a person is obligated to accord deference to royalty.

“The king of Egypt said to them: Why, Moses and Aaron, do you disturb the people from their work? Go to your burdens” (Exodus 5:4). “The king of Egypt said to them: Why, Moses and Aaron” – what is why [lama]?29The question is difficult. Moses and Aaron had already explained why they were disturbing the people from their work. The midrash interprets the word lama as lema. Not “why” but rather, “what” are you and what are your words worth? He said to them: ‘What are you, and what are these matters?’ “Go to your burdens” – Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The tribe of Levi was unencumbered with the backbreaking labor. Pharaoh said to them: ‘Because you are unencumbered you say: “Let us go and sacrifice to our God” (Exodus 5:8); “go to your burdens.”’