“Tell me, he whom my soul loves, where do you herd, where do you rest your flock at noon? Why should I be as one bound to the flocks of your companions” (Song of Songs 1:7). “Tell me, he whom my soul loves,” Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon interpreted the verse regarding Moses. When the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Now go and I will send you to Pharaoh” (Exodus 3:10), he said to Him: ‘Master of the universe, through me, my Lord, can all these things be accomplished?221“Through me [bi], Lord,” is a play on the phrase “Please [bi] my Lord” (Exodus 4:13).
How can I stand before all these multitudes? How many new mothers are there among them? How many pregnant women are there among them? How many small children are there among them?
How many kinds of hearty food have You prepared for the new mothers among them? How many kinds of soft foods have You prepared for the pregnant women among them? How much roasted grain and how many nuts have You prepared for the small children among them?’ Where is this matter articulated?222Where is it articulated that Moses’ claim to God was that he would not be able to properly care for the children of Israel?
Here: “Tell me, he whom my soul loves”—the nation that my soul loves, the nation for whom I put my soul on the line; “where do you herd”—during the summer; “where do you rest your flock at noon”—during the rainy season. “Why should I be as one bound [keoteya],” Rabbi Ḥelbo said in the name of Rabbi Huna: Let me not be like this mourner who covers [oteh] until his upper lip and weeps, just as you say: “And he shall cover until his upper lip” (Leviticus 13:45).
Another matter, “Why should I be as one bound,” let me not be like this shepherd that wolves infiltrated his flock and mauled it, and he wrapped his garment and departed, just as it says: “He will wrap the land of Egypt” (Jeremiah 43:12). “To the flocks of your companions,” when I [Moses] go to Your companions223This is a reference to the patriarchs. and they ask me about their flocks, what will I respond to them?