The great Moses himself had such an experience. As we read in Exodus 4:24, on the road one night, Adonai—God—encountered Moses and sought to kill him. Talk about a plot twist! Why would God, who had just tasked Moses with leading the Israelites out of Egypt, suddenly try to off him?

The Torah doesn't give us a clear answer, leaving us scratching our heads. That's where our rich tradition of commentary comes in. The rabbis, grappling with this puzzling passage, offer several fascinating explanations.

One interpretation centers on Moses’ son, Gershom. It turns out Gershom hadn’t been circumcised. Some say Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, hadn’t allowed it. But whatever the reason, this lack of circumcision was a serious issue. According to one account, God sent the angel Uriel, disguised as a giant serpent, to… swallow Moses! The serpent, in this telling, consumed Moses from his head down to, pointedly, the place of his circumcision.

Imagine witnessing that! Zipporah, Moses' wife, did. And she understood immediately. The attack, she realized, was because their son remained uncircumcised. So, Zipporah, without hesitation, grabbed a flint—remember, this is before modern surgical tools!—and circumcised her son. Touching Gershom’s legs with the foreskin, she declared, "You are truly a bridegroom of blood to me!" (Exodus 4:25). The serpent then released Moses. Crisis averted.

But the story doesn't end there. Another version says God sent two angels, Af and Hemah—the Angels of Anger and Fury—after Moses. Hemah swallowed him, stopping at his legs. Only after Zipporah's quick action did Hemah spit him out. Moses, now safe, then apparently sought to slay the destroying angels. This is connected to Psalm 37:8, which urges us to "Give up anger, abandon fury."

And yet another telling says Zipporah knew through divine inspiration that she had to circumcise her son to save Moses. After the circumcision, she cast the foreskin at the feet of "the Destroyer," saying, "May the blood of this circumcision atone for my husband." After that, the Destroyer left him alone. As Targum Neophyti on Exodus 4:26 puts it, "How beloved is the blood that has delivered this bridegroom from the hand of the Angel of Death." This expanded version of the biblical verse "You are truly a bridegroom of blood" (Exod. 4:25) transforms a confusing moment into one of assured blessing.

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki—better known as Rashi—comments that Zipporah "was now sure of the cause of his illness, and realized that circumcision had saved his life." This act, born of urgent necessity, highlights the importance of brit milah (covenant of circumcision) in Jewish tradition.

Biblical scholars have long considered Exodus 4:24 perplexing, some even suggesting the passage is fragmentary. The rabbinic explanations, like the ones we've explored, attempt to fill in the gaps and make sense of this strange encounter.

Interestingly, the angels Af and Hemah are considered personifications of anger and fury. Af is male, Hemah is female. Some see parallels between them and the Furies of Greek myth. Hemah's role, some suggest, is derived from Proverbs 16:14: "The king's wrath (Hemah) is a messenger of death." Like Samael and Lilith, Af and Hemah go forth together.

So, what are we to make of this bizarre tale? It's a potent reminder that even the greatest leaders face unexpected challenges and divine scrutiny. It also underscores the significance of ritual observance and the power of a mother's love. Zipporah's decisive action, born of courage and understanding, saved Moses' life and ensured the continuation of his mission. Perhaps it also suggests that sometimes, the most important acts are those performed in the face of immediate crisis, guided by intuition and a deep connection to tradition. And that, perhaps, is a lesson for us all.