It’s a question that has occupied Jewish thinkers for centuries. And as we delve into Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, we find a particularly beautiful and insightful answer.
The text presents an alternative interpretation, focusing on kavod, honor. For whose sake, the Rabbis ask, did God reveal Himself? The answer: for Moses’s sake.
To illustrate this, Shemot Rabbah presents a parable. Imagine a kohen, a priest, who owns a fig orchard. Now, a priest must remain ritually pure, and this orchard contains a grave that has been plowed over. This creates a problem, because contact with a dead body causes ritual impurity. Since it's uncertain if there are bones in the soil, the priest is prohibited from entering the orchard.
He really wants some figs, so he sends someone to tell the sharecropper, "The owner of the orchard says to bring him two figs." But the sharecropper scoffs, "Who's the owner? Get back to work!"
Frustrated, the priest declares, "I will go to the orchard myself!" People warn him, "You're going to an impure place!" But he responds, "Even if there are a hundred sources of impurity, I will go, because my emissary will not be disgraced!"
See what's happening here? The priest's honor is at stake.
This parable, according to Shemot Rabbah, reflects the relationship between God and Moses. When Israel was enslaved in Egypt, God sent Moses to Pharaoh, saying, "Go, and I will send you to Pharaoh" (Exodus 3:10). But Pharaoh rebuffed Moses, declaring, "Who is the Lord that I should heed His voice? I do not know the Lord" (Exodus 5:2), and ordering him back to his burdens (Exodus 5:4).
Imagine that moment. Moses, God’s chosen emissary, humiliated.
According to this midrash, God then says, "I will go to Egypt," as it is stated, "A prophecy of Egypt: Behold, the Lord is riding upon a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt" (Isaiah 19:1). The ministering angels question this, asking, "You are going to Egypt, to a place of impurity?" God responds, "I will go, and My emissary Moses will not be disgraced!"
And that’s what we see in Exodus 6:13, "The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying..."
So, it wasn’t just about saving the Israelites. It was about upholding the honor of His chosen leader, Moses. God’s presence in Egypt, amidst the impurity and oppression, was a direct response to the potential disgrace of His emissary.
It's a powerful idea, isn't it? That divine action can be motivated not just by grand cosmic purposes, but also by the very human concern of not letting someone down, of protecting their dignity. It reminds us that even in the grand sweep of history, the personal, the relational, matters deeply to God.
Think about that next time you feel like your efforts are being dismissed or your voice isn't being heard. Perhaps, in ways we can't always see, the Divine is working to ensure that you, too, are not disgraced.