Shemot 5783 — Moses’s Unfulfilled Hopes
We’ve all been in the position of requesting something big, knowing the answer may be “No,” but unable to stop hoping for a “Yes.” And waiting for the answer can feel like torture! According to one interpretation, this is how Moses felt — at the burning bush.
The Torah indicates that Moses had a speech impediment. When telling God that he can’t serve as a prophet, Moses says “kh’vad peh u-kh’vad lashon anokhi,” which means something like “I am clumsy with my mouth and tongue.” Speech problems typically develop early; whatever this impediment was, Moses had probably been living with it since childhood. He may have prayed for a cure when he was young, but by the time he reached adulthood, he was probably resigned to his condition.
At the burning bush, though, Moses encountered a God who seemed all-powerful. God turned Moses’s staff into a serpent, gave Moses leprosy, and then cured it. Seeing these miracles, Moses must have felt that God could do anything! It is at that point that he raises one more objection: “I am not a man of words; my mouth and tongue are clumsy.”
To some commentators, Moses is just raising challenge after challenge because he truly doesn’t want to go. To Abraham ibn Ezra, though, Moses was delicately asking God to cure him of his speech impediment. Couldn't the One who cures leprosy also heal a lisp or a stammer? Maybe Moses thought that just like the Israelites would be freed from slavery, he too would be delivered from his disability.
Once Moses realized that God had no plans to cure him, he gave up, saying, “Send whomever you wish to send.” Without a cure, he couldn’t imagine how he could do the job! But God had another answer: “Your brother Aaron will go with you.” Instead of curing Moses, God gave him the support he needed. Aaron’s strengths matched Moses’s weaknesses.
And so it is with us and our own weaknesses. Sometimes, we can strengthen ourselves and make our deficiency disappear — but often, we do best by finding a partner who is strong where we are weak, and vice versa. May we always surround ourselves with people who can help us — and may we be willing and humble enough to ask for help!
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Jonathan Berger
Head of School
Questions for the Shabbat table:
1. Why was speaking ability so important to Moses?
2. When have you been able to improve an area of personal weakness or challenge? When have you instead found someone else whose strengths complemented your weaknesses? What is better about each approach?