Shmot

 This is a powerful parasha filled with the roots of the Israelite enslavement, the genocide of the male children, Moses defending his people and the ultimate call to Moses to take his rightful place as leader of the people.

Inasmuch as there are many villains in the story, there are many more heroes, some known and others nameless.  Here are two such heroines, Shifra and Puah.  Commanded to murder all the Jewish male children they not only rush to the site if the delivery but save the children claiming they could not make it in time to commit the atrocity.  Legend has it that Shifra was the Egyptian name for Yocheved (Moses' mother) and Puah as none other than Miriam, Moses' sister.  Whether true or not, they are to be celebrated for their bravery in defying the order of the mighty Pharaoh.

We are taught by our wise rabbis to respect government and governmental authorities.  Rabbi Hanina, one the greatest sages of the second century, tells us to respect the government for without them there would be anarchy (Pirkay Avot 3:2).  Yet that does not mean that we have to become wicked if that is mandated by the regime.  We have a higher calling, a greater authority than any mortal ruler.  That is why when we perceive an injustice in our community, country or world we must not remain silent.

Moses is another hero of our tale.  Brought up in the house of Pharaoh he resists the temptation of remaining aloof, eating the best foods, having the finest clothes and slaves to fulfill his every whim.  We see Moses venturing out into the fields and witnessing and Egyptian beating a Jew.  Moses interferes.  Consider the ramifications of you seeing one man hitting another senseless.  What would you do?  Interfering might mean becoming involved and hurt.  In a society where all that matters is your wellbeing, pass by and forget what you saw.  In a universe where we care for one another, Torah demands that we help the victim, stand against the victimizer.

Aaron is yet another hero who steps out of his comfort zone to confront Pharaoh together with his brother and risk his life in the process.  He attends to Moses not only because he is his brother but he reveres God (yirat Ha-Shem).

There are many lessons in this week's parasha and they all hold the same moral: Follow the dictates of God not the whims of the zeitgeist or the evil perpetuated by authoritarians.

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