Parshat Shemot: Growing into his job

By Rabbi Avi Billet

Issue of Jan. 16, 2009 / 20 Teves 5769

Chapter 4: “24 — And it was on the way in the inn, and the Lord met him and he wanted his death. 25 — And Zipporah took a stone and excised the foreskin of her son and it touched his feet, and she said ‘You are a groom of blood to me.’ 26 — And he withdrew from him. Then she said, ‘A bridegroom of blood to circumcisions.’”

This is one of the most enigmatic episodes in the Torah — a cryptic tale of near-death in a Middle Eastern inn that was thwarted by a circumcision. No translation does justice to the original — if you understand Hebrew, it is imperative that you read the three verses in the Chumash.

Unclear facts include: Whom did the Lord meet? Whose death was sought? By whom? Which son did Zipporah circumcise? What touched whose feet? Who is a groom of blood? What withdrew — in other words, in what manner was the person in danger being pursued? What is the difference between a ‘groom of blood’ and a ‘groom of blood of circumcision’?

We do not have the space to try to answer all these questions.

Beginning with the gemara in Nedarim 31b-32a, many commentators say Moshe was at fault, not for delaying his son’s circumcision, but for dealing with his hotel reservations, once he paused from his commanded trek, before his infant son Eliezer’s circumcision (most of us would probably do the same thing, for the sake of ‘shalom bayis’). As he should have done the bris first, his death was sought as punishment.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says it was the baby whose death was sought. And some commentaries (notably Rabbenu Chananel in Yoma 85b) suggest Zipporah was at fault for what transpired, due to her idolatrous upbringing and her influence on her husband — who perhaps should not have married her in the first place.

Some suggest Moshe was not even present when this incident took place.

The fact is that no one agrees. All the pronouns are vague, and all the players are vague. Ramban and Targum Yonatan suggest that the child Zipporah needed to circumcise was Gershom, Moshe’s older son. Which, of course, leaves us wondering, how old was he? According to different midrashic accounts, Moshe was in Midian for between 40 and 60 years.

Above all, does the almost-punishment fit the crime?

The Ktav V’hakabalah raises a crazy possibility — so crazy, I think it provides the key to the most sensible interpretation of these events. He says the phrase “va’y’vakesh hamito” — ‘and he sought his death’ refers to Moshe’s desire to have his own life end!

This is not a remote possibility for a prophet. Moshe asks of G-d to kill him in Bamidbar 11:15, and we see Yonah preferring to die in the aftermath of his mission (Yonah 4:3,8).

Considering that no one raises any acceptable argument for why Moshe’s or his son’s death would be sought over a delayed bris (other than “G-d judges the righteous’ deeds like the thread of a hair”), it is hard to justify G-d or an angel randomly seeking to take someone’s life here — in such a way that a circumcision would be the answer to the problem.

Unless we say Moshe was unprepared for the job for other reasons, preferred to die rather than face his destiny, and his son’s circumcision was the spark that changed everything for him.

Moshe had a “cushy” life in Midian; a shepherd with no worries, no car payments, no rent or mortgage, no tuition. His father-in-law supported him.

G-d chose him for a job he did not want (see each of his responses from 3:11-4:13).

G-d tells him all that will happen, including Paroh’s refusal to let the Hebrews leave (3:19-20). Only after G-d becomes angry with him (4:14) do we find that he no longer protests — and then only because G-d promises that Aharon will be his spokesperson.

In 4:18 Moshe seeks permission from Yitro to go. It seems he’s asking for Yitro to say, “No.” As he (perhaps) begrudgingly puts his family on the donkey, G-d repeats to him all the things He’s already told Moshe: “All those who wanted you dead are gone, you will do the signs, and Paroh will not let you leave, and you’ll tell him to send my first born Yisrael...”

What follows is G-d telling Moshe to tell Paroh 4:23 - “‘And I say to you to send out my son so he may serve me, and as you refuse to send him, I will kill your first born son.’”

Then we have our hotel story — in which G-d “meets” him, followed by Aharon being told to go out to “meet” Moshe in the desert. Interestingly, the same word for “meet” — “va’yif’g’shay’hu” is used in both cases, and they are the only two times in Tanakh that this word appears. Which leads us to suggest that both meetings were meant to be overwhelming for Moshe, but were also meant to inspire Moshe.

I believe that Moshe was not ready for his role, that he was nervous and needed constant support, that G-d repeated everything to him to make sure he got it, and that Aharon was an instrumental tool meant to help him succeed. I think Moshe may have thought and misunderstood that G-d was hinting to him something about Gershom in 4:23, and that Gershom was the son who was not circumcised due to a deal Moshe made with Yitro (see Targum Yonatan), a deal only Zipporah could undo through choosing to circumcise her son.

Gershom’s circumcision will resolve many of Moshe’s issues, most notably his desire to die, as he sees his wife supports him in his new job, she helps him choose his identity (up until now he’s been called a brother to Hebrew slaves, an Egyptian (2:19) and he’s been living in Midian for 40-60 years), and it brings his ‘lost son’ back into the fold.

4:29 concludes with the people “believing and hearing that G-d had come to redeem them.”

All these ingredients proved to be the last components of Moshe’s preparation to take on his role and to face Paroh with confidence — a confidence that continued to grow as Aharon eased him into his role by acting as his spokesman at the outset.

Anyone who has taken on a job for which he or she has felt inadequate has the opportunity to become successful with the right mentor, the right training, and with a little bit of time and hands-on work. It takes time to grow into a role, and to develop a style, and even Moshe needed to go through that process in order to become Rabbeinu.

Avi Billet welcomes your comments and thoughts at avbillet at gmail.com