Moshe’s Lessons from Midyan | Rabbi Neil Winkler

uh uh for the last week and the week before that about the redeem ofel and each time we have gone a step closer and closer um toward the end but as I told you one of I have many reasons why I enjoy these classes uh one of them is that I didn't I don't feel a need that I have to finish now or finish this and therefore you know we do go on and I said okay we we'll finish it next speak and in fact I what I had prepared now is that um if if indeed we finish you know before I thought we would be finishing I have the next class ready to start and I have the source sheets for that also so you don't have to worry about it okay [Music] um when we were when we last left Moshe MOS we had gone through really the remarkable um impact of the women on uh and the upbringing and the I guess a personality molding of um Moshe rabenu and I point that I we pointed out both theun and the Ezra uh the approach even the name of Moshe it is questionable who was it TW seen from the text itself that V that it was um who called him and indeed it says I'm calling him Moshe for I have drawn him out of the water and that was not that was not his his by olcal mother who did that but rather bought par and we went through the as I said thei and we went through um that of the izra as to whether it really had its source of name of Moshe as an Egyptian name I I even pointed out that the what is claimed by I think the Ezra uh it really more was a um not an Egyptian name but actually it was a um probably a Greek form of the um a name either way uh that would make sense and Moshe though we said it's a root form of the Hebrew word show to pull out to take out to draw him out um how would she know Hebrew so one said she learned it from the mother though the mother herself was telling her why not call him the Hebrew name of mosha that's what it means um uh but more likely uh most would say it was indeed a originally a um Egyptian name which was hebra azed um you know all the people who were con when they were in Europe it became kogan when they came here uh so the the name was the HEB brazed as Moshe the point that I'm making here is the very fact that the Torah leaves it somewhat you know vague as to precisely who called him Moshe that we can have uh the maim saying well it could be this it could be that you know not sure I think points to the idea that you know what they both this these two women really were both the mothers of mosha rabenu and in effect therefore they were the impact of his upbringing both houses both did it but we haven't touched upon yet is the um the experiences and the story of Moshe in Midian when he escapes from Egypt and I want and will touch upon that too but before that I just want to get through with some of the uh uh uh important events that we can see and we have already we most of us are already realized the events that the Torah indicates uh that we clearly know were a reflection of the type of individual that mosha was even uh when he just had grown up by on the begin of the world so we can we I suppose can uh separate the three basic stories that the text allows us to uh to know about uh weer the first thing uh that we have let's see if this is in the um sources I think it is uh I will tell you exactly as soon as I find it it is okay um the first thing right in Source number seven story that we're going to uh that we all know that we see what the impact those days it's an interesting thing it's a beginning of seemingly a different era or a different time the first part we have Moshe basically being an infant and being brought to the palace and being brought up as far as we know he was two or three he was weaned nothing else uh so the text tells us Tor lets us know was during these days meaning there was a passage of time in which it says he grew up hello you know kids they go up to fast anyway yeah mosha grows up and that means he becomes more independent and that's what it is and we see as we see in the English some time after that when Moses had grown up he went out to his Brethren he went out to his Brethren which already tells us he knew who his Brethren were right he didn't say oh my brethren was my you my cousin who's the prince of hoopy Dy and this was my my my aunt who's the prince his Brethren he seemed to know that he was an Israelite right and and he witnessed their labors now I'm going to touch on this which I'll B with later in Hebrew the com the idea of V ra is generally referred to generally translated and generally but it means he saw but more than that it also means he understood it's a deeper thing that just I saw you know like we say it says to listen but also means to understand um so there are time that's why Hebrew is a remarkable language in that way so the idea when you see V don't simply dismiss it as being as we'll see sometimes it's deeper than that he so and understood I think that's true here and when it says here you see how even here in eng doesn't say he saw their labors but he witnessed them that also implies he understood what's happening there one say okay fine let's go out it impacted him right what did he do now the specific event he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and um what does the Torah again add to that one of his brethen already now we beginning to sense that mosha knew these were his Brethren knew he was an Israelite uh and that's what happen so he sees that he's the being his Brethren so he turned this way and that mean he looked around around what was he looking around for but we see he saw no one about so he struck down the Egyptian and hid him buried him really in the sand you can't bury people you can't hide people in sand unless you're got bury in the sand very in there good um how would you say why was he looking around here and there that's want I get caught he knew this isn't something that would give him a Nobel Prize you know wasn't like it Obama he made a speech or something he actually knew that this was not a positive thing to do and I think yeah you he was the prince even that being true as I pointed out last time this concept of him being Prince we have to understand in certain things was he really a prince did pyro say tatala you're my next guy no he was was a usual amount of people of children from the Aram and stuff and uh if as we see this act of Moshe becomes a threat to the power of the Pharaoh doesn't care who this guy was he was gonna get get him that's why he has to run away but anyway that's what happens over here so as I pointed out this repres this repetition of Brethren of aov his brothers is is very clearly done for a good reason the Torah wants its future readers to pick up on sometimes little thisw some ideas and if these repeating said his brothers his brothers it means he recognize them as Brethren and um it happens right away after as it says he he goes out what does it mean he went out he went out where what he was locked in the rooms he wasn't allowed to go outside he went out to see his Brethren he went out in effect to see the real world of Egypt maybe he was in the palace he saw the you know let them eat cake type of thing she had you know people don't understand Maria Antoinette was not a terrible person per se although I didn't know it personally I don't know you know she never invited me to any of the parties anyway she dis understand if you have no bread to eat cake she didn't understand that people were that poor or they didn't have anything they don't even have bread and she just thinks will so this is also when you're in a a uh culture where everything is great everything is fine you get what you want and then you go out to the real world What's happen I don't have to go back into ancient history come on look at the royal families we see today I we we mostly identify with what was happening in the um the British Ro family I would say it's crazy then again it happens to every other family too but anyway the when you have everything you don't really connect to the real world I mean you look at some of these Sports Heroes who suddenly were struggling in the real world and you know and they they're giving they giving hundred million dollars and there's no limit the only limit you have is I can't think of enough things to buy you have everything you so the idea of I I used to say when I first started the rapping it before I was wise enough to say don't say things like this I used to say you look around when the most difficult thing for people who have you know who are in comfortably is to hear the word no to hear the word no that's why you appreciate the the Orthodox world of people who have done very you know who have everything they need and are still very careful in their observance of the Mitzvah because and you when you have everything and you're never told no you're brought up in a house where I want this I want that sure here sweetheart you can have you can have this and you suddenly develop this thing well I can have whatever I want and if I ask something you're I'm gonna get it and if my father won't get it my mother will get it to me or I know get you know and even if God says no go I don't want I want to do what I want to do so to be able to live in a world of success but nonetheless understand that there is someone who does limit what you should and can do it's a very good step very nice healthy Step at any rate so there was Moshe he goes out to the world to see and what does he see for us as he sees looks I would think he went out to look to his his Brethren and sees it them being beaten and so he reacts to that right and um in spite of the fact that he's brought up in the palace he sees who his e are his Brethren are which means that B par was wonderful she did she she she didn't tell him you know she didn't speak ish to him and tell him really Jewish that's something he took from his home where he was brought up by his uh y I don't know and I it's not written and perhaps I'm I'm jumping to conclusions here the fact that she weaned him does that mean that she had no more connection to him I think we touched upon this last time I wouldn't have been surprised if she came and tuted him all so much in the palace kenzine I don't know it could be but anyway his knowledge of the Brethren that he is an Israelite uh certainly was planted in him when he was in the house of his mother of Y his biological mother all right the next story we all know and that's of course in 7B turned over the page and there you have the story of this confrontation with with one Hebrew who is whipping another Hebrew right and uh the names are not given but they identified simply as Rasha there was a wicked one and there was one who's the victim one um yes I know what sayaz have a great time with that anything bad that happened in anything but that's why they do and and for a good reason not necessarily that literally it was although well very well could have that that was that type of behavior um but either way he was the Russ and he was beating a another Hebrew uh and that's what it says when he went out the next day he found two Hebrews fighting is this literally the next day yeah I'll tell you what we know that so he went out again to see more maybe he wanted to see make sure no Egyptians are beating and trying to kill just was beating he was beating him to death he had to stop that um but he went out he saw them two of them fighting two Hebrews now um he said to the said the rash so they when I said they the offender he he wasn't a bad person he was just an offense he was just offensive yeah said to the wicked one the Defender the one who was attacking the attacker why do you strike your fell what you me help anything so he retorted who may youth Chief and ruler Over Us boy is that a common God forbid you try to tell somebody please don't talk in doing I'm trying to doing but who are you you're gone that is unfortunately a not uncommon response to somebody who gets very defensive knowing that he's wrong um and something like even a you should be talking oh Mr holy they always some kind of response like that fortunately they don't say that to Rabbi but behind his back anyway um this is really what happens it's a common thing said oh Big Shot you going to kill me like he'll kill them aha you know we say in Hebrew po k a commment it means this is this is exactly the problem here right here and that's what it is when he sees that um emotions was frightening because he realized indeed the matter is now known mean meaning that he thought he looked back and forth nobody saw him what he did got away with it and now he finds out I didn't get away and he knows because he knew that he didn't want to get caught doing it and he knew what might happen to him and as we see um the next suim say he that pyro tried to pursue him and catch him so he flees to midot they had the map in front of me they like do so here is Israel right here is a Sinai there's a desert here here's Egypt mion's sorry wait mion's over there so you have to cross through Sinai to get to midan over here that's what he did the question that's how it goes and fortunately he had some ways on him he knew exactly how to get there look people in the ancient world there were commonly trails that go the traitors would go their camels and out you know especially C of camels through the um desert not only camels but been beasts of Burden many you know donkeys and stuff so he knew the way there he makes his way to he would have gone back to his family and told this great time there are a couple of reasons here one he wasn't so sure that the victim was necessarily going to not tell on him if would be he didn't know if the victim was a good guy he could also have not been two um people talk a lot you know what my son said he was going to get beaten and this mosa guy he killed it and then it begins to spread the Lord spread he was afraid of that no D isn't just oh he knew it if he knew it there were others who saw it I thought there was nobody there but obviously there were others who were there and therefore that's what he was afraid no the fact the matter my secret has been known once you know one everybody knows that was his fear yeah yeah because it says the second day second to what to the last day yes right um so those that's second number two that that's a question so we here we see in the episode pitting Jew versus Jew or Hebrew versus Hebrew here two um he doesn't matter who was doing what was still one who was an offender and one who was a victim and he takes on the victim and he really doesn't he take on the victim says Hey Okay stop to stop him whereas the day before he had to kill the Egyptian to stop him here he just said okay stop try to make peace in effect right um and the third story of course um is um through episode that we have and in see and that is um when Pharaoh learned exactly they said of the matter he sought to kill Moshe right so and that was maybe that was MOS was afraid of him when he found out that he's that he was being you know it could be as you said that maybe he wasn't afraid right he was afraid that perhaps he's gonna have something's gonna happen when he heard that the Pharaoh indeed wanted him now he was not only afraid now he had to get out of there that's what happened uh right he s to kill Moses but Moses fled from parro and what did he do best way to get rid of the the king and the emperor of Egypt is to leave Egypt which he does uh he arrived in the land of Midian and he sat down beside well he rested there perhaps V is a fascinating word and I've mentioned it before we always he's sad that means he lived he stayed it can be any of these things by know doesn't mean he sat there it means he lived there he settled there okay and so does that mean that he settled there does it mean that he was just resting for a while does it mean that he found a little Hut to sit there next to a well so he had something and he planed to just stay there nether of these explanations are logical and could be true anyway he's by the well and one day by the well uh what does he see um and [Music] um before we let you know the story we have to tell a little background that's what the Torah does he said uh now the priest of midan and as I told you commun an officer a high officer could be both could be the head of the religion there whatever at any rate he had seven daughters another name anyway they came to draw water the daughters did and filled the troughs to water their father's plock in other words they already drawn the water they filled up the trough which is you know a big old thing with so that so that the animals could now go and and drink from there can't drink from a well which is very now right but the Shepherds came said why do we have to draw water you did it for us thank you very much and they drove them off chose them away now they can they can water their own flocks when mosa saw that he rose to their defense and he watered their FL so question number one interesting isn't it be watered there FL remember that story and uh wifa watered the flock of the the I'm sorry the camels what did yob do I'm saying when in his time what did yob do it has to do with a wall with a well he moved the Rock and what did he do right after that and he watered the flock of Rachel oh of Lavan really but she was the shepherd this and so instead of her do he now Waters it for her well and do I see a similar thing here that Rifka did because V says no she doesn't he he he is the one who who I said Waters and it sounds like it's a sprinkler going around around somebody's a grass but is a I found out after years of using watering as also the way of giving water to flocks uh I was correct that is a correct thing so he Waters he now does the water and allows the Sheep of yro that were being uh shephered by the Seven Daughters now he not only chases away them he let he Waters them for them so in effect whether he knows it or not though in effect he is um re doing what what uh yakob did and what did yakob do eventually he marries one of those the shepherd what's what's mosha gonna do now he's going to marry one of the shepher exactly one of the seven yeah it was a tough thing you know behind this door you know be he chooses it's a fascinating parallel we see here okay and F wife at any R so we see this what do we learn from these things this is a story of medanite versus medanite is it not it was the medanite Shepherds who were chasing away the mid Mite Shepherd thises and there too the Torah underscores this story and I I in effect I'm saying why do you think the Torah I promise you in the first 40 Years of of Moses's life more than three things happened to him what does the Torah indicate these three stories because again it's telling you why God is chose what kind of personality God sees in Moshe that he wants him to Shepherd his block Shepherd Israel so so here you have it now where it's not you know go against a Jew or Jew against a Jew now it's go against go it it was not a matter of who it was matter matters who was right and who was wrong who was right and here here again mosha sees who's right and who's wrong to protect the weak to oppose the evil like like chasing away other people right fight for justice this is a pretty remarkable and that's what the is saying this is the god you understand now and if I understand beforehand how nice that he was brought up in the palace and how nice he learned what it is to be a leader and how One conducts oneself and to be also educated by mother and mother uh to sens sensitize himself empathy sympathy and to find Justice we now see this personality and um he chased them away that's how he was able to yeah he chases them away and then right instead of going back and going to sleep and having the girls go and work what he did it himself just like he did step back and see the two Jews go Jews arguing he stepped up and he says and doesn't say please don't what are you hitting him for he's very very positive here very active and the first time he killed someone the third time very much he he he's it says V where does it say there in Hebrew and he it says right in the beginning I see right um oh so the Shepherds came and drove the girls off mosha got up and he saved them how does he save them but they were taking over the the water the Shepherds were saying you can't have the waters we're going to water our flocks and now he comes over and he is the one who saved them how he said he takes the water for them but the others couldn't take the water he chased them away otherwi there one guy Moshe chased away all the Shepherds otherwise what you he he did and he sat there he let them take all the water then he went over and he watered them that's not what by yosan means he saved them he saved them from what that's right I said Shepherd this is and shepher yeah yeah you I I just told that one word that is essential here Vos and he saved them he saved them from what a bad cold he saved them from the Shepherds who had been taking over the water that's what it is and when you think about the fact that there wasn't one Shepherd so he chased them away way however he did it that's a Act of real courage so it's very active and he really and this here you have that irrespective of who it is who's right and who's wrong he stands there to protect the weak protect the people the victims okay and uh this was important in him both by m by both moms you know by B and by herself so now we bring with the third part which I in effect gave title to this part of the thing and that is very nice great stories love it why did God have mosa have to go to Mid what was the experience in midan that's going to somehow make him more proper to be the next Redeemer of Israel that's really basic question um you know he hasn't had a real home do he's had the he had the home of the the palace how much of a home that he have in with his mother don't know next thing you know when he grows up he has to run away say he was 40 years old so you know it's it's hard to understand the years it is true because you know he was 80 years old when he stood before par so when he says he grew up and then he learned two days of and then he has to run away and they say he ran away when he was 40 no so the the the the timing of the whole thing is an interesting thing to look for but uh traditionally and to a certain extent very logically yeah he grew up uh does that mean that when he was 16 he went out or he grew up got to learn more about name when he got up and started hanging and that he was 20 or 30 is when this happen and he was able to don't know either way not that important but um clearly there's now time that goes by I know that because the very next verse tells us that um that after the story of the midianites and you know it says there that many years passed by and the Pharaoh died so many has half passed by and um so therefore now he's going to midan for what purpose so in in the the studies I had with the razak he says he sees it as the importance of meeting the daughters of seeing seeing the women in midan seeing their home living in that home because that too will impact him and his personality and when I started with this whole lecture she about how women really impacted the very life and personality and greatness of [Music] of Moshe that perhaps our rabbis when they said that um because of the righteous women so did the was Israel removed and taken out of and redeemed from Egypt could that very well have been uh subconsciously or behind that saying yeah the women who impacted Moshe who indeed took the matter of Egypt and so that's what they wanted and when you inw the events of midan you come to the realization that these women consciously or not are really a very important part of this story certainly he marries seora which by the way that be next week's uh that's about Sora and we spend some time on three verses um one verse is vers than the other anyway so we're going to bring that please God I we'll finish this I think this today that will be next week that's very important so certainly Zora as wife uh impacted his life um he and she gives him two son Sons that we know of the Elder son is gon um and the other one G actually and the other one is um elezar G and elzar what those name M names being uh we will get to probably next week uh and that's important to and um why do I say that seora had a very important I'll even say she saved moshe's life do anybody know when and where did chor saved Mosa's life very good it's a Britney L that's that's next week's thing the whole story is very strange well just know how strange it is and uh that is certainly a way yeah you know could have died she saved your life I guess it sort of impacts your life just a bit that's what he did she saved his life now the fact the Brilliance of the fact that a midnight woman saw the importance of Brit Mila that's next very interesting okay and that's how um but it's also the true that he yeah well it's we well no we know that in the ancient world this is the Brit wasn't just the first one to that going to a Britney lot you know imagine 100 are you kidding you know what this it was it was a followed by certain we know that says this in otherwis we know that beond the Arabs of course who are from Ismael there were other nations who did the Britney law what where I don't know but it was an ancient thing it was a practice that was done done so they knew about it but at any rate um living in the house of the of a a leader a perhaps an officer a high officer and yeah maybe even a man of cloth doesn't me was a tayor I mean he was also perhaps in a um religious could be right a we call him a faith-based individual faith-based that's was very important when consider the story of the burning bush it begins by telling us and number eight when mosha was tending the flly of his father-in-law yro and drove the flock Into the Wilderness and came to what was called the Mountain of God Mountain of God this mountain of God one could say well yeah it it would eventually be the Mountain of God because eventually God's going to give the that's God's going to give the Torah there that sounds very good but it would seem said there was already in the ancient world a concept that this is a Holy Mountain even then it was called har was called a mountain of God others had saw it also why would he Moshe when he is tending sheep end up going to the Mountain of God Perhaps Perhaps his father-in-law the man of faith has been teaching him things whether he told them to do it or told them you know there's this holding M there whatever it is that caused them to become the most sensitive to the religious concept of a real of a Divinity is something interesting to see and here again we come to what I started to say before look how often you see and I underline the words in Hebrew and I did it in English too uh good for me it says v v v all these things you see it says he appeared to him he gazed um look saw all of them the same Hebrew word and it's all being defined and properly I would say as a little different you know he gazed at it or he saw it he looked at it and then the the passive he appeared to it that again that you know um is yes see but what did I mention last time it's not only to see it is to to understand better to to I'm looking for the word to to go deeply into it to absorb to absorb what you're seeing this ain't just yeah thank you very much internalize I have difficulty with any know word that's more than one syllable so than you here they he not only observed it he internalized the impact of that wait a minute you know and he says he says uh here was a bush and it's all a flame why is it not being consumed right that's what the Torah says he said he understood that there was more in this non-consuming burn Bush and The crucial part of that is is God sees that he realizes this because God is impressed with Moser Renu as it goes on it says when Hashem saw that he Moshe had turned aside to look God called it wasn't that he saw even that he understood even that he saw it was deep it says there when he saw he went over to see I want to went over to see what they said I once had a teacher who said who knows how many people saw it passed by said it's crazy and walked by Moshe didn't walk by mosha he went over there because he wanted to see what this was God says that's a pretty important guy that's a guy I want one who sees not only the pain not only victim things like that he also sees a Divine thing he senses there something beyond the natural here aha this is somebody special how did he learn that well maybe that's exactly what he learned in his father-in-law the faith guy maybe that that's why God wanted him in the house of yro exactly and so here we see now that um when God saw this future leader saw mtion to be a s um future leader because he sees he understands just like V he saw and understood the suffering of his Brethren he said this is somebody who can do what I want him to do and perhaps at this point I don't know perhaps we begin to realize how this entire story came to be why was mosha looking for pastures because he was shepherding what was he shepherding the flocks of whom of VRA right why did he wander so far I couldn't tell you again map from midan toim which is not so close why was he wanding because perhaps unconsciously or consciously as I said he was attracted to this holy place again I didn't know about this place being holy so for that very reason Hashem gives mosha a sign that he would succeed in the mission I'm skipping the whole part of the argument that mosha God voice from Heaven comes out and burning bush and says you shall go to Israel and mosha says I really don't want it I mean that whole story is unbelievable and but any R um God gives him point a says I'm going to prove to you that you will be successful and this is the sign I'm giving you when you take them the people people out I tell you you will you are going to worship me here at this mountain but that you saw and realized is a Holy Mountain that's a the fact that you were drawn to this mountain you yourself don't know why how it was you know I mid that one of the sheep ran away and he ran to get to get the sheep and God says oh look this he cares about one lamb now that I see that much deeper than that there was a certain uh attraction he had to this Divine this this very spiritual thing he just felt that speci and he comes over then what and it's allal perhaps the impact of yo himself and um in effect it says mosha you have now arrived to the point because of what your biological mother had taught you but because what your stepmother and princess has taught have t taught you in the palace's home and now you have learned who you can be in your midan home that's it all three really how can I put this became a cocoon for Moser raenu and preparing him for this Divine Mission a mission that has now flowered to being the man that God wanted to we'll stop here and Sh will then start with oim about the story of the britley that will be mem next week