Moshe Tzipora and The Brit | Rabbi Neil Winkler

the we're going to try and approach and understand three simple verses three in the Torah in that tells of a story and everybody knows the story and I don't think anybody really understands the story and that's what I'm going to do I'm going to hope hopefully try and explain what this whole episode was about and in doing so I think we're going to have an Insight of the struggles of mosu that are all too often forgotten it is essential for us to understand as opposed to certain other relations that Mosher Renu was a man was not an angel he was not sent down by some some there wasn't a remarkable birth I think very very consciously the Torah gives us a story of the birth and the difficulty that he was born and as opposed to so many of our heroes or our our let's just our forefathers uh that yak was born to a mother who had been um an akara she was unable to give birth she was Barren and uh ysph likewise Rael was baren um you have a birth of Moshe as true it was a difficult time it was a dangerous time and he was thank God saved but he was born there was nothing it wasn't a God as some other religions may have he was a man and if we understand that as remarkable as he is as kazal say he was one step below an angel and he certainly was but he wasn't an angel he was a human being it's part of the the um challenge I suppose we have that anyone can be great between you and me uh nobody as great as Moshe was but you can get very very high it's up to you he was a human being now what that means is that he didn't suddenly say I could do this and I could do that there were struggles in his life it wasn't a simple thing and the Torah is telling you that it's just that we don't often see it because again he has such a remarkable not only personality he's got a pretty good um reputation you know he's M but look at the stories and you see he really did struggle and part of what we're going to do today to understand this really puzzling story is to perhaps touch upon the struggles that mosha actually did have what is the story and you see in our very first um Source sheet three verses three that's all and again as it says in English a little Prelude say Moshe is on has listened to God and has sent him and has gone to Egypt to take the Israelites out of Egypt that was God said that's your mission okay um not to say he was a missionary just yeah but he was put on a mission and uh he goes and now the three verses say on his way going to Egypt at a Mal loone nowadays it would be called a motel but mil is is a lodging place they did have in the wildernesses and in the not non um populated areas places where Travelers can stop over sleep maybe have something to eat there lodging place that's what said Hashem met him Hashem met him I don't know how are you doing how you doing how's the trip going you know couple couple hour what hasem met him we'll touch upon and sought to kill him God had nothing else to do right he wanted to kill Moser rain so that's a first thing saying what first of all what do you mean first you know who cares where he stopped off it was the Howard Johnson's it was who cares where he stopped off what was so important to tell me this story that on his way to MIT he had to stop off and God wants to kill him why what mean he met him and wanted to kill him what did mosha do wrong what was wrong all right so we're going to try and clarify that verse number two we don't clarify it openly but by the actions of his wife seora who was coming along with him probably had a little van they had all stuff you know packing and it says there so moshe's wife took a Sor Tor is a sharpened uh sharpened Stone says here Flint I don't know if that was exactly but it was a flint it was a sharpened Stone in those days of course they didn't have scissors they had knives and stuff but they sharpened the stones that's what they used it for we have that inra yua also sharpen Stone she took a sharpened Stone and she cut the forkin of her son so first of all now we know okay there's a son that went along we do know eventually in the next para that there's another son in the first paral we find out he had an older son by the name of G uh later on we find out he has a second son called Eleazar which son is this I don't know to doesn't say so but anyway she she gave her Brit Mila she circumcised her son which seemed to be something connected to why God wanted to kill Moshe that's why everybody agrees probably that um that was the sin since Abraham aino all Israelites gave a Britney love okay um and cast it at his feet he took the she took the foreskin and threw it down at his feet does not mean the child's his feet went to moshe's feet why I don't know but we'll try and touch on what what is this significance of that throwing it down and she said she said uh also difficult words translated as surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me well that helped us a lot because the English is just as hard as the Hebrew whatever that means you're a bridegroom of blood for me she said to her husband Moshe as and only then by many he let him go um he let him who is he who let him alone Hashem very good God's meaning God was going to kill Moshe when she does the Brit now God leaves him alone indicating that in indeed that's what got him very angry got God upset that Moshe had not given a Britney La now the Britney law was given ironically and I mentioned that number of times in our past lectures about the impact of women on Moshe and here his wife just happened to save his life that someh pretty good impact it was who did the Brit Mila so tell me does that mean a woman's allowed to give a Brit Mila she was reminding him she was telling him in a way without disrespecting him that you neglected to but she did the Brit law so I asked the question does that mean a woman can't do but you maybe then yes yeah maybe then maybe even now yes but may not don't know it's an interesting question but anyway um yes so would he have said mosha you know you forgot something not wait try to kill him on the that's a very good question but the truth of the matter is and I I I've said this often God gives us opportunities sometimes we do it sometimes we don't sometimes by not doing an opportunity it is so severe God will get angry yes Moshe you should be the Redeemer but you're not even doing the most basic thing that a Jew does so you don't deserve that find somebody else so that's what could be he wants to kill him for that reason but again this is exactly what we're going to be discussing what was going on what's wrong you know mosha didn't have he couldn't read he said I have to give it he didn't know you know how is this how is that how they not give a be love one it says in by the way there's an interesting thing should have put that down as part of my source sheets it's a it's a side point but a very good point there we find in the one two I think it's the third chapter of yahushua where it says that yosua circumcised all of those who came who who were born in the desert course they didn't get a circumcision in the desert but it says because all those who were born in Egypt did have a Brit ah now this becomes very serious now if everyone in MIT had a Brit and here is Moshe he's not MIT where is he where was he living at the time before he made his trip to Egypt he was living in the house no he wasn't he was living in midan in midan right is that the reason why he didn't give the B if everybody else did who knows was he with that but oh Israel knew enough to give a Brit what about him doesn't know that doesn't do it that's the question yeah no she per had exactly right was she was he don't know what ah good another another thing we don't know where we do know she went with him it says it right here when when he went to the to the she went with him after that we don't read anything about her so it would say it right away employed was that is she said I I'm going home man I'm going home with the kids because in this part show you'll reading two we in in two days in in the beginning of yro it says that yro came with MO say wife Tora and his two sons no two sons two sons which were MOS Sons yeah he came so yo came with Tora his one daughter and his and Moses's wife and the two sons which means she did go back to yro right so it would seem that it's at this point that they did that because say after this we don't read anything about it but it doesn't say that we assume that's Torah doesn't like I tell you all the time the Torah and tanak is not a history St book it's not going to give you all the details and explain whatever was impactive important for um what God wants us to know he would put in there it would seem that she did at that point yeah she obviously knew that the baby needed a r yeah but why did she wait so now and how did she know that Mo was going to be killed unless she did the well she he saw how he saw that also two good questions uh how does know this is all how gamar talks about how did she know God how did he know God did God say G to kill you but I mean what did he do what what happened so they say that a snake started to swallow him up daa up the legs legs legs and he right before that Ah that's what's missing here and and you know we don't know but that's a very good question somehow did he suddenly just get very very sick and she had to figure out why did he get always and sick don't know a very good question again talks about that because they had the same question the second question you ask which is also very good why didn't she hey before you leave uh you know M before you leave you better give a br you and which son was this the first or the second not we yet before we don't know yeah um is this a lesson on don't be so focused on what I I want you to do you have to also focus on the MV that you taught Bas ra I haven't taught it yet yeah but that wasn't something they taught them although we do have according to most people that the MIT is found in but we know that from time of Abraham all is all Israelites uhuh right all Israelites knew that as children of Abraham that was an obligation that's why the question against is so much more severe what you're on your exactly great that's exactly what we're going to be discussing now you you're all coming up with these great questions and all I some of them I'll be able to answer um but that's exactly why this is such a problematic thing three verses two God forid we should believe that mosha was yeah well okay right you did it again you went ahead head yeah yeah right the what I did number two is that I'm bringing up the rabbis who asked the same questions you did and try to solve the problem by their different approaches what wasn't now we have here it's a gar in Nar that's that is being quoted here and we'll get to that in a second so that's where we stand we stand with the question why does God want want this to kill Moshe um I mean You' think they go God should say I'm very proud of you mosha you're going on the mission that I want you to go on it ain't no simple thing to go oh by the way while you're going to go to Kaiba why don't you go into the palace and tell Theo he should go someplace and tell that's a very guty thing to do as as you know mosha wasn't 100% thrilled with the with the mission but he had to go and he went despite his relu right but he's not proud he wants to kill him so what's going on here um and [Music] um the other question really is is we took the assumption that if you look in that second um in the first verse that we have there Hashem met him and sought to kill him who is him maybe it could have been the baby yeah yeah yeah so we're not sure exactly who it was a God it was trying to kill and um which I could tell very simply it must have been the baby which is why after after they seura gave the circumcision God no longer wanted to kill the baby that was very logical we can that's a very logical approach right um and uh let alone the verse that says the third verse which I haven't even done after God let him alone whether it's the baby or Moshe chor says and then she said bridegroom of blood regarding the circumcision no one no one understands what that means what what does that mean why does she say it what was meant there so these are problems that we have to think um and if we have one more question what in the world does that have to do with the story of mosha and I mean it's a nice story or it's a scary story but was like I said this isn't the history book so why they have to give this puzzling and painful story why is it so so important that before mosha goes on and really starts the whole process of getting Israelites Israel out of Egypt God says oh on and on the way there by the way I wanted to kill him know what was the importance here and what was the connection to the main theme that we have in all of the book of Sho the first half is that getting the Jews out of Egypt these are really good um so we're going to start in um the second Second Source the Second Source as I told you from where we have the rabbi saying uh trying to solve some of these questions okay um so first we have RAB yahushua RAB yahushua said how great is the Mitzvah of mil of a um circumcision for despite all of moshe's merits he wasn't protected when he was negligent you know in lack of giving the circumcision to the son well it's basically the approach that I was talking about it was Moshe that God wanted to kill because he didn't perform a Brit Milad with his son and Rua said ah he's being punished for that even though he had many many merits the fact is that he forgot this very important MIT I'll go back half a step think about this was the Torah yet given to Israel no not yet no Torah was not yet given to Israel that's in the in the desert right after they come out of Egypt so what laws does Israel know what what would make Israel unique right besides the Yiddish no but but what would make the Jews in in Egypt any unique than any any of the other slaves what of the what what is it what what what else what else huh Shabbat was not given to mosha to Abraham of all that the Brit Mila was the one and only most powerful that was given to the children of Abraham there are only in all of um sa that's two MIT if we say to have many children but you have the no couldn't that really isn't the mitzah but yeah what else did God say to get to you have to do it for all forever and ever he promises the land he promises this but as far as a Mitzvah you shall do it's this the one thing that the Israelites had to do and it was seemingly from the text in yahushua the one thing they did they did that so who's the one who hasn't been done it the one who was supposed to take them out of Egypt you be the leader the one who should have been the model exactly so you see now now we're beginning to see wonder God is upset I understand it because we're not sure why mosa didn't do it well let's see next opinion that's the opinion of RAV RAV said shom God forbid that we might even believe that mosha was negligent in such an important Mitzvah what do you mean he you know it was busy was WhatsApp all the people were texting him he's too busy to do the Brit law yeah and how can you even f that says WR rather he explains he was reasoning he said this is my you want to call it a reason want I call him an excuse he thought like this look should I circumcise my child and then go on the mission that God sent me to go on a journey H that's dangerous you can't give a Brit me have have how do I know that because that's what it says in in in yahushua basically the reason why the people who are born in the desert and did not de with mil because they doesn't say that the logic is because you don't go on you don't you don't know God never said I'm going to be uh moving you uh on Tuesday afternoon but he all of a sudden the cloud got up and started moving and they all had to go running so I can give a Brit Mila on a baby so young that's dangerous so says mosha even before he had to go through the desert he knew it was surgery such a surgery is dangerous we today are barem we said take it over please God he'll be okay you know stuff that but in the ancient world not even ancient world you go back 500 years in Europe you think well one two three you know take a and there a Brit and everybody's good you know how many deaths there may have been I don't know did they know about um you know um taking infection do they know about this you know how much do they know more or less is okay but there were nowadays we have far less we can see how sick or weak the baby is or not Billy rubing and stuff like that which you don't have but it's dangerous it's it is a surgical process and therefore you didn't travel you have to be careful uh know God didn't want you to make yourself to actually imperil your child want that so therefore he says so what am I going to do give it Brit me then I have to go God said I have to go so he delayed it right so there should I circumcise and wait through the days but God says no you I should turn to Egypt now that's a very very logical thing not at that point no not at that point I don't think so no so there was no there was no Wi-fi so they couldn't get um so then he says so why was mosha punished not a good idea you knew what he was thinking you knew why so why did what really happens listen to what the reason says it's true he's not angry at the excuse or even angry at the fact that he didn't do it right away however he first arranged for lunching before circumcising the Sun instead of setting up the bed and making sure everybody's comfortable the first thing he should have done is to the Britney law he didn't do that that delay reflected a lack of shall we say uh importance or seriousness of Moshe about this mitzvah and that's why God got angry all right I'm a little a little uncomfortable the fact that God's GNA kill him because he was a little late because I've been late many times you I get a little nervous about that but he's Moshe and I ain't maybe that's the the approach of RAV then there's rash he said the Satan did not wish to kill Moshe but to kill the son he was out to get the son who was not circumcised the son who was not circumcised would be K now are you comfortable with that it's a baby I God ah so as I'm sitting here I'm thinking what would that be uh I believe because it says when giving the the Mitzvah of um the Brit to Abraham it says whoever does not receive he'll get Kate which means he'll die young and maybe that's whole point didn't give him a young the other part of that and I'm just thinking off the top of my head and as you can see uh most of my stuff I had on top is gone uh the fact is people are about to come out of is of Egypt who is God gonna take out of Egypt all the Jews I would like think so we are told however according to kazal that really there were those who did not earn the Israel so would then think that this guy this little baby who did not would not earn be among those who would be taken out not because you're angry with the baby but the the death of a child is the punishment of the child it's a punishment of the parent the kid doesn't know he's too little yeah and so maybe I'm these are just things I'm just giving because the question is a good one but he you'll notice what r says two things it doesn't say that God wanted to kill him the Satan it says God wanted to kill him he couldn't put those in words it seems like he said is know I hate to use it because christologically you know Christianity a Satan yeah not we see it Satan literally means a uh an opponent you'll see that in and there it says that the donkey was bringing bam and it says that the Amal of God anel stood in the way to block the donkey and said to be against him to be opponent to him they Satan means just an opponent but it's taken up to be the you know the evil devil or whatever which is whatever way that's how he says it [Music] um huh rashab and here in the fourth opinion of rabi Yehuda he expounded uh that when mosha was negligent in failing to circumcise his son wrath and anger swallowed him leaving only his legs untouched it was was then that realized what this was so she took a sharp and stone circumcised the son and they left him alone no that he no mosha was negligent and in failing and therefore wrath and swallowed him him the hear it was mosha so this for yeah right here he also say it's Moshe not the baby okay so those are different opinions fine um so you know and we have our questions and our problem but but both op the opinions that primarily are are expressed here though there are four of them said was it R on the fact that tor's act of Performing the circumcision right uh is what removed God's anger and the problem with that approach is that um this is put modern RAB vitan who said that that could be true and it seemed the story that's true but why doesn't the Torah say that doesn't say that that um and yeah the took and then he let him alone say didn't say and because seora did that it's we don't know if that's real connection there it doesn't say that nowhere and we never find an incident in the Torah that God says he wants to kill someone without saying because why that's a thing we didn't ask it says we did ask it actually it says here God met him and wanted to kill him we expect as good readers of the Torah to say and wanted to kill him because he didn't or because he did it doesn't say that it would seem that the reason maybe something maybe a little different maybe a little more vague and that therefore causes us to say okay so what is it what is it it's easy to say circumcision because it does seem to be that but then we have to worry why didn't he why did he how it's a real problem um so the Ia says um basically what um the second opinion here in the gamar says the izra I don't I no no I I didn't include it because it's exactly the same of what the second opinion in the gamar was was and again to remind you is that [Music] um he he felt he knew he had to give the Brit Mila but he said I have to go on a mission so therefore you know that was a whole point see that to do know but there's one thing that is not mentioned here we don't realize and which the Eben Ezra did realize why' you take the kid you're taking your family along now go and to pharaoh and take bring down Ted plagues and make sure they take us that honey take the kids we're going on a trip what you're worried about the Brit MAA given the Brit MAA you go to keep a kid home with a mother izza sees that and that could be a crucial reason God upset maybe because mosha took this not as a mission Dangerous Mission but as gonna have a wonderful time we'll see the you'll see Papa and Mama you're gonna see Uncle Aon you're gonna see Aunt Miriam and be a wonderful time we'll have a terrific what does he understand the importance of this thing that says the ibra could very well been what God would was angry at now we have what we're going to do now with the third source and I know I'm giving you different sources just to approach what possibly could be the reason and I do that on person on purpose just to let you know yeah a lot of people are worried about this and can't figure it and maybe as we just did we found oh reasons we hadn't thought of there Asam which you have as a third third Source says something else he said exactly what lezra says it's very interesting rashbam was the grandson of rashi rashi had three daughters and um the rash bam the son of Mayor father father mayor son-in-law of Rashi these guys were not the heads of hedge refunds these the sons-in-law of Rashi of course were great great Scholars themselves and rashbam certainly was rashbam knew his grandfather the rashbam was born uh about 20 to 203 years before Rashi died right yeah so he know Rashi died in the year he was born in 1040 died in 1105 rashbam was born I thinking about 1080 something like he has a younger brother by the way which you may not know it's those who study Mar and the too know very well perhaps my my Jewish history Professor used to say he was the greatest genius that more than more than he tell more than more than the greatest Jew brilliant mind in all of Jewish history he says because he liked them obviously is R if you look through all so many of the questions and answers and the analysis brilliant analysis were from R his name was really yov yov means almost perfect right right can also mean in modern Hebrew rather what sorry it's simple very good remember from right simp simpleton you know naive is really I remember when I was uh I wasn't not married yet but a few years older than I was a fellow Camp who got married he had his first child a girl and she called he called her tamima mean like perfect and the Israel he move made alah and the Israel are laughing how do you call thata means naive yeah so sometimes M Hebrew doesn't quite match up with the the basic so so ra was only five years old when his grandfather died so he didn't know rashing well at any rate um the rashbam says basically the same thing that the says he said Hashem met him not Hashem it means an angel why because he was careless and took his wife and children with him on the journey just like mentions and then when it says and she cut off the performance of this Mitzvah helped to save Moshe as would a Corban just as both giddon and manoah did when an angel appeared to them I'll go back to remind you what that happened the story of gidon Gideon was one of intim starting in a was a great very well-known judge and um he was was a difficult time was a time when again the midianites were were persuing and were actually oppressing Israel they used to one of the things they said is they would uh wait for Israel in Israel as the farmers would make their uh produce and just before the get harvested they would come in and they would take CH they would take all of the food themselves uh it was a very difficult time that's how much power they had over the Israelites at the time gidon gets an angel says God says go and fight the the minion ites he said who's this God you talking about if he saw God so great all the stories we heard why did he help us so he said show me this show me that but eventually he so when he sees God's sign and he goes oh my God B point he said no you know he realizes like he saw God so he made a sacrifice the same thing happened with manah that's the father of shiman so when he being a typical f um man didn't believe his his wife when she said an angel came to me of God came to me and told me we gon to have a son and he says God send me send it back again but the rest did he tell my my wife she was probably know and so it comes back again and he they said oh my goodness he said let's have a meal with you and thank you for this wonderful news you're bringing us that we're having a son uh he said if you give me food I'm not going to eat it or anything and they had were making a fire for that food the the man jumps into the fire and goes up to heaven and they realized he was an angel oh oh my God and they made a sacrifice a corbine that would say so says here the rashbam the whole idea of the Brit Mila was in place of in effect a sacrifice a corbine they they said they saw God wanted and said to in order to uh calm God down shall I say to appease him that's the word to appease God for appease his his anger they said here's here's the blood of the Brit like a blood of corbine that's sprinkled and that's why she threw it down in the ground perhaps and that's why it's said those are the opinions that we have gone through uh very very interesting um now how does this in any way have to do with performing a a Brit MAA why not bring a sacrifice you why Brit mea Ram doesn't say um and we as what can we call ourselves students of the tanak trying to understand the tanak what does a text telling us what is it telling us that we would not have realized until we saw carefully that's what we're trying to do um we have to struggle with with that's still problem what sin really did Moshe commit um if he committed any sin at all don't know um and if it was why wasn't the sin mentioned here that's what this story really opens up those questions um that and how does this Brit MAA have anything to do to the story of MIT everything and doesn't have to do as it would seem to do with a God getting angry so no no so to UNL I it's a question that look I used to I readit every year more than that always had that problem and had the wonderful Joy Of singy God it's only Fe versus I can just shove my shoulders and go ahead but it's a very problematic story I had the advantage about seven years ago was it to hear ronathan grman remarkable really remarkable Paran commentator on the tanak who gave us me a an approach that I'm going to share with you um when he explains what was happening mosha and primarily based upon the struggles that mosha was really having that aren't clear in the Torah but if when you look carefully again I should keep on telling you in the text it begins to come out and it begins with um the very beginning actually with God recognizing the pain and oppression that the Egyptians had been uh making the Israelites suffering to suffer and how does it first come that's the fourth source and that Source we read that during those days this is before mosha has been I think it's actually it's yeah before mosha was born it wasn't the birth of Moshe is not not yet told in the Torah during those days the king of Egypt died the Pharaoh had died right and B Israel moaned from the bondage and they cried and their cry went up to Hashem Hashem heard their groaning he remembered his Covenant with Abraham Y and yob he saw the children of Israel he took cogniz of them is this the first time they grown H is this the first time they I think this is the first time yeah that we he that that they they cried out from their get yeah well that's one thing well it does say that they suffered it was when parro died yeah and you know that certainly in um when you have tyrants when you have any uh leader was the only leader that once they leave and we don't know yet who's going to go over there's a relaxing part there so that's when they had a CH probably I would imagine the slave work was eased off because there was no Pharaoh saying you better do this and do this and do that which you see later on he does and maybe they had the time to go home and say oh you you know my back's killing me you know huh and they groom they realize the the pain that they've been going through they always realized it but they too busy running into this into the um fields to work to have time to groan okay good question and the text here tells us God heard them and there are two reasons it says why he's going to respond to them first of all it says um that God heard the cries right and it says he and he was cognizant of it he god well knew the depth of how bad that pain is so he is responding to the pain of a person the innocent who are suffering good but there's another [Music] reason Abraham what is that second reason why God said I have to help the children of Israel very good I made a promise to Abraham we got a deal here this is part of my m in effect he's saying hey he says that he says that in the same para he says par Israel is my my first son meaning my favorite child so he sees Israel as uh the sons we see it in you are Sons you are children to God so that relationship is clear so he has two reasons it didn't matter who this was if innocent people are suffering God's going to help the second one as we' say certain cly certainly if it's Abraham and and's descendants I got to do it I got to help that's those are the two things completely independent of pain or of the groaning and my people it's time it's to do it okay and that's the two reasons for the G for Why God is going to redeem Israel they were suffering and as suffering people I'm going to help them and number two because of Abraham and yob those are my the two reasons those are the two and now not now because it's time to finish next time let's see if those same two reasons are the reasons he gives to Moshe as to why he has to take them out of Egypt because that's going to be the kernel of understanding what mosha was going through and how God had to deal with it okay so enjoy your tuat today I am a tree