Chapter 6

The story of the Exodus begins here. With G-d rebuking Moses, and then laying out his plan/strategy for freeing us from Mitzraim. The plan is laid out in the past tense as if it had already happened. In it G-d lays out his desire to let the whole world know of His Greatness though the miracles and wondrous deeds G-d is about to perform.

Thus G-d could not just free the Hebrews, He needed a build up to the crescendo. And it is a wonderful narrative (or performative) technique.

G-d rebukes Moses

Note
At the end of the previous Sidrah, Moses complained that G-d had sent him in vain, for instead of helping the people, he had only made it worse for them. G-d now speaks harshly to Moses, comparing him unfavourably with the Patriarchs, who maintained their faith without complaint, even though they were not privileged to see the fulfilment of G-d’s promises to them. Moses, on the other hand, had been told that redemption was at hand, yet was so disillusioned that he could not wait for G-d to carry His plan to its conclusion.

This tale, leading from the last parasha, has certainly many twists and turns. The original promise that G-d gave to each of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is here repeated to Moses. It is as if the story actually starts in Shemoth, and Bereishit was just the prelude. One could even say that the Bereishit is the tale of the background (or soil) upon which the community of Israel is formed. And I would like to emphasise the difference between the community (or family) of Israel, and the nation of Israel. The first is a spiritual community, the latter is a manifest nation state which lays claim to a specific piece of land, whereas the former claims a spiritual land(scape). In the words of the Torah, it is referred to as a covenant, or brit ברית - see v6:4.

G-d says: “I heard their cries, and remembered my covenant”, the covenant that He had established (הֲקִמֹ֤תִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי֙) with our Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He established a covenant with them, not a nation, nor a community. It was Moshe Rabeinu’s task to forge the people into a nation – yet still without a land, just a belief in one being promised to us by G-d. The Torah concerns our preparation for entry into the Holy Land, and the books which follow speak of the nation of Israel in the holy land. It is not about our life in the nation. That comes later — not from the Hand (or Mouth) of G-d.

He established His Covenant with the Patriarchs, before the laws and ordinances handed down with the Tablets of Law and the Torah itself. This Brith had three aspects to it:

• a promise to multiply their seed,
• give them the land of Canaan, and
• make them a blessing unto the nations.

An interesting footnote on the topic of the Brith from Sefaria, notes a reference of the brith as the sod, secret, and the reference is Psalms 25:14: ס֣וֹד יְ֭הֹוָה לִירֵאָ֑יו וּ֝בְרִית֗וֹ לְהוֹדִיעָֽם׃ The counsel (or secret) of the LORD is for those who fear Him; to them He makes known His covenant.

v6:1-4] I am HaShem

This reading opens up with G-d rebuking Moses, after his previous complaint, saying: “I am the Lord, יהוה .” He mentions that He used the name El Shaddai, Almighty G-d, for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with whom He had established His covenant—though He did not fulfil it in their lifetimes.

n6:2] וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר — [G-d] spoke. In this context, the root דבר connotes harsh speech. (Rashi)

n6:2] ‘אֲנִ֥י ה—I am HaShem.

This term for G-d includes punishment for sin and reward for virtue…
The reason that Moses’ arrival in Egypt was followed by an immediate intensification of the slavery was that the Egyptians could not be punished until their “measure of sin” was full, for G-d is patient even with the wicked. By his cruel decree to deny straw to the hapless slaves [5:7], Pharaoh had reached his nadir. So the process of the Exodus and the punishment of Egypt could now begin. Thus his arrival in Egypt was not in vain, but instead expedited the process of the Exodus.
—(Mizrachi)

n6:4] לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶ֖ם אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ–give them the land. I was wondering if the better translation might be “to hand them the land”, as it is not “owned”, but able to be used by the Israelites.

v6:5] “I heard their moans”

v6:6] “I will save you”

He acknowledges His sympathy with the plight of the children of Israel, and He remembered His covenant. Thus He requires of Moses to announce to his people that “I am the Lord, and I will”:

1. Take you out from the burdens of the Egyptians
2. Rescue you (הִצלתי) from their labour
3. Redeem you (געלתי)
   • with outstretched arm &
   • great judgements (שׁפטים)

m6:6] וְהֽוֹצֵאתִ֣י—I took you out. This is written in the past tense, but only makes sense in the future, as it has not yet occurred. But perhaps it had already occurred in the upper realm?

v6:7-8] “I will…”

I will:

1. Take you as my people
2. You will know that I am your HaShem, your G-d // Acknowledge me as…
3. Bring you to the promised land

Note: The last promise (v8), one which was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but was never fulfilled. So this promise is to be fulfilled over a period of 200 - 400 years, which is a very long time. Yet, although it has taken so long, it is still looked at as a true promise, as it eventually did manifest.

v6:9] Israel ignored Moses

v6:10-12] Will Pharaoh listen?

G-d then suggests to Moses to talk to the Pharoah. But Moses objects, saying, “The children of Israel did not listen to me. How then will Pharaoh be expected to?”

Note: The lesson I learn from this is that G-d does not want our abject obedience. He wants us to engage (with Her – the Divine Presence). If you are only capable of blind obedience, then that is fine. But if you are able to penetrate deeper into the mysteries, and you choose to ignore the blessing that has been bestowed, upon that you may well be judged.

v6:13] Lord spoke to Moses

But the Lord ignores Moses, and He commands them regarding Israel and the Pharaoh. Though details of what He said to them are lacking, the only piece that we know is that He spoke to them about letting the children of Israel free.

List of princes

v6:14-25] List of heads of houses (see Names)

Moses & Aaron

v6:26-29] Moses & Aaron

This just repeats what was said in v13.

v6:29-30] Moses objects: “I am of closed lips”.

G-d instructs Moses to speak of everything that He has said. Moses objects again, referring to himself as one of “closed lips”.

Chapter 7

v7:1-5] Know that I am the Lord

G-d repeats that they must say all that he has said to Pharaoh, so that he will let the Israelites out of his land. However, He then says the “He will harden Pharaoh’s heart”. That enables the Lord to show His great judgements to Egypt, so that they will know that “I am Lord”.

Note: This is interesting, that He needs to show them that He is Lord, and in order to do that, Pharaoh cannot agree to let our people go until our Sovereign Lord has proved His point.

Moses was 80 and Aaron 83 (v7).

The Rods

v7:8-13] The Lord provides a sign for them, Aaron’s staff will become a serpent. So, when they come to the Pharaoh, and Aaron throws his staff in front of Pharaoh, it turns into a serpent.

However, Pharaoh’s necromancers do the same thing. And even though Aaron’s staff swallowed all the other serpents, Pharaoh’s heart remained steadfast, and he refuses to let our people go.

Blood דָֽם

Then G-d commands Moses to meet the Pharaoh at the river Nile, and say to him: “Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me in the desert.” As you have not listened to my request, I will turn the waters of the Nile to blood with my staff, and with this “you will know that I am Lord, G-d of the Hebrews”. The fish will die, and the waters will become putrid. (v15-18)

v7:19] “Stretch your staff over the waters”

v7:20-25] Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded. He struck the Nile with his staff, and all the waters turned to blood. However, the necromancers of Egypt did the same with their secret rites, and thus the Pharaoh did not heed them.

This lasted seven full days and all the Egyptians had to dig around the Nile to dig for water to drink.

Note: If the Egyptian necromancers had secret rites with which they could turn water to blood, surely Moses would have known that? And if not Moses, then surely G-d would have known? It seems more and more, that G-d was setting up the final climax of the death of the first-born to show the world what He was capable of.

Frogs צְפַרְדְּעִ֔ים

Then the Lord says to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. If you refuse, I will smite your borders with frogs. They will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom and upon your bed and into the house of your servants and into your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs; and into you and into your people and into all your servants” (v26-29).

Note: “Into you and your people and your servants”. How (and why) did these frogs enter into the people?

Note: They enter Pharoah’s presence and threaten him. How come he didn’t just execute them? Is that not the way these Pharoahs and other of his ilk generally behaved? What prevented him from just having Moses and Aaron executed? Was it his fear of HaShem? Which would imply that he acknowledges the Hebrew G-d.

Chapter 8

v8:1-11]

The Lord then tells Moses to tell Aaron to “stretch your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals and the ponds to bring forth the frogs”. (v1)

Note: How could he stretch his hand with his staff over the land?

Aaron did as commanded. (v2)

Note: Moses requests Aaron to speak in his name, as he had “closed lips”. However, these three plagues, are implemented by Aaron. This is not speaking but action — nor is this the help that Moses asked for!

However the necromancers of Egypt did likewise “with their secret rites”. (v3)

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and asked them to remove the frogs, and “he will let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord” (v4). Moses says he will do as Pharaoh asks in order to show the Pharoah that there is “none like the Lord, our God”, כִּי־אֵ֖ין כַּֽיהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ.

So Moses “cried out to the Lord”, and the Lord did according to Moses’ words, and the frogs died out, and the land stank. But the Pharoah reneged on his promise. (v9-11)

Lice כִּנָּ֔ם

Then the Lord says to Moses: “Say to Aaron: ‘Stretch forth your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it shall become lice throughout the entire land of Egypt.’” These lice affected everyone, including the Hebrews. (v12)

Then the text says the Aaron stretched forth his hand Note: Whereas the command as written was to stretch forth his staff! and struck the dust of the earth… and the dust became lice (v13).

The Egyptians necromancers tried to use their secret rites to remove the lice, but they could not. So they said to Pharaoh, "It is the finger of G-d, Elohim” (v14).

Note: How did they know of the existence of this Elohim? And why would they say that He is the One doing this? Would they not say it was one of their G-d’s, or at least a G-d more familiar than them? Did they know about this Hebrew YHWH? And, in addition, believed He is an actual presence that could perform such actions? Or, was this just a widespread belief in the power of the gods? This speaks to my hypothesis that the cult of YHWH was more widespread than just amongst the Hebrews.

Note: Another possibility is that most pagan mythologies recounted long tales of the strife and jealousy extant between their gods and goddesses. Thus, to defeat another race/culture, is essentially to overpower their god(s). This is how the necromancers came to acknowledge Elohim, the G-d of the Hebrews as more powerful than their gods.

Note: There is also the possibility that G-d had to show the Pharaoh and all of Egypt, that He could do things that the Egyptian gods could not do.

But Pharaoh did not hearken to them (v15).

Noxious creatures עָרֹ֔ב

G-d then instructs Moses to meet Pharaoh at the waters in the early morning, and say the Lord says: "“Let My people go out and serve Me”. Else I will incite noxious creatures against you and all the houses of Egypt. In addition, Note: to show my power there will be no noxious creatures in the land of Goshen (v16-18).

This time “the Lord did so”. Neither Moses nor Aaron instigated this plague, which destroyed the land (v20).

Pharaoh relents and tells Moses to “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” But Moses objects, arguing that if they will need to “sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to God our Lord”, and, as the sheep is a deity of the Egyptians, if they sacrifice this deity “before the eyes of the people”, they will stone us. Let us rather go for a three-day journey into the desert, where we will sacrifice to our Lord, our G-d (v21-23).

Note: He requested a three-day journey to the place where they would sacrifice to the our Lord. However three days there, three days back and a minimum of three days for the ceremony – will make for at least nine days absence.

The story of humanity is told in the story of individuals.

Pharaoh agrees to let them go. So Moses entreats the Lord, who does according to Moses’ word, and removes the noxious creatures (v24-27).

But Pharaoh hardened his heart, and did not let the people go (v28).

Chapter 9

Livestock מִקְנְה

The Lord says to Moses, go again to Pharaoh, and say to him, if you do not “send out My people so that they may serve Me”, I will lay my hand upon your livestock and all your domestic animals, the horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and cause them to have a “very severe pestilence.” However, none of the livestock of Israel will be affected (v1-4).

God did this thing on the morrow. Whereupon Pharaoh still did not relent (v6-7)

Boils שְׁחִ֥ין

v9:8-9] “Take furnace soot…”

The Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron, saying: “Take some furnace soot and cast it heavenward.” (v10) They did as He commanded, and the whole of Egypt broke out in boils, that became blisters upon man and beast (v11). This time even the necromancers " could not stand before Moses because of the boils". But the Lord strengthened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not hearken to them. (v12)

v9:13] “Speak to Pharaoh”

Hail בָּרָ֖ד כָּבֵ֣ד

The Lord tells Moses to go meet Pharaoh. And say to him, unless you let My people go, I will send "all My plagues into your heart and into your servants and into your people, in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth” (v14).

v9:15-21] I have smitten all your people, with a pestilence that could have annihilated you and your people. However, I have allowed you to stand, ‘in order to show you My strength and in order to declare My name all over the earth.’

If you do not relent, I will rain down upon you a very heavy hail. “Any man or beast that is found in the field and not brought into the house the hail shall fall on them, and they will die.”

In this way, the people were separated into those “who feared the word of the Lord” and drove his servants and his livestock into the houses. But he who did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

Question: Who were these Egyptians who believed in the word of the Lord?

So the Lord commanded Moses, “Stretch forth your hand heavenward, and hail will be upon the entire land of Egypt.” And Moses did as the Lord commanded. And the hail struck “throughout the entire land of Egypt”. Only in Goshen was there no hail. (v22-26)

Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron, and promises to let our people go. Moses responds that he will remove the hail “in order that you know that the land is the Lord’s.” (v27) Upon Moses “spreading out his hands to the Lord, the thunder and the hail ceased.” But Pharaoh continued to sin and he did not relent. (v33-35)

Names

#names

Haftorah - Yechezkel 28:25-29-21

1/10/2002 10:54 AM

This week’s haftorah teaches us a profound lesson in arrogance and self dependency. HaShem instructed the prophet Yechezkel to deliver a crushing blow to Pharaoh and his Egyptian empire and predict its total destruction.

HaShem said, “Behold I am sending the sword after you that will decimate man and animal. Egypt will lay desolate and ruined…in response to your saying, ‘The river is mine and I developed it.’” (29:8,9)

HaShem held Pharaoh and Egypt fully accountable for their arrogant approach to prosperity crediting their sustenance solely to their technology.

Never to forget our limited role in our personal success. We must never forget that HaShem is our true provider and He develops and secures our efforts with their ultimate success.