Exodus isn’t a study of Moses’s leadership as much as it is about G-d’s. The lessons here are tremendous. The first lesson is that leadership does not mean you do everything yourself. Moses is going to need his brother, Aaron, to talk for him while he facilitates miracles and Zipporah, his wife, to keep him alive when it is “discovered” he didn’t circumcise his own ½ Jewish son Gershom. Second, there are many different types of leadership and we should not confuse the role of king, with that of the prophet and that of the priest. The third early lesson is that leadership requires the appropriate props. Moses had his magic staff just like Harry Potter had his wand – Expecto Patronum! The fourth lesson, which it seems G-d has a handle on by the end of the parashah, is that revolution and social change are as much about the changing of the people demanding justice as it is about the changes in the behavior of the unjust. The pain in the hearts of the oppressed must transition to hope, desperation refocused on securing the future, and their whining concentrated into dedication to the cause of freedom. This is confirmed in the Haftorah portion that sometimes accompanies this portion, Isaiah 29:22-2,3 where the prophet confirms that redemption comes to the children of Jacob after their fathers (and mothers!) return in faith to Hashem. It is critical that oppressed peoples not seek the redemption of their enemy over their own hope. It is not necessary for Pharaoh to change for me to be free. I don’t need the bigot or the homophobe to accept me and mine but to get out of our way.
Understanding the Exodus as a Spiritual Journey | ReformJudaism.org
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