¶ Storytelling's Role in Revealing Human Identity
When a man will take the stage , make himself comfortable at the podium and endeavor to give a public speech that will inspire the congregation in synagogue on Shabbos , and he should open his mouth and begin the talk with an Innocent , it says in this week's parasha . Or Perhaps Even more damning to the talk would be , it says in last week's parasha .
These phrases act like Five milligrams of melatonin on the audience . It makes them uninterested . The opening seems bland and I'll have to whim them back With inspiring them as the talk goes , which is easier said than done .
But if that same speaker should begin with Now , there was a great man and he walked into that holy shul in 1908 and you're not going to believe what he saw Well then he may have a better shot In delivering his message . Why ? What's the difference ? Because he began with a story .
Stories make great public speeches Openers Because they're relatable , they're magically captivating . Stories are gripping .
I Still haven't exactly figured out why it is that we all love stories so much , but we all know that you can lose yourself inside of a well-told , very graphic story , and storytellers are Also tasked With giving over a story that creates tension in the audience as the rising action , the Opening of the story should make the audience want to hear more .
And , following the classic story arc that every book , tv show , movie , any great story pretty much ever follows , that there's the opening and you're supposed to build Anxiety and uncertainty , and there's good versus evil , and there's the tzadik , there's a Russia , it seems like good is going to lose , there's no way that our hero was going to be able to overcome .
And as you take the audience through different twists and turns , unforeseen circumstances that all make the audience doubt the chance of the hero Proving triumphant . When all hope seems to be lost , the tension is at its peak .
You then hit the climax , a dramatic turning point , something surprising that the audience didn't see coming , where the hero Does something different , unforeseen , and the audience Is calmed . The tension is replaced by a feeling of satisfaction . Is that this great confrontation of the antagonist and the protagonist , good versus evil ? Good one , and now there's peace .
And now there's peace , the issue has been solved , there is closure and there is victory . And perhaps this all followed practice of telling stories pretty standard , was all taken and borrowed from the greatest story ever told by the Most supreme storyteller . God is powerful . Scripture to know is the greatest story ever told .
We pick up our story here , really , as it's about to hit its climax . All of of Rahm of venus work Seems to be about lost , as the Jewish people are stuck in the belly of Egypt . The enslavement is torturous . There is no hero in sight .
It's a shame really that we know the end of the story , because just imagine if we didn't know of a parshas bow , if we were Reading the story like Kindergarteners for the very first time , thinking what's gonna be . Are the Jewish people gonna make it out alive ? I Don't see how . And the Torah ?
It opens us up to the hero , the chosen one , moshe Rabbeinu , with the great happening and the vision of Akkadosh Baruch who revealing himself and the burning bush . So now there's a little ember of hope . But now Moshe Rabbeinu seems to doubt himself . More uncertainty , more ambiguity . Moshe doesn't feel right for the job .
The hero seems to be Not very confident in his mission . Akkadosh Baruch wants him to go , but the hero says no one's gonna listen to me . Moshe Rabbeinu Complains of a stutter . He's the stammerer . There's no hope . Why will pyro listen to me ? And Indeed , the very first time that the hero attempts To overcome evil and win the day , he just made things worse .
Pyro's response to the first Marching into his castle by Moshe Rabbeinu was let's keep the same quota of bricks , but let's increase the torture , let's increase the arduous , back breaking , cumbersome labor on the Jewish people , so that when Moshe Rabbeinu leaves pyros palace , you can imagine that the already present feeling of uncertainty , of Not feeling ready for the
job , only got worse when he saw 600,000 innocent Hebrews being worked that much harder because of him . Perhaps they were throwing tomatoes . You're not making anything better , you're just making it worse . You sure you saw a burning bush ? Are you sure you're supposed to be coming in here ?
One can't help but think that this may very well be the end of the Jewish people . What hope is there ? But then the pieces seem to come together and Parshah's Vair , at the end of the first Aliyah Hashem , takes a different approach towards Moshe . It's no longer Please , moshe , go and rescue the people .
It's Vahedabir Hashem el Moshe Leymour , with a very harsh way of speaking I'm no longer Requesting , but I'm telling Tzaveim a commandment go with our own and free the Jewish people . Enough is enough . And this is about to be that climax . The story arc is about to hit their crescendo .
Had Kaddish Baruch , who was about to make an example of the Egyptians , and you can kind of feel how all of the tension will be relieved as the roller coasters To the very top of this story arc . And you remember that Moshe Rabbeinu in fact grew up in the house of pyro . So ironic , so iconic . Here we go , but the very next Pasek .
It's hardly anything dramatic or exciting . It is a genealogical table , an oddly placed , seems to be unseemly poorly timed commercial break about the pedigree and background of Moshe's family .
To begin it all , it's really Ruvane , the 12 tribes and Ruvane's children , moshe Rabbeinu's aunt and uncle , all of his brothers and sisters , the cousins , and Shimon had these as children . We meet people named Khanokh , hufaluch , hatzron and V'charm'i . Okay , that's Ruvane's family . Not very exciting .
And why now , in reverse , also points out , probably bargering from the Rishonim that asked this and Rashi asked this . Well , at least , if you're going to tell us the lineage of Moshe Rabbeinu , give us all 12 brothers , all 12 tribes . We just get Ruvane , shimon and Levi .
One can't help but also feel that we already know Moshe Rabbeinu's ancestry , we know his descent , and if the great storyteller decides that we should know it again right now , well then tell us , it would feel like the right thing to do all of the 12 tribes , not just three of them .
It really just bothersome when you find it inside and you'll look right at the very end of this graph , this table of Moshe's ancestry , his heritage , the right after it the story continues and you get that epic conclusion . You get all the smiting of the Egyptians and you see Ya'kodesh Baruch's epic miracles and those decimating plagues , but not before this chart .
Why here ? Why now ? And in the first edition of the Hirsh Chumish , I was translated from Old German to English by a descendant of Hirsh , isaac Levi .
He gives over the following prime and chief idea in all caps , in caps lock , which definitely speaks to the importance of the idea and the ideas as follows If the story should end here , not much may be thought of Moshe and Aaron , for the situation for the Jewish people has only gotten worse and there is no miraculous salvation in sight .
But in the forthcoming psokem , we are about to see how Moshe and Aaron were the conduits to carry out some of the greatest miracles that have ever been performed and that will ever be performed . They are about to be the leaders of the highest of high missions , and Hirsh tells us that that may lead onlookers towards a mistake .
Our human beings have a way of crowning other human beings , lauding them Sometimes too much .
We love superstars , we love heroes and the very beginning of some other mistakes , even other religions , were somebody doing something pretty cool , or at least preaching that he did something cool , and then the rest of mankind erroneously deifying them , saying , oh , he does have some God-like powers , he is some form of a God , but no , all that is false .
There is only one God . So it must be put down crystal clear that Moshe and Aaron are not gods . They are of original human DNA . They are humans and to prove that , we give over right here , right now , before the story , their family background . We meet Moshe's uncle , uncles , brothers , sisters , aunts , the family that proves . Look , they're humans just like us .
Moshe and Aaron are not gods , so that no mistakes should be made . But this is the only reason to inspire us all that much more .
¶ The Greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu
For Akadishbara , who selects certain humans to be the chosen ones . Akadishbara who chose to reveal himself in this way to not anyone else other than Moshe . He chose Moshe as the leader , a man with uncles and aunts , brothers and sisters .
It should be stated very clearly that , while Moshe is a man , hashem only revealed himself or chose to reveal himself to Moshe because of the status that a human being elevated himself to , for the Ram Bomb tells us in his halachos of Yisai Dehathira , that Yisai Dehathira , that God prophesies to people , god only prophesies to a great Chacham .
He has to be very strong in his Midoz . He's constantly dominating the Satan . He's got an open and widespread mind .
It is very straight-eyed , but it's Moshe Rabbeinu that is memulah , the whole Midoz of Ailu filled perfectly to the brim with perfect Midoz , shalom Begufo , perfect in his guf , because he encounters the pardes , he enters into the vineyards , he enters the pardes , he elevates himself so that this human being , not a God , has become something that is so great that
Hashem reveals himself and Nevua , and that is Moshe , the greatest Adam to ever live . I don't want to God forbid , speak in a way that's confusing , to God forbid , pull away from Moshe's godless .
Moshe was the greatest man to ever live and the fact that he is being shown here to be a man because of this commercial break , of showing us this genealogical table , it only brings out his greatness all that much more , and sometimes it can even feel like the lessons of all of the great ofos , en jimajos , avra , mitzchak , yaakov , the foremothers .
It can feel like their stories are unrelatable and uninspiring because we can't really feel compared to them . Because that's Raheli Menu . She was willing to give it all up , to forego her husband , her greatness , but I can't relate and feel inspired to also forego and be Mavater in my things because she's different , she's God like .
But when we understand that these people are not gods , they are people .
They have a heartbeat , they have human DNA , torso , legs , they're people , that makes these lessons relatable and galvanizing , because it makes one hear about the Akeda and Avrum's total subservience and obedience to Hakadish Baruchu , that he's willing to give everything up as a human being who loves his only son , or the son with everything that he has , but he's
still willing to have the level of Atayodati Kyorye . Like him , atah Valeh Hasachto as Bin Chesyeh , chid Chahashirahavto , acting God like , although they are humans and this is Moshe , the greatest human . The spirit of God is the spirit of God . It chooses Chachomim , nveinim , g'daylim , the leaders . They are not weaklings or simpletons .
Only the most suitable Shalukhim are chosen . Indeed , this also answers why the Torah did not continue to elaborate on the different lineage , that is , of the Yisachar and Zavulin and the other tribes , because while there was the search for the perfect man , there was maybe it's in Ruvvayn , maybe it's in Shim'on the telling of that .
They are all regular mortal men . These are Moshe's cousins , but once we find our man , and we have found the chosen one , well then , the need to prove Moshe's worth is godless , while also his human origin has been sufficiently proven and there's no need to continue . And that's how the genealogical table concludes .
It was Moshe and Arun people that stood there and spoke before Paro .
¶ The Triumph of Good Over Evil
And now the story continues the climax , the falling action and the Egyptian annihilation , all carried out by humans , bringing forth the G'vurah of Akhadash Baruchu . We have learned that through enough godless and striving , one can become like Moshe .
Moshe was bashful , he was obedient , he was an Anavmiko'l Adam and he was a flesh and blood , a buzzer of a dumb hand , selected fully , ripe , fresh and ready to carry out the ultimate salvation .
This idea from of Hirsch allows us to look at the Torah with new eyes and to hear the lessons from the Giants , to understand that the fact that these G'dylem and our Ovos any most our people , does not detract from their godless , from their greatness , but only doubles it Because look what they accomplished With a heartbeat just like you and I .
We witness here what levels mankind can achieve . You can have a cottage bar who reveal himself to you . This little commercial break Is what sets the tone going forward . Now it's time for all Gehenem to break loose and the hail will rain and Egypt will be decimated . And the story can continue , because there really is nothing like a good story .
And now good defeats evil . It is the protagonist against the antagonist . The tension is calmed , closure has had . It was all brought about by the chosen one , the greatest man to ever live .