Thoughts on the Parsha

Even though we're on vacation, a couple of thoughts.  First an old one from the first month on the blog three years ago:

Reviewing the Parsha with my head already on vacation, I was struck by a certain passage. When defending themselves to Paro, the heroic midwives defend themselves with a statement that would serve us well to remember as we head to our various exotic & less exotic destinations: כִּי לא כַנָּשִׁים הַמִּצְרִיּת הָעִבְרִיּת - The Jewish women are not like the Egyptian women. As integrated as we are into our American culture, with all of the benefits - of all types - that we get from it, it's important to keep in mind that we are different, and that should be evident for all to see.

Since that was last week's Parsha, I'll give over a nice dvar Torah I received from my neighbor, Rabbi Dan Lifshitz:

"This was the Aaron and Moshe to whom G-d said take the Children of Israel out of Egypt.... This was Moshe and Aaron."  (Exodus 6:26-27)
Rashi explains that the transposition of the names between the first verse and second verse indicates that the two brothers were equal in status.  The Shelah asks a fairly obvious question on this explanation.  The Torah later tells us "there never again arose a prophet in Israel like Moshe (Deut 34:10)."  If so, how does Rashi tell us that Aaron was his equal?  The Shelah answers that Moshe developed over time.  When he first went with Aaron to speak with Pharaoh, the two of them were on par, but by the time Moshe went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, he had become the greatest of the prophets.

The Ktav Sofer suggests a reason for Moshe's "promotion."  Moshe was known for his humility.  When he was a simple shepherd tending Yitro's sheep in the desert, it was easy for him to be humble.  When he first approached Pharaoh's palace together with his brother, it was still relatively easy.  But after Moshe brought plagues upon the Egyptians, after he stood up to Pharaoh, after he became "very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of Pharaoh's servants and the people (Exo. 11:3)," most people would have become prideful to some extent.  To Moshe's credit, his head never got bigger, even as his accomplishments grew more and more impressive.  By maintaining his humility in the face of his rise to greatness, Moshe earned the position of the "master of the prophets."  Humility is not the most celebrated trait in today's world, but in G-d's eyes, it is cherished indeed.  Shabbat Shalom