Three times Moshe meets a wrong being done, and three times he does not stand by.
The story
In those days, Moshe has grown up. He goes out to his brothers, the Hebrews, and sees their hard labour. Then he sees an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, one of his brothers. Moshe turns this way and that, sees that no one is there, strikes the Egyptian and hides him in the sand.
וַיִּפֶן כֹּה וָכֹה וַיַּרְא כִּי אֵין אִישׁ
Shemot 2:12
The next day Moshe goes out again and finds two Hebrew men fighting. He turns to the one the Torah calls “the one in the wrong” and asks, “Why do you strike your fellow?” The man answers, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?”
וַיֹּאמֶר לָרָשָׁע לָמָּה תַכֶּה רֵעֶךָ
Shemot 2:13
Moshe is afraid and says, “So the deed is known.” Pharaoh hears of it and seeks to kill Moshe. Moshe flees from Pharaoh, settles in the land of Midian and sits down by the well.
וַיִּירָא מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמַר אָכֵן נוֹדַע הַדָּבָר
Shemot 2:14
The priest of Midian has seven daughters. They come, draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. The shepherds come and drive them away. Moshe rises, saves them and waters their flock.
The daughters tell Reuel their father, “An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds, and even drew water for us.” Reuel tells them to invite the man to eat. Moshe agrees to stay, and Reuel gives him his daughter Tzipporah. She bears a son; Moshe names him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
In those days Moshe grew up. He went out to his brothers and looked at their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, one of his brothers.
Words from the verse
אֶל־אֶחָיוto his kinsmen, his fellow Hebrews
בְּסִבְלֹתָםat their forced labour, their burdens
What it teaches: Responsibility
Owning what you did and what is in your power to do.
Moshe does not stand aside when an Egyptian strikes a Hebrew, when two Hebrews fight or when shepherds drive off the daughters of Midian’s priest. The Torah teaches that responsibility begins with looking: Moshe goes out to his brothers and sees their hard labour. Even after fleeing Pharaoh, in a foreign land, Moshe rises again.
A question to sit with
What helps you notice someone being pushed aside, even when they are a stranger to you?
Questions about the story
What did the man answer when Moshe asked, “Why do you strike your fellow?”
He asked who made Moshe a judge
He apologised and left his fellow alone
He said his fellow started the fight
Answer
a. He asked who made Moshe a judge
The man answered with a question: who made Moshe ruler and judge over them? In the same breath he brought up the Egyptian Moshe had killed.
What did Moshe do when the shepherds drove off the daughters of Midian’s priest?
He went with the daughters to find another well
He watered the shepherds’ flock first
He rose, saved them and watered the flock
Answer
c. He rose, saved them and watered the flock
When the shepherds drove the daughters off, Moshe rose and saved them, and watered their flock as well.
The lesson
One who sees a wrong rises to help, even strangers.
For this week
This week, when you see someone pushed out of a queue, a conversation or their place, try speaking up for them, even if you do not know them.
From the sources
Rashi explains what it means that Moshe saw his brothers’ burdens: “he set his eyes and his heart to be distressed over them.” In other words, he turned his eyes and his heart towards them, so as to feel their distress.
The verses are from Miqra according to the Masorah (Wikisource, CC BY-SA 4.0), via Sefaria, without the cantillation marks. On this site the four-letter Name is written ה׳.
