In this week’s parasha there is a narrative that includes two
verses that seem superfluous. The Torah, in reintroducing
Aharon and Moshe to us as they emerge as leaders of
Klal Yisrael, also de‑ nes their lineage. While tracing their
heritage, the Torah also enumerates the descendants of
all the tribes, starting from the oldest, Reuven. It eventually
reaches Amram, the grandson of Levi and tells us that he
married Yocheved who bore Moshe and Aharon. The Torah
continues with Aharon’s wife, descendants, and others
from the tribe of Levi. Then the Torah stops the listings.
The rest of the tribes are enumerated later.
However, the Torah identifies Moshe and Aharon with
two verses. “This was the Moshe and Aharon to whom
Hashem commanded “take the Children of Israel out of
Egypt. They were the ones that spoke to Pharaoh telling
him to send the children of Israel out of Egypt; that was
Moshe and Aharon” (Exodus 6:26-27). We are talking
Moshe and Aharon! Doesn’t everyone who reads the Torah
know that they are the ones that led the Jews out of Egypt?
The details of their encounters with Pharaoh are clearly
appraised throughout the first three portions of the Book of
Shemot. Why then does the Torah, in two succinct verses,
tell us that these are the Moshe and Aharon that were sent
on a Divine mission – these are the same pair that told
Pharaoh to let the Jews go?
Rabbi Chaim of Sanz was once walking in a small shtetl
with his shammash. Suddenly he stopped in front of the
home of a simple Jew. “There is a certain spirituality that I
sense here. I’d like to stop by this man’s home.”
His shammash knocked on the door, and as it opened the
holy Rebbe exclaimed, “There is a smell in this home that
must be from the Garden of Eden. It is sweet and pure.
Pray tell me, where does it come from?”
The simple Jew did not know what to answer, but allowed
the Rebbe to roam freely through his humble abode and
open any door he chose. Suddenly the Rebbe pointed to a
closet. “What is in that closet? The holiness comes from
within.” The man was reluctant to open the door, but the
Rebbe urged him. The man opened the door and in the
closet hung the vestments of a priest! The Rebbe turned
to the man once again and asked. “Please tell me. What
is a holy Jew doing with those clothing?”
The poor Jew told his tale: “Years ago, I was asked to
help raise money for a family thrown into jail by a poritz
(landowner) to whom they owed rent. My Rebbe asked
me to raise the funds, and I immediately agreed. After
all, I thought, with the Rebbe’s wishes it would be an easy
task. Everyone would give to save a Jewish family! I was
wrong. Everyone in town had an excuse not to give. There
was a deadline approaching, and I had no choice but to
approach the wealthiest Jew in town who was known for
his malevolence toward Chassidim. “The man told me he
would give me the entire sum that day on one condition. I
must parade through the town, dressed as a priest singing
psalms in Hebrew and asking for tzedaka (charity) in
Yiddish. At the end of the day, he would pay the ransom.
“I did what I had to do, while a group of his friends followed
me around, laughing and mocking me wherever I walked.
I got the money and I never returned the vestments he
gave me.”
The Rebbe turned and said, “Yes. These clothes are truly
holy. They are the source of the spirituality I sense.”
Legend has it that the Rebbe told the man to be buried
in those clothes.
The Torah sums up the mission and job of Moshe and
Aharon in two verses. They were the ones enthusiastically
sent to redeem the Jews. Then it tells us that they were the
ones that had to deal with Pharaoh. They were mocked with
the words, “who is this Hashem that I shall listen to Him?”
(Exodus 5:2). They were the ones who were threatened
by Pharaoh that “the day you return to see me you will
die! (Exodus 10:27). But they did not back down. The
suffered the threats, the humiliation, the skepticism, and
the failures with strength and fortitude. We may remember
them as the ones who were told to take the Children out of
Egypt but the Torah reminds us in the ensuing verse that
we should never forget the difficult process that led to their
great accomplishments.
For in order to fulfil what one hears from G-d, he or she
must also be ready to hear from Him.
