Va'eira - in Classical Rabbinic Interpretation - Exodus Chapter 6

Exodus Chapter 6

A Midrash noted that God had already informed Moses that Pharaoh would not allow the Israelites to go, as in Exodus 3:19 God told Moses, “I know that the King of Egypt will not allow you to go,” and in Exodus 4:19 God told Moses, “I will harden his heart.” But Moses did not keep this in mind, but came instead to doubt the wisdom of God's decree, and began to argue with God: “Lord, why have You dealt ill with this people?” For this reason, the Attribute of Justice sought to attack Moses, as Exodus 6:2 says: “And God spoke to Moses” (employing the name of God (אֱלֹהִים, Elohim) indicative of God's Justice). But when God reflected that Moses only asked this because of Israel's suffering, God retracted and dealt with Moses according to the Attribute of Mercy, as Exodus 6:2 says: “And He said to him: ‘I am the Lord’” (employing the name of God (יְהוָה, the Tetragrammaton) indicative of God's Mercy).

Rabbi Simai found evidence for the resurrection of the dead in the words, “And I also have established my covenant with them (the Patriarchs) to give them the land of Canaan,” in Exodus 6:4. Rabbi Simai noted that Exodus 6:4 does not say “to give you” but “to give them,” implying that God would give the land to the Patriarchs personally, and thus that God would resurrect them so as to fulfill the promise.

A Baraita deduced from Exodus 6:6 that the Israelites’ bondage in Egypt ended on Rosh Hashanah. The Baraita noted that Exodus 6:6 uses the word “burden” to describe the end of the Israelites’ bondage in Egypt, and Psalm 81:7 uses the word “burden” to describe the end of Joseph’s imprisonment, and the Baraita deduced that the two events must therefore have occurred at the same time of year. The Baraita further deduced from the words, “Blow the horn on the new moon, on the covering day for our festival . . . He appointed it for Joseph for a testimony when he went forth,” in Psalm 81:4–6 that Joseph went forth from the prison on Rosh Hashanah.

Rabbi Nehemiah cited the use of the words “will bring you out” in Exodus 6:6 to demonstrate that using the word hamotzi in the blessing over bread would mean that God “will bring forth” bread from the land — not that God “has brought forth” bread from the land. Rabbi Nehemiah thus read Exodus 6:6–7 to mean: “I am the Lord, the One Who will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” The Gemara reported that the Rabbis of a Baraita, however, read Exodus 6:6–7 to mean: “When I shall bring you out, I will do for you something that will show you that I am the One Who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

The Jerusalem Talmud cited the four promises of salvation in Exodus 6:6–7, (1) “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,” (2) “I will deliver you from their bondage,” (3) “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm,” and (4) “I will take you to Me for a people,” as one reason why Jews drink four cups of wine at the Passover seder. And thus the Mishnah taught that “On the eve of Passover, . . . even the poorest man in Israel must not eat until he reclines; and they (the overseers of charity) should give him not less than four cups of wine.”

A Baraita taught that Rabbi Simai deduced from the similarity of the phrases “And I will take you to me for a people” and “And I will bring you in to the land” in Exodus 6:7 that the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt occurred under circumstances similar to their entry into the Land of Israel. Rabbi Simai thus deduced that just as only two out of 600,000 (Caleb and Joshua) entered the Promised Land, so only two out of every 600,000 Israelites in Egypt participated in the Exodus, and the rest died in Egypt. Rava taught that it will also be so when the Messiah comes that only a small portion of Jews will find redemption, for Hosea 2:17 says, “And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the days when she came up out of the land of Egypt,” implying that circumstances upon the coming of the Messiah will be similar to those upon the Israelites’ entry into the Land of Israel.

The Gemara asked why the Tannaim felt that the allocation of the Land of Israel “according to the names of the tribes of their fathers” in Numbers 26:55 meant that the allocation was with reference to those who left Egypt; perhaps, the Gemara supposed, it might have meant the 12 tribes and that the Land was to be divided into 12 equal portions? The Gemara noted that in Exodus 6:8, God told Moses to tell the Israelites who were about to leave Egypt, “And I will give it you for a heritage; I am the Lord,” and that meant that the Land was the inheritance from the fathers of those who left Egypt.

A Midrash interpreted the words of Exodus 6:9, “they hearkened not to Moses for shortness of spirit,” to indicated that it was difficult for the Israelites to abandon idol worship.

Rabbi Ishmael cited Exodus 6:12 as one of ten a fortiori (kal va-chomer) arguments recorded in the Hebrew Bible: (1) In Genesis 44:8, Joseph’s brothers told Joseph, “Behold, the money that we found in our sacks’ mouths we brought back to you,” and they thus reasoned, “how then should we steal?” (2) In Exodus 6:12, Moses told God, “Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me,” and reasoned that surely all the more, “How then shall Pharaoh hear me?” (3) In Deuteronomy 31:27, Moses said to the Israelites, “Behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the Lord,” and reasoned that it would follow, “And how much more after my death?” (4) In Numbers 12:14, “the Lord said to Moses: ‘If her (Miriam’s) father had but spit in her face,’” surely it would stand to reason, “‘Should she not hide in shame seven days?’” (5) In Jeremiah 12:5, the prophet asked, “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,” is it not logical to conclude, “Then how can you contend with horses?” (6) In 1 Samuel 23:3, David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah,” and thus surely it stands to reason, “How much more then if we go to Keilah?” (7) Also in Jeremiah 12:5, the prophet asked, “And if in a land of Peace where you are secure” you are overcome, is it not logical to ask, “How will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?” (8) Proverbs 11:31 reasoned, “Behold, the righteous shall be requited in the earth,” and does it not follow, “How much more the wicked and the sinner?” (9) In Esther 9:12, “The king said to Esther the queen: ‘The Jews have slain and destroyed 500 men in Shushan the castle,’” and it thus stands to reason, “‘What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces?’” (10) In Ezekiel 15:5, God came to the prophet saying, “Behold, when it was whole, it was usable for no work,” and thus surely it is logical to argue, “How much less, when the fire has devoured it, and it is singed?”

A Midrash interpreted the words of Exodus 6:13, “And He gave them a charge concerning the children of Israel,” to convey that God warned Moses and Aaron that the Israelites were obstinate, bad-tempered, and troublesome, and that in assuming leadership over the Israelites, Moses and Aaron must expect that the Israelites would curse and even stone them.

A Midrash interpreted God’s instructions to Moses and Aaron in Exodus 6:13, “and to Pharaoh, King of Egypt,” to convey that God told Moses and Aaron that although God really ought to punish Pharaoh, God wanted Moses and Aaron to show Pharaoh the respect due to his regal position. And Moses did so, as Exodus 11:8 reports that Moses told Pharaoh that God said, “And all these your servants shall come down to Me.” Moses did not say that Pharaoh would come down, only that Pharaoh’s servants would do so. But Moses could well have said that Pharaoh himself would come down, for Exodus 12:30 reports, “Pharaoh arose at midnight.” But Moses did not mention Pharaoh specifically so as to pay him respect.

A Midrash taught that Korah took issue with Moses in Numbers 16:1 because Moses had (as Numbers 3:30 reports) appointed Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as prince of the Kohathites, and Korah was (as Exodus 6:21 reports) son of Uzziel's older brother Izhar, and thus had a claim to leadership prior to Elizaphan.

Rava taught that he who wishes to take a wife should first inquire about the character of her brothers. For Exodus 6:23 reports, “And Aaron took Elisheva, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon.” As Exodus 6:23 states “the daughter of Amminadab,” it is obvious that she was the sister of Nahshon. So Exodus 6:23 expressly states “the sister of Nahshon” to imply that he who takes a wife should inquire about the character of her brothers, because most children resemble the brothers of their mother.

The Gemara asked whether the words in Exodus 6:25, “And Eleazar Aaron’s son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife” did not convey that Eleazar’s son Phinehas descended from Jethro, who fattened (piteim) calves for idol worship. The Gemara then provided an alternative explanation: Exodus 6:25 could mean that Phinehas descended from Joseph, who conquered (pitpeit) his passions (resisting Potiphar’s wife, as reported in Genesis 39). But the Gemara asked, did not the tribes sneer at Phinehas and question how a youth (Phinehas) whose mother’s father crammed calves for idol-worship could kill the head of a tribe in Israel (Zimri, Prince of Simeon, as reported in Numbers 25). The Gemara explained that the real explanation was that Phinehas descended from both Joseph and Jethro. If Phinehas’s mother’s father descended from Joseph, then Phinehas’s mother’s mother descended from Jethro. And if Phinehas’s mother’s father descended from Jethro, then Phinehas’s mother’s mother descended from Joseph. The Gemara explained that Exodus 6:25 implies this dual explanation of “Putiel” when it says, “of the daughters of Putiel,” because the plural “daughters” implies two lines of ancestry (from both Joseph and Jethro).

Rabbi Simeon noted that in nearly every instance, the Torah mentioned Moses before Aaron, but Exodus 6:26 mentioned Aaron before Moses, teaching that the two were deemed equivalent. The Gemara taught that the use of the pronoun “he (hu)” in an introduction, as in the words “These are (hu) that Aaron and Moses” in Exodus 6:26 signifies that they were the same in their righteousness from the beginning to the end. Similar uses appear in Chronicles 1:27 to teach Abraham’s enduring righteousness, in 1 Samuel 17:14 to teach David’s enduring humility, in Genesis 36:43 to teach Esau’s enduring wickedness, in Numbers 26:9 to teach Dathan and Abiram’s enduring wickedness, in 2 Chronicles 28:22 to teach Ahaz’s enduring wickedness, and in Esther 1:1 to teach Ahasuerus’s enduring wickedness.