Rabbi Lia Bass
This week’s Torah portion is Shemot: Exodus 1:1 – 6:1
The Book of Exodus helps us understand our greatest teacher, Moses, by highlighting his miraculous birth, his early life, his marriage and fatherhood and his growth as a leader of the Jewish people. We come to understand his life experiences as shaping him into the leader he was and his legacy. I think that Moses’ marriage and the birth of his first son honed his understanding of how to treat a stranger, and through the teachings of the Torah we learn from him how to treat the stranger in our midst.
After Moses killed an Egyptian, Pharaoh wanted to kill Moses, but Moses fled and went to the land of Midian. He sat beside a well. I imagine Moses looking forlorn and uncomfortable, unclear about his path ahead. He might have even questioned his own identity after Pharaoh wanted to kill him. At that moment, Moses sees the seven daughters of the priest of Midian coming to draw water, followed by shepherds that banished them. Moses’ reaction was to rise to the women’s defense by banishing the shepherds. The women went home, surprising their father by coming back so quickly, and told him that, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” Moses is brought to the house of the priest of Midian, and is given Tziporah, one of Reuel’s daughters, as a wife. She gives birth to a son whom Moses names Gershom, explaining the meaning as, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
Pharaoh does not think of Moses as an Egyptian. The women think of Moses as an Egyptian. Moses thinks of himself as an Israelite. His identity is reflected in the explanation he gives for his first son’s name: I was a stranger there, in a foreign land.
The 20th century biblical commentator Umberto Cassuto pointed out that the etymology of the name Gershom comes from being banished, not from being a stranger. This explanation of the name reflects both parents’ history: Moses was banished from Egypt and Tziporah was banished from the well. Moses learned from his experience and did not hesitate to come to the aid of Tziporah and her sisters. He might have explained the name as reflecting his foreignness — and embedded in the name is also the idea of expulsion, of banishment. The name Gershom reflects Moses’ understanding of how easy it is to banish those who are different, who seem as though they do not belong. After that, the Torah teaches us to be concerned about and to treat the stranger with care.
We learn from our teacher Moses to treat newcomers to our communities with respect, to welcome them and celebrate their contributions. They may be new Jews, married to Jews, Jews from other places, people exploring Judaism or guests to our community. Moses and Tziporah teach us that we must always treat the stranger with the recognition of our shared humanity.
Rabbi Lia Bass is the founder of the Jewish Institute for Lifelong Learning and Innovation (JILLI).
