January seems like a funny time to begin talking about Passover, but here we are! This week, we begin the book of Exodus yet again, and we see the brilliance of Torah as a literary masterpiece on full display.
Moses’ story begins humbly. He is born a slave in the house of Levi under a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph’s triumph for Egypt; a Pharaoh threatened by Israel’s great success. Moses’ mother decided to save her child by putting him in a basket among the reeds (ba’suf) in the River Nile. All the while, va’tetatzav achoto meirachok l’deiah mah yeiahseh lo — his sister, Miriam, stationed herself at a distance to learn what would befall him. Miriam watches Pharaoh’s daughter draw Moses from the river with merciful hands, setting in motion the greatest story ever told.
This scene at the river serves as the basis for the Exodus itself. In a moment that recalls baby Moses’ perilous moments on the banks the River Nile, adult Moses eventually finds himself standing at the edge of the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds; Red Sea is a mistranslation)… just like baby Moses among the reeds in the River Nile. With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, God draws Israel out of harm’s way through a body of water to safety, to freedom…just like Pharaoh’s daughter at the River Nile.
On the other side of the parted sea, Miriam takes up a timbrel to dance. She is called Miriam ha’N’viah (Miriam the Prophetess) because she stood at the water’s edge all those years ago, and in this moment of Exodus — in this moment of freedom — she finally saw what befell Moses, our Teacher, the great leader of Israel.
This is the brilliance of Torah: its mastery of literary device and subtle foreshadowing in these early moments of the Book of Exodus.