Parashat Shmot, Exodus 1:1-6:1

Moses is a different type of leader, a most unlikely leader.

Like many children of immigrants, English is not my native tongue. There were no ESL classes when I was a kid. You picked up bits and pieces of the language on a daily basis. I believe this is formally called "immersion." Learning occurred not only through conversation but also through the popular media. I learned much of my English from radio, television, books and (gasp) comics.
I was not the first child to be mesmerized by comic books. By the time I was reading these magazines – and attempting to create my own – the "golden age" of comics had been over for a number of decades. Back in the 1930's and 40's, a whole slew of superheroes were created by nice Jewish boys barely past adolescence, their heroes representing the ideal of many post-Bar-Mitzvah boys of the time. The creators were both Jewish and North American; the characters had both a secret identity and one that was known to the world. The hero accepted the burden of his "otherness" and used his differences to better the community.

Probably the best known creation, certainly among the most closely examined for Jewish content, is the Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel's Superman. Back on Krypton, his name was Kal-el, el being a Hebrew word for God that appears in many Jewish names such as Israel, Ezekiel, or Daniel.

It occurred to me this week that Superman fits into what scholars term the "abandoned hero motif," which is typified by legendary characters such as Hercules, Romulus and Remus, or Cyrus, who were abandoned as infants but went on to achieve greatness. Unlike these other heroes, Superman's abandonment is meant to save his life. Placed in a rocketship and sent to earth, the fortunate baby is found and raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent, an upstanding Midwestern American couple. Luckily for us, they have the deepest moral integrity, which is passed along to the foundling. The rest is comic book history. Put it in Jewish terms, and Superman is practicing tikkun olam.

If back in Grade Four someone had told me that my favorite comic book hero had much in common with figures in the Torah, I might have paid more attention in Hebrew School. Though the last comic book adventures were often foremost in my thoughts during class, the Jewish connection never struck me. That had to wait until this week and the beginning of a new book in the Torah, Exodus(Shemot).

In Parashat Shemot we are introduced to Moses, the hero who will play a pivotal role in the rest of the Torah. Like Superman, he too appears to fall within the abandoned hero motif, although with significant variations.

In fact, the story of Moses’ birth departs … from the genre in general in so many significant respects that one almost gets the impression of a conscious attempt on the part of the biblical narrator to dissociate this narrative from the features otherwise characteristic of the foundling hero motif.

Nahum Sarna, Exploring Exodus, p. 30

For one thing, Moses' "abandonment" is anything but. It is well planned, so he will be found by a member of the royalty, with his sister close by to make sure that things go well.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, while her maidens walked along the Nile. She spied the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to fetch it. When she opened it, she saw that it was a child, a boy crying. She took pity on it and said, "This must be a Hebrew child." Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get you a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child for you?" And Pharaoh's daughter answered, "Yes." So the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed it.

Exodus 2:5-9

Others have looked at the relationship between Moses and Superman in comic books and films. I was struck with some minor details. Neither Moses nor Clark Kent are men of words and both suffer from speech impediments. Both Moses and Superman have to learn to control their anger: The young Moses killed an Egyptian taskmaster; and Superman too killed his enemies in the early days of the comic. Mainly though, I've been mulling over the two babies. For both Kal-el and Moses, their migratory bassinet holds the key to their future. In Superman's case, the details are explained outright. For example, the material used for his blanket was later woven into the famous blue and red outfit he wore as Superman. (I always wondered what needle Martha Kent used to stitch this cloth that was impervious to knives, bullets and bombs.) Moses' key is not so much with the paraphernalia as with the description of his "abandonment."

For example, his basket is called a teiva. The only other time we find that word in the Torah is in reference to Noah's ark. It is made waterproof with a combination of bitumen (heimar) and pitch. Going back again to parashat Noah, we find bitumen being used as mortar in building the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:3). The baby-sized ark is strategically placed among the reeds by the bank of the Nile (Exodus 2:3). The Hebrew word for reeds is suf, a word which we will occur again in Exodus 14 when fleeing the Egyptians we arrive at the Sea of Reeds (yam suf).

Is it possible to make anything of all of these allusions without a secret decoder ring? Does Moses in the basket symbolize the "good" that will be saved as the surrounding area is plagued because of the evil it contains? Is the bitumen a symbolic link between the inhumane treatment, which midrash tells us was inflicted on the workers in Babel, and the slaves in Egypt whom Moses is destined to lead? Do the reeds foretell the miracle that is the essential symbol of Redemption, God's parting the Sea of Reeds?

Finally, there is the physical description of Moses. As his mother gazed upon him, she saw how beautiful (ki tov) he was (Exodus 2:2). Sforno explains that "she saw that he was unusually beautiful and she felt that this must be for some specific purpose of his Maker, for beauty of form indicates physical superiority and perfection of one's imaginative powers." (Artscroll translation) Holy superhero! Moses has physical superiority and imaginative powers! Well, others view this beauty (ki tov) differently. Sarna reminds us it is the same phrase used throughout the story of creation, every time God looks at creation and "saw that it was good (ki tov)." According to Sarna, this use of ki tov "suggests that the birth of Moses is intended to be understood as the dawn of a new creative era."

What is this new creative era? Those of us who've sneaked a peek later in the scroll know that there is much drama to come for the people of Israel. As the Passover Haggadah reminds us, it is a story that leads from humiliation to exaltation. It is a new relationship between God and Israel that will forever serve as the symbol of our covenant: the Exodus from Egypt. But there is more to this saga. Moses is a different type of leader, a most unlikely leader, as unlikely as the idea that mild-mannered Clark Kent is actually Superman.

Just look at his first encounter with God. First of all, God must tell Moses how to behave in the presence of holiness: Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. (Exodus 3:5) Then Moses tries to beg off the task that God sets for him: "Please, O Lord, I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. … Please, O Lord, make someone else Your agent." (Exodus 4:10, 13) Finally, he appears to lack faith in God and confidence in his actions: "O Lord, why did You bring harm upon this people? Why did You send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has dealt worse with this people; and still You have not delivered Your people." (Exodus 5:22-3)

The incredible act of creativity in Exodus is that God indeed chose Moses; selecting a man, not a superman. God saw the extraordinary aptitude in this humble individual, a potential that was not fulfilled overnight. What a wonderful role model for all of us! Here is a man, who begins life ignorant of God and holiness, unable and unwilling to speak, reluctant to act but nonetheless transformed. If a man such as Moses can carry the covenantal burden, so can each one of us. Exodus is not only about the creation of a people, it is about the ability of each individual, whatever our personal limitations, to accomplish the tasks set by God. "Can't" is not a word that is in the brit (covenant). Consider then, what is your God-given potential and how will you fulfill it?

Oh, and for the further adventures of Moses and the Jewish people, tune in again next week, same day, same Torah.

Shabbat shalom,
MS