Torah Portion

Actions, Not Genealogy,
Make The Person

he is given the name Moses by the
daughter of Pharaoh 10 verses later
(Exodus 2:10).
Clearly, the Torah must have a
reason for concealing the pedigree of
Moses until the preliminaries were
finished and his actual mission of
his week's Torah portion
challenging Pharaoh began. There
continues with the story
must be a message for us in the fact
of the exodus of the
that his identity seems so hidden by
Jewish slaves from Egypt.
the Torah until he actually began his
Moses demands that Pharaoh, the
calling, and then, at that point, have
king of Egypt, allow his Jewish slaves
such a detailed genealogy of Moses
to travel a short distance into the
and Aaron to further emphasize the
wilderness and worship the one and
point.
only God. With Pharaoh's continued
One's lineage, the accomplish-
refusal came the plagues as a proof
ment of one's forebears, the Torah
of God's power and sovereignty over
seems to be telling us, is not an
Pharaoh, Egypt and, indeed, the
important concern. Only as Moses
entire universe.
begins to fulfill the role that God
In last week's Torah portion,
has chosen for him is it important or
Moses and his brother and
even necessary to know
spokesman, Aaron, appeared
who he really is. One's
before Pharaoh and made
identity is defined by one's
the initial request. Pharaoh
own accomplishments, not
not only refused, but made
by family tree. We must
the lot of the Jewish slaves
take pride in what good we
even more desperate. Moses
ourselves have done, not
questioned his own ability
what an "accident" of birth
to bring about a successful
has bestowed upon us.
conclusion to his mission.
For those born into a
At the very beginning of our
RABBI
family with yichus (superior
portion, this week, God
ELIEZER
pedigree), it is only through
clarifies what will be done.
COHEN
one's own deeds that one
Right in the middle of
Special to the
can rightfully maintain and
this clarification of God's
continue the family's status
Jewish News
plan, the Torah interrupts
and pass it to the next gen-
itself with a detailed
eration. Yichus generates a
genealogical list that not
responsibility to maintain and build
only interrupts the continuity of the
upon the status. For those of more
Torah, but seems completely out of
humble origins, likewise it is one's
place. The families of the tribes of
own accomplishments that create his
Rueben and Simeon, the two oldest
identity, not his humble beginnings.
sons of Jacob, are delineated, as are
As each of us creates our own
the families of Levi, the third eldest
identity — with God's help, as did
son, and the tribe of Moses and
Moses — it is we who bring pride to
Aaron. In addition, a more detailed
our families and forebears, not the
family tree of Moses and Aaron is
other way around. 7
presented.
Further compounding the ques-
tion of why the Torah interrupts the
narrative with this genealogy is the
lack of any genealogical information
when Moses is first introduced in
the Torah. Moses' birth, where one
would logically expect some kind of
Why, in some circles, does fam-
genealogical clarification as to his
ily pedigree confer status? How 4
family and identity, is described in
did the values of a democratic
the most obscure terms. The Torah
society change the status histor-
simply tells us (Exodus 2:1 2): "And
ically gained by heredity?
a man from the house of Levi went
Is the American ideal of the
and married a daughter of Levi. And
self-made" man also found in
the woman conceived and gave birth
the traditional Jewish commu-
to a son ...,,
nity? In our own lives, what
The names of Moses' parents are
gives us pride?
not revealed; and, in fact, the name
of the child is not even stated until

Shabbat Vaera: Exodus
6:2-9:35; Ezekiel
28:25-29:21.

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