Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Shemot

Righteous Gentiles

At your Shabbat table, share some stories of modern Righteous Gentiles. Compare both the dilemmas they faced and their acts of salvation with those faced by the characters in Shemot Chapters 1-2.1

Discuss: What makes a "Righteous Gentile"?

  • According to many, the "מְיַלְּדֹת הָעִבְרִיֹּת" were not Hebrew midwives, but rather Egyptian midwives of the Hebrews (see Who Are the Midwives?). If so, from where did they summon the courage to stand up against Paroh?
  • What enables one to stand against their own people and help a stranger?
  • What might Paroh's daughter have been thinking when she saved Baby Moshe?
  • Would you be willing to risk your life to save an unknown Gentile?

Vigilante Justice

Many laud Moshe for killing the Egyptian taskmaster and view him as championing the cause of justice. Others, though, condemn him for an overly harsh response or for taking the law into his own hands. With whom do you agree? Was Moshe right or wrong in killing the Egyptian? For more, see Moshe's Killing of the Egyptian.

Other related questions to discuss:

  • When is it allowed to take the law into one's own hands?
  • Is it permitted/prohibited/obligated to go against the law in a case where the law is corrupt?
  • Is one justified in "overreacting" if the purpose is to wake people out of a stupor of indifference?
  • Can someone be punished for an action he or she is going to do or might do in the future?

Moshe and Zipporah

The Torah does not provide many details regarding Moshe's family life. Was it a model to emulate, or did it suffer as a result of Moshe's many leadership responsibilities?

Some other questions to consider:

  • How could Moshe marry Zipporah, a Midianite? What were her religious beliefs at the time? What were Moshe's? If this was indeed a "mixed marriage," what effects did this have on their offspring? See Zipporah's Character.
  • Was Zipporah a positive or negative influence on Moshe? See Mystery at the Malon and Zipporah's Character.
  • When did Moshe send Zipporah and their children back to Midyan and why? Was this a divorce, a separation, or something else? Was this decision justified? See When Did Zipporah Return to Midyan.

Hardened Hearts

Throughout the beginning of Sefer Shemot, we read how Paroh stubbornly refused to let the Children of Israel go free. The Torah attributes this to Hashem's hardening of his heart.

  • Think of other examples of modern "Paroh's" who similarly refuse to capitulate in the face of definite defeat, knowing that it will lead to the destruction or suffering of their nations. What leads these modern figures to "harden their hearts"? Can the hardened hearts of Biblical characters be explained in the same way? For more, see Hardened Hearts.
  • There are many events that we attribute to Hashem, saying, "it was the hand of God" or the like. Are all such actions supernatural workings of God or are they natural events that we nonetheless attribute to Hashem? If the latter, why then do we speak of them as being "Hashem's hand"?
  • Sforno explains that the purpose of hardening of Paroh's heart was to ensure that he had an opportunity to truly repent. He emphasizes how Hashem does not discriminate against non-Jews, but rather gives them the same chances for change as he gives Jews. Is the gift of repentance a universal one or not?

 

More...

For more, see: Parashat Shemot Topics.

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