פרשת שמות

In the beginning of parshat Shemot, a new Pharaoh rises to power in Mitzrayim. Since Bnai Yisrael have multiplied and filled the land, he fears that they will take over, so he enslaves them. The harsher they are treated, the more the Jews multiply and Pharaoh commands the Jewish midwives, Shifrah and Puah, to kill all male, Jewish babies who are born. Later, that all male babies should be thrown into the Nile.  When the daughter of Pharaoh finds Amram and Yocheved's baby boy floating in the Nile, she adopts him and names him Moshe, which means, “I drew him out of the water.”  When Moshe is grown up, he is forced to flee to Midyan, because he kills a Mitzri who was beating a Jew.  Then, Bnai Yisrael cried out to Hashem to save them from their years of suffering. Hashem remembers them and calls to Moshe to come to a place with a burning bush where Hashem tells him that he will be with him and his nation, and then commands him to go tell Pharaoh that the Jews must leave Mitzrayim to sacrifice to their God. Moshe is nervous that Bnai Yisrael won't listen to him, so Hashem gives him three signs. First, Moshe’s staff turns into a snake and then back into a staff. Then, Moshe sticks his hand in his robe to get leprous, and then takes it out and it's gone.  Also, Moshe turns the water of the Nile to blood. Moshe and Aharon, his brother, go to ask Pharaoh for permission for the Jews to leave, but Pharaoh responds saying “Who is God that I should listen to Him and let you go?” and he does not let them go.

If this Parsha is mostly the story of Moshe, why is it called Parshat Shemot, which means “names,” and not Parshat Moshe? Although most parshas get their names from the first few words of the parsha, there are some, like Yitro, that are named for the person who the story is about. This parsha is all about the story of Moshe, from the time he was born, to his trip down the Nile, to Moshe killing a mitzri and running away, to the burning bush, and eventually talking to Pharaoh.

Rav Hunah explains that the reason Parshat Shemot is named “Shemot,” is because the Jews’ names are what really saved them.  For over 200 years, as the Jews were forced to be slaves in Mitzrayim, they never became influenced by the Mitzrim. Bnai Yisrael kept their Jewish names, and stuck with their Judaism, which is what eventually made Hashem realize they were ready to be freed. As important and as big of a role as Moshe did play, this was even more noteworthy, and an impressive thing that Bnai Yisrael did as a whole. That is why the Parsha is called Shemot or names.

The whole concept of the Jews keeping their names can very much be connected and compared to our lives today. In our day and age, there is so much technology and the world is constantly changing. As Jews, we are given the very hard task of sticking with our Judaism. There are so many influences in the world today and it can be very easy to be swayed and completely go off the path. Our challenge is to stick with Hashem, and to stick to our Judaism, no matter what. If we do this, like Bnai Yisrael did in Mitzrayim, Hashem will be with us as he was with them, and He will then reward us, too.

Shabbat Shalom,

Kineret Leben