Parashat Shemot
„Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, asked without any conditions: 'If You will forgive their sin — and if not, blot me out, I pray, from Your book that You have written.'”From Igrot II, 188
In this week's parashah we meet the figure of Moshe for the first time. Wrapped in a basket and brought into the royal palace — yet despite the comfortable life he could have adopted for himself, Moshe chooses not to deny his people and his brethren. His self-sacrifice continues throughout his path of leading the people of Israel in Egypt and in the wilderness, and it is exceptional among all the leaders of Israel until then. Immediately the figure of Noach comes to mind, a leader who entered the ark while the rest of the people drowned outside, and the figure of Avraham, father of the nation, who witnessed the destruction of Sodom. Moshe is a different kind of leader, who understands the depth of the meaning of the people of Israel, and is willing to give his life before Pharaoh, before the terror of the wilderness, and even before the Holy One, blessed be He, in his love for them.
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On Shabbat of Parashat Shemot 21 years ago I lost 4 of my friends in the terror attack in Otniel, in which I was severely wounded. May these words be for the elevation of their souls. Noam Apter, Gavriel Hoter, Yehuda Bamberger, and Tzvika Ziman. May God avenge their blood.
From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.