Content area
Full Text
This article is dedicated in memory of my grandfather, Menashe "Muni" Zivotofsky, who passed away on 24 Av 5754 (August 1, 1994). He was a person who lived his life with the understanding "that ordinary caring is truly great" and was always willing to go the extra step for anyone who needed assistance. He was a man who truly personified the Jewish value of hesed.
MOSES, THE QUINTESSENTIAL PROPHET AND teacher, the lawgiver and the redeemer, was also the archetypal Jewish leader; the Torah and Midrash are replete with accounts of his leadership. But what unique characteristics did he possess that qualified him to be selected as a leader in the first place? Why did God choose him? Of course, the same question can be, and is, asked about God's other biblical choices of individuals. Why, for instance, was Abraham chosen to be the first Jew? With regard to Abraham there are no biblical preselection stories. Where the Bible is silent, the Midrash fills in the details, supplying multitudes of stories of Abraham's devotion to God long before God actually revealed Himself. With regard to Moses, however, the Bible itself does provide preselection stories. However, the data are sparse, because for the entire eighty years prior to his selection,(1) there are only four biblical stories(2) from which to approach the question of why he was chosen. The classic rabbinic midrashim embellish these stories, though sparingly with respect to Moses' role in them, and add, again sparingly, new stories not found in the Bible.
The preselection tales of Moses lead one to ask: What particular character traits emerge from the biblical narrative that account for his selection as leader? Which qualities did the rabbis add, emphasize, or de-emphasize by including particular details and stories? Are there lessons to be learned from them? The answers to these questions might shed some light on what the Bible and the rabbis viewed as important qualities for the Jewish leader and, hence, for subsequent Jewish leaders.
The four biblical stories about the preselection of Moses are:
(1) And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out (va-yatze) to his brethren and looked (va-ya'ar) on their burdens and he saw (va-yar) an Egyptian...