Moses and Aaron tell Pharaoh to “Let my people go so that we may worship [G-d] in the wilderness” (Exodus 7:16). Frogs. Lice. Pestilence. Hail. Blood in the Nile. The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. This parasha is a big taste of Passover.
And Moses, as he did at the burning bush, continues to announce that he has something wrong with his speech. Let’s take a look.
Exodus 6:29-7:2 accessed on Sefaria.org (JPS 1985 Version)
and the LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I will tell you,” Moses appealed to the LORD, saying, “See, I am of impeded speech; how then should Pharaoh heed me!” The LORD replied to Moses, “See, I place you in the role of G-d to Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your prophet. You shall repeat all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh to let the Israelites depart from his land.
This is as good a time as any to share with you the importance of translation. The sentence in bold, according to me with the help of the BDB (here is an online resource) if translated literally, means something like this:
Behold/interjection! I am having foreskin of lips. And how will Pharaoh hear me?
Let’s look at a few more translations of this phrase in Exodus 6:30.
New International Version
Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?
Tree of Life Version
I am of uncircumcised lips, so how would Pharaoh listen to me?
New Revised Standard Version
Since I am a poor speaker, why would Pharaoh listen to me?
You can see how translation itself is interpretation – a poor speaker, faltering lips, and someone with a physical restriction on their lips are all different things. “Why” would Pharaoh listen, and “how” would Pharaoh listen are different, too. For years, I admit I didn’t take Moses very seriously and thought he was being a weenie – maybe I was projecting my own high expectations onto him. But recently, I’m reading this differently.
My Dad lives with Lewy Body Dementia. He is very progressed and one of the battles he fights daily is aphasia. It is as if his lips have a foreskin – he can’t move them as liberally and the sound is muffled. Additionally, his voice has become very soft in ways he can’t always control. Suffice it to say, we can’t hear him very well.
What if Moses has some version of aphasia? It isn’t so crazy when you consider that “Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they made their demand on Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:7). When Moses asks “How will Pharaoh hear me?” maybe he means literally – not that Pharaoh will scoff or discredit him, but that he will lean in with a confused face and say, “come again?” In this way, Aaron isn't just his moral support, he is his megaphone – his accommodation.
When I was in school, I needed a 504 Plan (here is a definition) to be able to excuse myself to the restroom. My teachers (in the 90s) gave us bathroom tickets to use at our discretion throughout the year. And if we used them up, too bad. And if we didn’t use them, we could redeem them for candy or something. It was awful for a little kid with IBS and undiagnosed Celiac. So, I had accommodations to not use these stupid bathroom tokens. Then in high school, to take standardized tests, I had accommodations to stop the clock if I needed to and I was able to test with my own proctor. In college, in order to eat in the dorms, Jorge, a lovely chef at UCLA dining, cooked me especially safe meals. I am no stranger to needing extra help and a team around me – most notably, my mother. Hi, Mom!
Even as an adult now, I sometimes have the nagging feeling that I should have been able to tough it out – that I should have figured out a way for my body to work 100% correctly, without any special needs.
But who is entirely self-sufficient? Here’s the thing, I have figured it out – like Moses, I have. Like Moses, figuring it out means naming when I’m vulnerable and accepting that I need help. It doesn’t mean fixing all the flaws in me. It means challenging myself (Moses didn’t want to do this at all, let alone with Aaron) and calling on my team for support.
Notice, G-d didn’t fix Moses’ speech or have him rehearse his lines until they were loud and clear. G-d’s solution? Make a plan to bring your brother – you don’t have to go alone.
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