Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

Even though there was more than enough evidence that God was running the show, the Egyptians refused to see the obvious evidence. They thought it was all a trick, until it was too late.

Pharaoh was regarded as a god in Egypt. One of the main purposes of the plagues was to show that he was a mere mortal and only human. According to the Torah, only God is God.

When the negotiation between Moses and Pharaoh begin, Pharaoh tries to limit who can leave. Moses lets him know that this is a nonstarter. It’s all the Israelites otherwise Egypt will be destroyed. We know how the story ends.

God informs Moses that He will be the redeemer of Israel. That He will be involved with the world. This teaches that God is involved in our world and lives.

When Moses returns to Egypt he is met by Aaron. One would have thought that Aaron would have been jealous of Moses, but he was not. He knew that Moses’s mission was more important. That they had to be united in the goal.

A great leader does not lead because he wants to but because he has to. And after he has accomplished what he set out to do he willingly gives up his office.

When Moses was at the burning bush he was commanded to take his shoes off. One of the reasons was he should feel the rough stones so that when he spoke to the Jews who were enslaved, he should understand their pain.

The Torah relates that when Moses saw the Egyptian task master beating a slave, he looked around and did not see a man. Meaning he saw lots of people but no one who was willing to take a stand. So he did.

The reason that the Tribe of Levi was not enslaved was because Levi was still alive when Pharaoh tricked the Jews into becoming slaves. He told his descendants that he smelled a rat. And he was right.

The lesson of the statement that there arose a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph, or that after all the good that Joseph did for Egypt, when it suited them, the Egyptians forgot about him. We should do the right thing because it is right. Just don’t expect gratitude.