Table Talk

In this parsha, Pharaoh enslaved the Jewish people and then told the midwives who delivered the Jewish babies to kill all the baby boys. However, the midwives wouldn’t do it so instead, the Pharaoh ordered that all baby boys should be thrown into the Nile River. One woman named Yocheved hid her baby for a while but she knew she couldn't hide him forever. So Yocheved took a wicker basket and put her son in the basket and had her daughter Miriam watch over the baby as he drifted down the Nile. G-d was with the baby and so he ended up in the water outside the royal palace, where Pharaoh's daughter was bathing. She heard him crying and she scooped the baby up and that is when Miriam popped out of the bushes and said she knew someone who could nurse the baby. She then brought her mom, Yocheved, to feed the baby and she became his nanny. Pharaoh's daughter brought him to the palace and named him Moshe.

This parsha is the first in the new book of Shemot. I think it represents a new start. The story of “Our Fathers'' and “Our Mothers” ends and the story of Moshe and the Jewish nation begins. This Parsha is really the beginning of the rest of the Torah where we learn about all of the mitzvot that God wants us to follow and keep. 

Pharaoh orders all of the Jews to become slaves and all Jewish male babies to die. We think he wants to stop 2 things: to stop Judaism from continuing. If there are no Jewish males, then there will be no Jewish boys for the girls to marry and then they will just marry Egyptians and become like everyone else. Second, instead of the Jews being strong leaders he wants them to be slaves so he can feel all-powerful and order them to build him cities for free.

I think it was very smart of Yocheved to have Miriam look over Moshe. When me and my friends play a game with my brother, one of us always pretends to switch sides so they can be a double agent. We find a way to communicate with each other, and we always win. Like Yocheved, our strategy is to have someone on the inside. Yocheved had Miriam watch over Moshe and then report back to her, and then she was able to convince Pharaoh’s daughter to make her mom his nanny so she could still teach him about Hashem and about his heritage.

I think the big question of this parasha is, why didn’t the midwives, Shifra and Puah, kill the babies? Wasn’t this a direct order from Pharaoh? Why did they risk their lives? They risked their lives in order to save children. They were clearly people who had strong values and really cared about others. They decided that doing the right thing is always the most important thing, no matter what the consequences. This is very brave, and that is why they are the heroes of this parasha.

Another lesson of this week’s parasha is to always be grateful because it is too easy to forget the nice things someone has done to you. Like how the new Pharaoh so quickly forgot about how Joseph saved Egypt from the famine and in turn, made his family slaves.

I can relate because one time I was really mad at my brother because I thought he and his friend cheated while we were playing a video game. I stormed off to shower and when I got out, I was refreshed. I remembered all the nice things my brother had done for me in the past and I realized my brother was just joking and was nice enough to let me play with him and his friend. I decided not to get mad and to forgive him.

In this parasha we learn to always have a good plan, like Yocheved and Miriam had for baby Moshe. We also learn that we should always stand up to evil and do the right thing, like Shifra and Puah. Finally, we learn that we should do the opposite of what the new Pharaoh did and always be grateful for what others do for us. 

And don’t worry, because as we all know from the holiday of Pesach, this story will have a happy ending.

Thank you and Shabbat Shalom!

Written by: Olive Gelpi & Lyla Genet (Grade 5)