Welcome to the South Philadelphia Shtiebel's Art Beit Midrash.
Each session begins with 10-15 minutes of facilitated text study related to the Parsha (weekly Torah portion) followed by 45-50 minutes of studio time/creative interpretation of the texts.
Take a look at the sources and questions below. What do you make of it?
An origin story:
(א) וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִ֖ישׁ מִבֵּ֣ית לֵוִ֑י וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־בַּת־לֵוִֽי׃ (ב) וַתַּ֥הַר הָאִשָּׁ֖ה וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֑ן וַתֵּ֤רֶא אֹתוֹ֙ כִּי־ט֣וֹב ה֔וּא וַֽתִּצְפְּנֵ֖הוּ שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יְרָחִֽים׃ (ג) וְלֹא־יָכְלָ֣ה עוֹד֮ הַצְּפִינוֹ֒ וַתִּֽקַּֽח־לוֹ֙ תֵּ֣בַת גֹּ֔מֶא וַתַּחְמְרָ֥ה בַחֵמָ֖ר וּבַזָּ֑פֶת וַתָּ֤שֶׂם בָּהּ֙ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד וַתָּ֥שֶׂם בַּסּ֖וּף עַל־שְׂפַ֥ת הַיְאֹֽר׃ (ד) וַתֵּתַצַּ֥ב אֲחֹת֖וֹ מֵרָחֹ֑ק לְדֵעָ֕ה מַה־יֵּעָשֶׂ֖ה לֽוֹ׃
(1) A certain man of the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. (2) The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw how beautiful he was, she hid him for three months. (3) When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him and caulked it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. (4) And his sister stationed herself at a distance, to learn what would befall him.
בחמר ובזפת. זֶפֶת מִבַּחוּץ וְטִיט מִבִּפְנִים, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יָרִיחַ אוֹתוֹ צַדִּיק רֵיחַ רַע שֶׁל זֶפֶת (שם):
בחמר ובזפת — with pitch (זפת) outside, but with slime (חמר) inside, in order that that righteous child might not smell the disagreeable odour of the pitch (Sotah 12a).
תיבת גמא. לפי שהוא דומה לסוף שנשלך בו.
תיבת גומא, a basket made from the kind of reeds that grew along the banks of the river Nile and served as camouflage.
ותחמרה בחמר. ומבחוץ בחמר. ומבחוץ כדי שלא יכירו כי הרבה פעמי' הגמי והסוף אשר בשפת היאור מלוכלכין הן קצת מן הטיט אבל אם היה זפת מבחוץ היו רואין השחרורית מבחוץ ומכירים בה מיד. אמנם פרש"י איפכא החמר מבפנים והזפת מבחוץ. וראב"ע פירש ותחמרה בחמר ובזפת על דרך שאגת אריה וקול שחל אע"פ שתחמרה לא שייך גבי זפת נקט לה אגב חמר כדנקט נתעו גבי שאגה וקול. אע"ג דלא שייך ביה משום דשייך מיהא גבי שני כפירים:
ותחמרה בחמר, “she daubed it with slime (and pitch)”. She put the former on the outside and the latter on the inside; in order that it would not attract attention of passers by. Even though the pitch was evil smelling, if she had put it on the outside, being black it would have attracted too much attention. However, Rashi¸ makes the opposite point; he says that the זפת she applied on the outside so that Moses would not have to inhale its unpleasant odour, whereas the slime was on the inside. Ibn Ezra considers the word חמר as referring to a type of bulrushes.
ובזפת - מבחוץ שלא יכנסו בו המים.
ובזפת, on the outside, so that the water would not get inside the basket.
Study Questions:
- Describe the basket Moses was placed in. How would you construct a vessel like this?
- What do you imagine Moses's sister felt in this scene?
Art Prompts:
- Drawing on the various approaches from the commentators, make a representation of the basket Moses was placed in.
(ה) וַתֵּ֤רֶד בַּת־פַּרְעֹה֙ לִרְחֹ֣ץ עַל־הַיְאֹ֔ר וְנַעֲרֹתֶ֥יהָ הֹלְכֹ֖ת עַל־יַ֣ד הַיְאֹ֑ר וַתֵּ֤רֶא אֶת־הַתֵּבָה֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַסּ֔וּף וַתִּשְׁלַ֥ח אֶת־אֲמָתָ֖הּ וַתִּקָּחֶֽהָ׃ (ו) וַתִּפְתַּח֙ וַתִּרְאֵ֣הוּ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד וְהִנֵּה־נַ֖עַר בֹּכֶ֑ה וַתַּחְמֹ֣ל עָלָ֔יו וַתֹּ֕אמֶר מִיַּלְדֵ֥י הָֽעִבְרִ֖ים זֶֽה׃
(5) The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, while her maidens walked along the Nile. She spied the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to fetch it. (6) When she opened it, she saw that it was a child, a boy crying. She took pity on it and said, “This must be a Hebrew child.”
את אמתה. אֶת שִׁפְחָתָהּ. וְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ דָּרְשׁוּ (סוטה שם), לְשׁוֹן יָד, אֲבָל לְפִי דִּקְדּוּק לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ הָיָה לוֹ לְהִנָּקֵד אַמָּתָהּ, דְּגוּשָׁה, וְהֵם דָּרְשׁוּ אֶת אֲמָתָהּ – אֶת יָדָהּ, וְנִשְׁתַּרְבְּבָה אַמָּתָהּ אַמּוֹת הַרְבֵּה:
את אמתה means her handmaid. Our Rabbis, however, explained it in the sense of hand (cf. Sotah 12b) — but according to the grammar of the Holy Language it should then have been written אַמָּתָה , dageshed in the מ. — And the reason why they explained את אמתה to mean את ידה “she stretched forth her hand” is because they hold that Scripture intentionally uses this term to indicate that her hand increased in length several cubits (אמה, a cubit) in order that she might more easily reach the cradle.
אמתה - שפחתה.
אמתה, not “her nursemaid,” but “her maidservant.”
ותשם בסוף - אשר סמוך לשפת היאר - והטמינתו יפה שההולכים על שפת היאור לא יוכלו לראות התיבה, אבל הרוחץ בתוך הנהר יכול לראותה, כי יוכבד לא נכנסה בנהר להצפינו מכל צדדיו היטב ולכך ראתהו בת פרעה שהיתה רוחצת בתוך היאור, אבל נערותיה שהיו הולכות על שפתו לא יכלו לראותה.
ותשם בסוף; which was על שפת היאור, near the embankment of the river. People walking along the river would not automatically be able to spot the basket from the outside, but people bathing in the river would be able to see it. Yocheved had not entered the water to hide the basket from all directions. This is why the daughter of Pharaoh saw the basket while she was bathing in the river. Her maidservants, who were only walking along the embankment, had not noticed the basket and who was inside it.
לרחוץ על היאור בחדר של מלך שהיה סמוך ליאור ומביט בו. כי אמנם כבודה בת מלך פנימה בלי ספק לא יצאה אל היאור:
לרחוץ על היאור. She had a view of the river, her room in the palace bordering on the embankment. No doubt, royal etiquette would not permit an Egyptian princess to actually bathe in the river. [the author was alerted by the preposition על instead of ב, “in,” in front of the word יאור. Ed.]
Study Questions:
- How far or close was Pharoah's daughter to Moses's basket? Is this distance incidental or symbolic?
- How did Pharoah's daughter retrieve the basket?
Art Prompts:
- Illustrate this scene according to one of the commentaries above.
(ז) וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֲחֹתוֹ֮ אֶל־בַּת־פַּרְעֹה֒ הַאֵלֵ֗ךְ וְקָרָ֤אתִי לָךְ֙ אִשָּׁ֣ה מֵינֶ֔קֶת מִ֖ן הָעִבְרִיֹּ֑ת וְתֵינִ֥ק לָ֖ךְ אֶת־הַיָּֽלֶד׃ (ח) וַתֹּֽאמֶר־לָ֥הּ בַּת־פַּרְעֹ֖ה לֵ֑כִי וַתֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ הָֽעַלְמָ֔ה וַתִּקְרָ֖א אֶת־אֵ֥ם הַיָּֽלֶד׃ (ט) וַתֹּ֧אמֶר לָ֣הּ בַּת־פַּרְעֹ֗ה הֵילִ֜יכִי אֶת־הַיֶּ֤לֶד הַזֶּה֙ וְהֵינִקִ֣הוּ לִ֔י וַאֲנִ֖י אֶתֵּ֣ן אֶת־שְׂכָרֵ֑ךְ וַתִּקַּ֧ח הָאִשָּׁ֛ה הַיֶּ֖לֶד וַתְּנִיקֵֽהוּ׃
(7) Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child for you?” (8) And Pharaoh’s daughter answered, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. (9) And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it.
ותאמר אחותו, היה מהשגחת ה' שאחותו תערב לבה לדבר כזאת אל בת מלך בלא פחד שתענש, ב] שהיה מטיב עצתה במ"ש האלך וקראתי לך אשה מינקת מן העבריות, ר"ל שאם תתניהו לאשה מצרית פן תשלח בו יד להמיתו בסתר משנאתם ילדי העברים, וצריך מינקת עברית, ובזה יש חשש שיקרוהי המצריים מידה וישליכוהו ליאור, עז"א ותינק לך את הילד בענין שיקרא ההנקה על שמך ואז לא יערב איש לפגוע בו:
And his sister said. Due to Hashem’s protection of Moshe, his sister found the courage to speak before Pharaoh’s daughter and was not afraid of punishment. In addition, due to His protection her advice to bring a Hebrew wet nurse was also accepted. Had he been given over to an Egyptian wet nurse he would have been conceivably murdered in secret because the Egyptians hated the Hebrews.
Study Questions:
- In your own words, what gave Moses's sister the courage to speak up? Do you find her actions inspiring or relatable?
- How do you think Moses's mother felt about this turn of events?
Art Prompts:
- Imagine you are Moses's sister. What might you say to Pharaoh's daughter in this moment?
(י) וַיִּגְדַּ֣ל הַיֶּ֗לֶד וַתְּבִאֵ֙הוּ֙ לְבַת־פַּרְעֹ֔ה וַֽיְהִי־לָ֖הּ לְבֵ֑ן וַתִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמוֹ֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַתֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֥י מִן־הַמַּ֖יִם מְשִׁיתִֽהוּ׃
(10) When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who made him her son. She named him Moses, explaining, “I drew him out of the water.”
ותאמר כי מן המים משיתיהו הטעם שקראתיו משה להורות שימלט את אחרים הוא, כי אמנם משיתיהו מן המים אחר שהיה מוטל בתוכם, וזה לא היה כי אם בגזירת עירין כדי שימלט הוא את אחרים:
ותאמר כי מן המים משיתהו, the reason why I called him thus is so that he in turn would rescue others from their problems, just as I have pulled him out of the water (in which he would have drowned.) She considered the find as decreed by a higher power (compare Daniel, 4,14) Moses was saved only so that in his life he would become the instrument of saving others.
Study Questions:
- What do you think about Moses's name coming from Pharoah's daughter?
- Would you have named Moses after a different part of the narrative? Why or why not, and what do you think about the Sforno's explanation?
Art Prompts:
- What do you know about your own name? Are you named after someone? Does it mean something special? ? Using words and images, tell the story of your name.
- Are there other texts, images, and/or questions that come to mind from this study? How are they in dialogue with each other?