It is well known that the great Moshe Rabbeinu; the leader of all time, actually suffered from a severe speech impediment. The story behind this is brought down by the Medresh. When Moshe was living in the house of Pharaoh, the king wanted to test the child’s ambitions for the future; was Moshe planning on ousting his ‘step father’. To test this out Pharaoh’s advisors subjected the young toddler Moshe to a test. Moshe was brought in front of two items; the kings sparkling crown and a bowl of glowing hot coals to see which one he would reach out to. This would help them discern the child’s leanings. Moshe’s hand went for the crown which would has been a death sentence to him, so at the last moment an angel came a pushed his hand to the coals thus saving his life. However as children often do he immediately took the coal that was in his hand put it towards his mouth. The resulting injury to Moshe’s lips manifested in his lack of clarity of speech.
This issue comes to forefront when in this week’s Parsha Hashem appears to Moshe at the burning bush and commands him to go to pharaoh and tell him to redeem the Jewish people. At this point Moshe replies, “Please My Lord I am not a man of words….. For I am of heavy mouth and heavy speech”. Hashem replies to him “Who makes a mouth for man, or who makes one dumb or deaf, or sighted or blind? Is it not I, Hashem? So now go! I shall be with your mouth and teach you what you should say”.
Yet Moshe still persists in his refusal to accept the mission to go and be the messenger to set the Jews free. On this very rare occasion the Torah tells us “The wrath of Hashem burned against Moshe and He said is there not Aaron your brother….. He will surely speak ……” And so it was that Aaron served as a conduit both between Moshe and Pharaoh and Moshe and the Jewish people.
It is interesting to note that at the beginning of next week’s Parsha this scenario is repeated. Again Moshe is reluctant to lead the Jewish people, “Moses said before Hashem, Behold I have sealed lips so how shall Pharaoh heed me?”. In reply to this Hashem answered, “See I have made you a master over Pharaoh and Aaron your brother shall be your spokesman”. We note however that with this refusal there is an obvious omission. We do not find Hashem became angry with Moshe? Why?
Furthermore it is interesting to note that the terminology used by Moshe to describe his ailment is “sealed lips” when earlier in the first dialogue with Hashem he describes his ailment as “heavy mouth and heavy speech” which seems a much less aggressive description of his condition?
The answer to these questions is that on Moshe’s great level Hashem was teaching him a very fundamental message. Although he had a physical impediment that would not have been a hindrance to his ability to express himself to Pharaoh, as Hashem said to him “Who makes a mouth for man, or who makes one dumb or deaf, or sighted or blind? Is it not I Hashem? So now go! I shall be with your mouth and teach you what you should say”. This is why his insistence to refuse to become the spokesman and to take on the job to free the Jews from Egypt caused Hashem to become angry. This had an everlasting and irreversible effect; a change took place and Hashem said ‘if you say that you are unable indeed you will now become unable!’ This explains why later on Moshe describes his impediment as “Sealed lips” – that was the new reality, the situation he had created, having refused because he was “unable” he had indeed became unable. This description was the reality and therefore there was no place for Hashem to become angry with him, because he was right, he was indeed unhealable and Aaron will have to be his spokesman.
There is a strong message to us in this. Hashem is the All-Able so long as we believe in His infinite ability to help us along to succeed in anything we wish despite how ‘impossible’ it may seem to us. He will help us achieve notwithstanding our limitations. However the moment we convince ourselves that we are unable and we cannot be helped by Him – from that moment onwards we indeed will not be able!
Good Shabbos, Shmuel
