Two Are Better Than One

Rabbi Melanie Aron

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Sometimes I imagine them, the two midwives, arriving at the decision not to obey Pharoah individually, alone, and then coming together, hesitantly at first, to talk about it. The King’s decree was an awesome thing. To go against it could cost you your life. Even if you had reached the conclusion that it was impossible to comply, to kill innocent babies, it would still be hard to encourage someone else to do something so dangerous.

But more likely to me, is the possibility that they decided together, perhaps even without talking about it. Their whole lives had been shaped around the awesome responsibility of bringing new life into the world. They understood that this is what God wished. Reverence for God and for life meant that there really was no decision, but alone it might have been too difficult to stand up to the greatest power in their known world. Together they were able to strengthen each other, together they crafted their alibi, and together they would face the consequences.

Shifrah and Puah are always mentioned together. They are the first dynamic duo of the book of Exodus. But they are not the last. This week’s Torah portion provides us with another pair, who will also have the difficult duty of standing up to Pharoah and risking their lives to save life. Though we often think of Moses standing alone against the Pharoah, and certainly all the movie versions, from “The Ten Commandments” to “Moses Prince of Egypt”, create that dramatic tension, the book of Exodus describes it differently.

In this week’s portion when Moses is called to free the Israelites, he is reluctant. Five times he rejects this wonderful opportunity to advance from his previous job as shepherd to Jethro’s flocks. Finally, when he says to God, “send anybody else”, God’s had enough. From Exodus chapter 4 “And God’s anger flared at Moses and He said:” Isn’t Aaron your Levite brother? I know that he will speak. And also here he is, coming out toward you. And he’ll see you and be happy in his heart. And you’ll speak to him and set the words in his mouth, and I, I shall be with your mouth and with his mouth and I shall instruct you what you shall do. And he will speak for you to the people.”

The Midrash notes that this is a pretty long answer, and so they deduce that there is more here than meets the eye. Part of Moses’s refusal to assume the role of God’s prophet is his modesty, part of it is his speech defect, but part of it is his reluctance to usurp the role of his older brother. Perhaps he knows the history of his people from ancient times, and all the bad blood between older and younger brothers. God is assuring him that Aaron is looking forward to working with Moses– he is not merely pretending to be happy at his brother’s greatness, but truly experiences joy in his heart at this prospect. Other rabbis read this a little more negatively, God is fed up with Moses’s demurrals. You want your bother to take your place, God says, fine, your brother’s children will be the priests, they will be the ones to assume authority after you are gone.

I prefer to read this more positively. Alone Moses is afraid, unwilling to stand before the Pharoah, but with his Levite brother, early sources may not even have been sure that they were sons of the same parents but only the same tribe: with his Levite brother, he is able to face this difficult task.

Sometimes when we pair students for the Bar or Bat Mitzvah service, it is a matter of convenience, two families who want the same date, or who are well matched academically. But this morning it was more than that, in that you and your families have been good friends for many years. I hope Josh and Amanda it has given you a little bit of the sense of the power of the pair, the dynamic duo. It is not for nothing that the proverbs teach that two are better than one. We pray throughout your lives that you will find partners to share challenging tasks and moments when you must assume great responsibility. Tovim hashnayim min haechad, for two are better than one.