Uncircumcised Lips

Rabbi Joel Fleekop

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Just a few moments ago, Hannah shared with us the importance of selecting the right friends. Highlighting for us how friends not only help us in times of need but also play a role in shaping who we are as individuals, she made a compelling argument that our choice of friends is one of the most important decisions we make.

At the beginning of Exodus, God also makes an important decision. This decision, however, isn’t really about choosing a friend, but rather a partner. The partner with which God will work in leading the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt and to their ancestral homeland in Israel.

According to the story of Exodus God chooses Moses to be God’s partner in this great task. But like the selection of Abraham to be the patriarch of the Jewish people, the Torah offers no insight into the reasoning behind the decision.

Filling the void left by the Torah, the rabbi’s offer us many wonderful midrashim to explain why Moses was chosen. Among the most famous of these is that found in Exodus Rabbah. There, the rabbi’s paint the picture for us of Moses the shepherd.

The Rabbis tell us that while tending his father-in-laws flocks, Moses paid special attention to the young and weak sheep under his care. One day a kid escaped from the flock. Moses followed it to a small pool of water and watched the sheep drink thirstily. After the sheep had finished drinking, Moses picked up the kid and, sensing that it was tired, carried it back to the flock on his shoulders. It is because of this action, the Rabbi’s explain, God chose Moses to tend God’s flock the children of Israel.

This and other stories help us understand why Moses was chosen. But no matter the reason behind God’s decision, Moses, over and over again, denies that he is qualified to lead the Israelites to freedom. As he did several times in Parshat Shmot, in this morning’s Torah portion, Moses tells God that he cannot go before Pharoah because he is “aral sfatayim.”

Aral sfatayim is a very interesting and unusual phrase. Sfatayim means lips while the phrase aral refers to something being uncircumcised. So, what are uncircumcised lips and why would they keep Moses from going before Pharoah?

Though many of us grew up being told Moses was a hesitant public speaker because of a stutter, the rabbinic tradition suggests that Moses had a physical speech impediment. The great French Rabbi, Rashi, explains that Moses’ speech was physically obstructed. Similarly, Exodus Rabbah tells the story of Moses, as a baby, being tested by Pharoah. In order to see whether or not Moses would pose a threat to Pharoah’s rule, a cup with gold and a cup with hot coal were placed in front of him. Being a baby, Moses went to grab the shiny gold, which would have resulted in his death. At that moment, the angel Gabriel came down and shoved his hand toward the coal. Moses, as the story goes, picked up the hot coal and placed it in his mouth, burning his lips.

It is a wonderful story but I still can’t help but wonder why the unusual term “aral” is used. Why doesn’t the Torah text say Moses had broken or disfigured lips? Why use a term so closely associated with circumcision?

Perhaps the Torah’s use of the term “aral” offers us an insight not into Moses’ appearance but rather his psychological makeup. Keep in mind, circumcision is not only a physical procedure but also the process by which a male enters the Jewish community and Jewish covenant. Moses, who was raised in the house of Pharaoh may have felt uncomfortable speaking on behalf of the Israelites because he did not feel entirely part of the Israelite community. The lips that he would have to use to address Pharaoh were not, in his opinion, fully part of the covenantal community he would be representing.

Ultimately, Moses’ reluctance to speak to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites is overcome when God makes arrangements for Moses’ brother Aaron to serve as his mouthpiece. But the notion that Moses was willing to let the fact that he was a’ral sfatayim, whatever that may mean, prevent him from accomplishing the task God had chosen him for, serves as a wake-up call for all of us.

What fears, limitations, or self-perceptions do we have that keep us from achieving the tasks that God has chosen for us? Or, in light of Jason’s speech, we have chosen for ourselves? How often do we decide not to speak up or take a leadership role because, like Moses, we aren’t sure that we are really part of a group? How frequently do we decide that we don’t have whatever it takes to accomplish a task even before we give it a shot? How often when we are forced to begin a task at which we think we will fail, we end up succeeding?

As Hannah mentioned in her speech this morning, a good friend is there to support you in difficult times and help you overcome the obstacles in your life. And so choosing the right friends is a very important decision. But it is also important for each of us to be good friends to ourselves. It is important that we push ourselves to stay positive so that our hearts not be hardened by negativity. It is important that we not let whatever part of our lives that we think is aral, imperfect or unlike everyone else, blind us to all of the wonderful things we have to offer, the things that are true friends see in us.

May we all be blessed with the gift of good friends and may we all be a good friend to ourselves.