CHAPTER I
THE BIRTH OF MOSES
Exodus 1.1 to 2.10
Interpretation. The children of Israel, settled in the rich pasture land of Goshen, had become a numerous people. At first they prospered, but then there came a change with the accession to the throne of the "Pharaoh who knew not Joseph." This Pharaoh was, in all probability, not only of a different dynasty, but also of a different race from the Pharaoh of Joseph's day. The Pharaoh of Joseph's day was probably a descendant of the Hyksos invaders of Egypt, a Semitic tribe of shepherds like the Israelites. The true Egyptians, however, who were an agricultural people, and held shepherds in abomination, perhaps because many of their practices conflicted with the religious notions of the Egyptians, which included the worship of sacred cattle (see Exodus 8.22), finally overthrew this Semitic dynasty. As a consequence, the Israelites were looked upon with suspicion and hatred as a dangerous element in the state. The very services that they had rendered to the old dynasty would now be held against them by the new, and instead of being a favored race, they came to be looked upon, in spite of their long sojourn in Egypt, as alien and hostile, and were subjected to persecution and oppression. Persecution, at first took the form of enforced labor in the erection of the public works of the Pharaohs but when the Israelites seemed to thrive in spite of this, resort was had to the drastic measure of murdering every male infant. At this point, the Biblical story shows us how Providence prepared redemption for Israel by sparing the life of the infant who was destined to become the liberator. Of the general religious significance of the Egyptian bondage, as interpreted in the Bible, we have already spoken in preceding chapters.
Aim. The aim of this lesson is three-fold, first, to inculcate in the child the ideal expressed in the words, "And a stranger shalt thou not wrong neither shalt thou oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt;" (Exodus 22.20); second, to encourage him to maintain his national Jewish aspirations in the diaspora, as did his fathers in Egypt, and, finally, to inspire him with faith in God's providence, as illustrated by the way in which God saved the infant Moses.
Suggestions to the teacher. Begin by recalling the story of Joseph to the class; how the Israelites who settled in Goshen—point out its location on the map—became a numerous people, and enjoyed, for a long time, the favor of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, in gratitude for all that Joseph had done for Egypt at the time of the famine. Then dwell on what the children of Israel, who were, for the most part, simple shepherds, learned from the Egyptians, who were not only skillful farmers, but great builders as well. This can best be done by showing pictures of the Egyptian monuments and pointing to the skill required in order to erect them in an age before the use of steam and electricity was known. "But", the teacher should emphasize, "although the children of Israel learned much from the Egyptians, they did not copy them in everything. In one respect, they were far in advance of the Egyptians,—in their religion. They knew that there was one God, whom they could not see, who made the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, but the Egyptians worshipped many gods. They had sacred bulls and sacred cows and sacred cats, and even a sacred bug—a kind of beetle. The Israelites in Egypt understood that they were not to become Egyptians, but that God would some day lead them out of Egypt to their own land of Palestine, as He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So they continued to speak their own language, Hebrew, and to maintain their religion."
Explain how the insistence on keeping up their own religious practices and their own language, and the refusal to join in the worship of the Egyptian gods, aroused the hatred of many of the Egyptians, and paved the way for the edicts of the "new Pharaoh", that "knew not Joseph". This can best be done by reference to modern instances of similar antagonism, which may have come within the range of the child's experience or observation. Speak, for instance, as follows:
"When the Egyptians saw that the children of Israel would not become like them, but kept up their own religion and language, many of them came to dislike the Jews, for there are some people who never like anybody who is very different from themselves. Some of you may know boys who like to tease and annoy Chinese, because of their strange appearance, dress and language, or who are unkind to negroes, merely because they are black, or who like to torment foreign children that cannot speak the English language. You well know that there are some people that are unkind to Jews for no better reason. In this free country nobody would think of doing us any real harm, nor would our laws permit it, but there are some countries where the very laws of the land try to make the life of the Jew unhappy, merely because he is a Jew. Many of you may have heard something about how Jews used to be treated in Russia not so long ago. And that is exactly the way the Egyptians began to feel towards our forefathers, when they saw that they would not worship the gods of the Egyptians, and that they kept up their own religious practices and spoke their own language; and when a new Pharaoh arose who had forgotten all about Joseph and the good he had done to Egypt, a man from an altogether different family than the Pharaoh of Joseph's time and from a different part of the country, the Egyptians began making laws against the Jews. Pharaoh, who particularly hated the Jews, made a law that they should all have to work as slaves in the building of his great treasure cities", etc.
The rest of the story is simple and offers no difficulties to the teacher. The only thing that needs to be emphasized is that, in telling of the birth and rescue of the infant, Moses, the teacher must remember that he is preparing the way for the story of the Exodus and must emphasize that Moses was saved because God meant him to redeem His people, not that his rescue was a lucky accident. He can do this by speaking of God as suggesting the ideas upon which the characters act. For instance, in telling how Miriam saw Pharaoh's daughter take up the basket, one might say, "Then God put a wise thought into the heart of Miriam and she ran up to Pharaoh's daughter and asked", etc. Again, one might say, "Now when Pharaoh's daughter saw the little crying baby God filled her heart with pity for the helpless little infant," and one might conclude the lesson by saying, "In this way God saved the baby, who, when he was grown up into a man, was to deliver his people from the oppression of Pharaoh."
So much for the presentation of the lesson. In discussing it with the class afterwards, do not fail to suggest by suitable questions the duty of maintaining our Jewish practices even in the face of the ridicule and opposition that they sometimes call forth. The application of the story's moral should be given in terms of the child's own experience. For instance, one might say: "When our fathers in Egypt sacrificed to their God and would not sacrifice to the Egyptian animal gods, did the Egyptians like this? Did the Israelites, when they saw that the Egyptians hated them, because they were different in race, language and religion, give up their language and religion in order to appear like the Egyptians? Do you think the Jewish child today ought to feel ashamed and give up his Jewish religious practices, because his Christian friends may think them strange or may not like them, or may not treat him with as much kindness if he shows that he is a Jew? Sometimes Jewish boys go to school on Jewish holidays, because their Christian friends do not stay at home. Do you think this right? Do you think it right to sing Christian songs in school, because you are afraid not to do so? No teacher will ever force you to sing a song that is Christian if you explain politely that you do not want to do so because your religion forbids it. If you were asked to take part in a Christmas celebration at school, what would you do? If a Christian boy offered you some of his luncheon to eat and you were not sure that what he gave you was kosher, what would you do? In those countries where the Jews are treated badly today, merely because they are Jews, as their fathers were treated in Egypt, have they given up their Judaism on that account, or do they still keep it up? What would you do if you lived in one of those countries?"
Do not, however, dwell too much on anti-Semitism, as it is not morally helpful to the child to feel resentment too keenly. It would be producing the very opposite effect to the one desired if we were to arouse in our pupils a feeling of animosity towards the Gentile. The emphasis must be put wholly on the positive virtue of maintaining religious loyalty in spite of the hostility which it may, at times, arouse.