Moses – Adult Reflections
Moses had it made! Even though he was an Israelite, he was adopted by Egyptian royalty, namely by Pharaoh’s sister. His adopted people enslaved his birth people. That didn’t seem to bother him too much until he saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating up an Israelite slave. Then, acting not on his best interest but on his conscience, he struck the task master, killing him. The next action he takes tells us much about the man. As Egyptian nobility, he could kill anyone “below” him with no consequence, yet he hid the corpse and ran away. Moses, once again showed, he had a conscience.
That event started a chain reaction that led him from a comfortable life in Pharaoh’s palace to a lifetime of wandering, conflict and tzores. It is amazing that even though Moses’ life is really hard, the people of Israel never give him a break, but rather drive him crazy day and night. They never stop complaining, are rebellious towards Moses and God. What a great price Moses had to pay for acting on his conscience. Yet in our tradition Moses is called Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our Master, or perhaps our rabbi) and embodies the highest example of leadership and closeness to God. I believe this teaches us that doing the right thing may not always be the easy thing to do, nor may it get immediate rewards, but in the end it maximizes our potential.
Moses For Younger Children
In our Passover story we see that Moses always cared about the people. He didn’t want the Egyptian boss to beat the worker, and he went to the Pharaoh to beg him to let the Hebrew slaves go free. Moses really cared about people and he wanted to make the right choices that would help them.
Ask the children to consider one or more of the following questions and lead them to a discussion of how they might be able to help someone in the neighborhood/nursery school etc. Help them expand their idea of helping from family to community.
How do you show people that you care about them?
How can you help your Mom when she seems to be very busy?
How can you help your Dad when he comes home from work?
Moses For Older Children And Teens
In the Passover story we constantly see that Moses has to make some difficult decisions. Read the story and note some of his difficult decisions. Decide whether they were based on selfish reasons or personal gain, or whether they were tough decisions based on conscience and the right thing to do.
As we approach the teen years, and throughout them, we may be faced with situations where we have to make very hard choices on how to act. Sometimes doing the right thing is not the popular thing! And we may risk losing popularity or possibly a friend by our choices.
Think of some situations at your school or among your friends where something is going on that you don’t approve of and you are forced to make a difficult choice.
What kinds of things go through your mind at times like these?
What kind of decision-making tools do you have to help you make the right decisions in those difficult times?
Discuss this with your parents/close friends to develop some skills that will help you make the right choices.