The Mouth
Dec 22nd, 2010 by Rabbi Simcha Weinberg in Portion of the Week
The Mouth
Moshe has a “heavy mouth and a heavy tongue.” Did that manifest itself in his behavior as a baby? Did baby Moshe Rabbeinu put everything he saw into his mouth?
The Midrash says that the reason Moshe had a speech impediment was that Pharaoh tested Moshe using the expected oral fixation: Pharaoh placed his royal crown and a burning hot coal before the baby. Pharaoh would know that this baby posed danger if he went after the crown, but would not grow up to be a problem if he went after the burning coal. An angel, guided baby Moshe’s hand to the coal, and Moshe, as any baby would do, placed the coal in his mouth. Pharaoh took this as a sign that the baby did not pose a risk, and therefore agreed for his daughter to keep him alive.
Great story! I have a problem: Which baby do you know would be able to grab the coal and hold on long enough to place the coal in his mouth? How could Pharaoh watch a baby hold on to a burning coal and not be concerned that this baby certainly had some unusual strengths?
There is another problem: The Talmud teaches that baby Moshe refused to suckle from an Egyptian woman; The Mouth that would speak with God could not be impurified by sucking from an Egyptian woman.
If God was so protective of Moshe’s mouth, why did He allow Moshe to burn his tongue? Pharaoh would have been satisfied if the baby simply grabbed the coal. It seems that God wanted Moshe to burn his tongue, and for Pharaoh to see it happen.
Picture the scene: Moshe arrives as the leader of the Jews and needs Aaron to speak for him. Pharaoh immediately remembers the test. Does he laugh as he recalls that he is the one who caused Moshe’s speech impediment? Does he wonder why his test didn’t work as planned? Or, does he wonder why he never took notice of baby Moshe’s ability to grab and hold onto a burning coal?
To Be Continued…
Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.
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B’H'Yisborach
Brilliant!
This entry immediately brought to mind the lesson in Pirkei Avot, Sayings of Our Fathers/Sages Chapter 2, Mishnah 15): “Our Rav Eliezer says, ‘Warm yourself by the fire of the sages, but beware! – of their glowing coal – lest you be burnt…for their bite is the bite of a fox, their sting is the sting of scorpion, their hiss is the hiss of a serpent, and all their words are like fiery coals!!!’ ”
Now *that!* is what I call a SIGN!!!! But as the Torah was not given yet, I think we can understand why most people – including Pharaoh – couldn’t have grasped its full and looming portent.
Perhaps though we can extrapolate that this interpretation did occur to some of the Jewish Elders years later. They were the leadership of the Egyptian Israelites. It might have given them an idea/insight/made a connection in their minds when HaShem dispatched Moshe Rabbeinu to come before them to relay His Name (E-hyeh A-sher E-hyeh) and the message of forthcoming redemption.
Indeed, it was from Moshe Rabbeinu’s mouth that he smote the Egyptian, called forth and prayed for the plagues to commence and end, prophecized and prayed so often and ultimately delivered the Torah to Klal Yisrael.
Burning coals also seems to tie in to the later encounter of the Sneh, the Burning Bush, which among many interpretations includes being symbolic of the fire of Torah.
In point of fact, most of us grow up with this teaching and here we are discussing it even now. This is perhaps the strongest indication that this event was indeed intended to be an everlasting sign to us, Klal Yisrael – *forever* – to remind us that Moshe is our messenger, from G-d.
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This chidush made my day; thank *You* so much!
p.s. Love the accompanying picture; Lol!
Even dazzling… let me place another look…
Like a dissection of the anatomy of a true leadership, Moshe Rabenou is a paragon of excellence, a quintessence of majesty.
The mouth is the symbol of the breath of G.d, the sound, the pleasure, the taste, and also the power of the words, pure or destructor, and also the risk to be burn.
Is it more painful to take the risk to be burn by the coal than to take the risk to be in contradiction with his ethics refusing to suckle from an Egyptian woman?
Moshe Rabenou, tested by G.d, knows that our actions are the ‘container’ destined to receive the benedictions divine and suppress the obstacles by the merit of the Bitachon, victorious of our actual Exil…
Leadership vacuum –who could be the allusion of the space of the cavity-, what to do when we have no leader, Moshe Rabenou offers a confident sense of destination and set the levels of objectives.
We can apply its lessons to our present turbulent times and discover the leader within ourselves and within others…
Now I do not have to, in fact, I cannot write my continuation; yours is so powerful. Thank you.
Tomorrow’s newsletter is the my continuation of this piece. You came up with all the good ideas!
Tomorrow’s newsletter is my response to you.
All of you give me the thirst of knowledge…
Thank you for you inspiring learning!
OK – I know Rav Simcha shlitah has been waiting for someone to post this connection! (or, perhaps I’m going to be guiltily spoiling part of the continuation on this topic!
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Tell me that this excerpt from the haftorah of parashat Yitro, *THE PARASHA OF THE REVELATION AT SINAI* is just a coincidence!
Isaiah Chapter 6:
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the L-rd sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.
Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings: two to cover their faces, two to cover their feet and two to fly.
And one called to another and said, “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, is the L-rd of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”
And the posts of the door were moved at the voice of them that called and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; Because I am a man of ***unclean lips***, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the L-rd of hosts.
Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, with ***a glowing coal*** held in tongs taken from the alter.
And he touched my mouth with it and said, “Lo, this has touched your lips; And your iniquity is taken away and your sin expiated.
And I heard the voice of L-rd saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
Then I said, ” ‘Hee’n'nee’, Here I am, ‘Shelachaynee’, send me.”
The first time the word ‘peh’ (mouth) shows up in T’Na”CH is Moshe’s claim “ci ch’vad-peh u’ch’vad lashon anochi” (Sh’mot 4;10).Immediately follows G-d’s response “mee sahm peh lo’odom o mee yosoom eelaim”. That’s it for the word ‘peh’ till the book of B’Midbar.
Everybody knows the first time a word appears in T’Na”CH is the headquarters of its meaning.
When G-d is importuning Moshe to be His agent for Ahm Yisroel’s salvation (during the 7 days Moshe was by the burning bush), we see that Moshe has already had 3 exchanges with G-d in trying to avoid the task.(RaSHI indicates he wasn’t trying to get out it; rather he thought Aharon, his older brother, was more worthy to be G-d’s agent.)
Only after the 3 miraculous signs does Moshe mention the ‘mouth’ issue. Obviously, this was not the foremost issue in Moshe’s mind, otherwise he would have mentioned it earlier!
I believe this touches on my second comment in http://blog.thefoundationstone.org/2009/12/29/survival-skills/.Are we concerned with externalities (‘What are you’)or with the deepest inside (‘Who are you’).
The first mention of ‘peh’,mouth, in T’NaCH seems to reflect on the mouth being the gateway of the inside of Man to the outside.”VaY’hee Ho’Odom l’Nefesh Khayah”(B’Reishit 2;7)Onkelos says the essential differentiation of Man (from the animals)is ‘ruakh m’mallela’ the power of speech.
Moshe realizes Par’o is concerned with externalities and claims ‘it is not proper for someone with a speech impediment to represent You, The King of all Kings, before Par’o, because Par’o will think it reflects poorly on You.
‘And also I am “ch’vad lashon” unsure of the proper language skills and court etiquette since it is many years when I was last in Par’o’s court (RaSHBaM).
G-d’s rejoinder to Moshe is quite strong-”mee sam peh lo’Odom”-Targum Yonatan says =Who do you think gave Odom Ha’Rishon a mouth upon creation to differentiate him?”u’mee yasoom eelaim”And who can put words into the mouth of one who is dumb,who cannot speak?
RaMBaN explains it even harsher -”You, Moshe should have davenned that I would repair your ‘damaged’ mouth.Now,I will be with your mouth so your words will be understood”.
RaMBaN then softens it somewhat, quoting Midrash Raba that G-d isn’t harshly rebuking Moshe, rather provides reassurance ‘don’t worry; I created all the mouths in existence; I created those who are bereft of speech. Had I desired your being of perfect physicality to appear before Par’o, I would have affected it. I specifically wish your appearance before Par’o as you are.
[As an aside, RaMBaN opines regarding the Midrash that Moshe's impediment stemmed from a miracle(the angel & the coal)and therefore wasn't going to be changed]
G-d, by sending Moshe of the ‘damaged’ mouth,was reinforcing the lesson of ‘who are you’ that Ya’akov Avinu represented to Par’o before slavery.
At the same time, G-d tells Moshe that Par’o is still stuck in the externalities of ‘what are you’.Only through the manifestation of ‘all the wonders that I will plague Egypt INSIDE them will he send you.” (3;20)
Vis-a-vis the mouth being the Gateway from the inside to the outside, surely it is apparent that it is also the Gateway from the outside to the inside.
Everybody knows that as important as watching what we put into our mouths it is equally as important to watch what comes out of our mouths.
70 odd years later, I imagine Par’o being filled with curiosity ==> That little baybe’le who put the coal in his mouth – I wonder what ‘pearls’ will come out.
The additional connections Rav Moshe Stepansky shared are great (as is their author
Rolling over these ideas in my mind a strong theme is emerging. The haftorah’s emphasis on unclean lips in particular has been haunting. Isaiah was punished for slandering Bnei Yisrael (even though there was the familiar whiny excuse, “but it’s true”). But yet – as our tradition is want to do – our Sages do not cover it up; rather, Chazal instituted this episode as an annual lesson to be read publicly.
Look how central the Chofetz Chaim and guarding ourselves from Lashon Harah/slanderous speech have become in Jewish life.
Most Kabbalistic manuals for reaching higher levels of spirituality, such as Mesillat Yeshareem and Sha’aray Kedushah, begin with chapters and chapters on self-rectification first, Kedusah afterwards.
Here too, in both cases, the mouth is seared clean and then it can convey the holy.
The selection of the Zohar traditionally learned during Layl Sheemureem, the night before Brit Milah, discusses the verse: “Cherev Pheepheeyote B’Yadam” – the sword of their mouths are in their hand.
We are taught that this sword, i.e., the Jewish people’s greatest weapon, is our mouth, i.e., our capacity to Pray and to reach the Ribono Shel Olam. We cannot do that if our mouths are filthy. Similarly, the more Torah we learn and the wiser we become, the more differentiated and laser and micro/specialized and focused our prayers can be. This is reflected in the words we employ and the mode of prayer we choose, but first and foremost through our higher level awareness of to Whom we are addressing our prayers, the Ribono Shel Olam. One of the greatest examples of this idea is implicit in the title of a rare, rare manuscript of Kabbalah, “Sefer Charbah d’Moshe” – The Sword of Moses, which is full of prayers.
(A brief but important side note: the verse doesn’t say, “The sword of their *mouth* – singular – is in their hand” It says, “The sword of their *MOUTHS* – plural – is in their hand.” Similarly, the body has another “mouth”: the sex organ. These two are “in our hand”, i.e., we control our selves to a much greater extent than is ‘normal’: starting with Brit Milah, the laws of family purity and Mikvah. The Brit Milah is performed on the part of the body that “connects”, symbolizing “rightness in relationship.” Mikvah insures our spiritual purity and that blood, which houses the lowest level of soul matter, the Nefesh, is not “part of the mix” within the composition and formation of a fetus.)
Is it any wonder either, that the science of psychology that has emerged teaches how much language and clear expression matter both in terms of what we say affecting us as much as it affects others? As Rav Moshe mentioned in his comments above, when we speak about “What are you” we are trapped in Persona, a facade of personality, rather than our true selves, the “Who are you.”
Furthermore, with regard to the other mouth of the body: do we need the recent headlines to see how inappropriateness in physical relationships can destroy a person’s life?
It is not suprising that as a Nation that was formed to be “A Light unto the Nations” and an “Am Kohaneem” – a Nation of Priests whose job, like our own Kohaneem, is to bring people closer (Korban) to G-d, that Psychology was hugely expanded and developed by Jews such as Freud and Erich Fromm. As Reb Shlomo taught, “G-d only loves that which is real/true.” (HaShem Elokeichem Emet)
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Postscript:
The books “The Art of Listening” and “The Art of Loving”, both by by Erich Fromm, are highly recommended and explore speech and relationships – the themes we’ve just discussed – often quoting from the book of Yonah.
Pssshhhhh… Respect!
HaShem replied to Moshe: I am (Eh he yeh) who I am
So…
I Am who I am and You Are who You Are
If I am who I am, and you are who you are,
So I Am because you Are…
Permit me just to emphasize my comment about the Brith “stay on the Garden”…
In the Kaballah, the Brith is represented by the Yesod *correct me if I am wrong*?
A Jew is send in his world uniquely to be able to exert his free will and his resistance in view of the test, and the test essential where reside precisely the sexual temptation.
As Tsipora replied to Moise that, thanks to the Brith Mila, you are united/joined to me by the blood. Tsipora understood that it was the reason of the Mila if their son has been swallowing by the snake till his limb.
A last point…
To talk about a person who talk Lachon Hara, G.d forbid, do we said “to have a wicked tongue”? someone who swallow entirely the person.
The world is based on the Kedousha of a Jew.
May be the reason for what Rabbi Nahman of Breslev said that the one who maintain bad thoughts is considered like if he was destroying the whole wide world!
That’s teaching us the importance of the small things, and the insignificance of the largest things.
The subservience deliberated to our own job at the depend of our family can become a form of enslavement freely granted.
That’s the women in Egypt who, fighting, righteously this aggression against the family, have been the ‘king pin’ of the liberation.
The Torah don’t want that the office replace the Home Sweet Home and warn us about the dangers that this substitution lead to the heart of our society, whose the survival require a structure familial stable.
This threat still persists in our days with the family and a fortiori with the stability of The Great Israel.
Moshe Rabenou brings us in the depth-sea…
It’s provoking an orgasm cerebral *without wanting to make bad joke!*
Marvelous Shabbat Shalom