Sacred Text, Vulnerability

Who Am I?

High Holy Days 2023

Exodus 3:11-12

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?”

 

And God said, “I will be with you; that shall be your sign that it was I who sent you. And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

 

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים מִי אָנֹכִי כִּי אֵלֵךְ אֶל־פַּרְעֹה וְכִי אוֹצִיא אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִם׃

 

וַיֹּאמֶר כִּי־אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ וְזֶה־לְּךָ הָאוֹת כִּי אָנֹכִי שְׁלַחְתִּיךָ בְּהוֹצִיאֲךָ אֶת־הָעָם מִמִּצְרַיִם תַּעַבְדוּן אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים עַל הָהָר הַזֶּה

Here Moses introduces us to the concept of the reluctant prophet. In the initial moments of his Divine call to action, he feels uncertain and unworthy of the mission asked of him by God. In his unwillingness to act, Moses expresses a vulnerability rooted in the errors of his past which cloud his self-confidence. But in his greatest moment of self-doubt, Moses is reassured that God will support him and all of B’nei Yisrael throughout their journey from bondage to freedom.