(א) וישמע פרעה. הֵם הִלְשִׁינוּ עָלָיו (שמות רבה א'): (ב) ויבקש להרג את משה. מְסָרוֹ לַקּוּסְטִינָר לְהָרְגוֹ וְלֹא שָׁלְטָה בוֹ הַחֶרֶב (שם), הוּא שֶׁאָמַר מֹשֶׁה "וַיַּצִּלֵנִי מֵחֶרֶב פַּרְעֹה" (שמות י"ח):
(1) וישמע פרעה AND PHARAOH HEARD IT — they (Dathan and Abiram) slandered (denounced) him (Exodus Rabbah 1:31). (2) ויבקש להרג את משה AND HE SOUGHT TO SLAY MOSES — He handed him over to the executioner to slay him, but the sword proved powerless against him. It is to this that Moses referred when he said, (18:4) “And He delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword” (see Mechilta יתרו and Exodus Rabbah 1:31)...
...When God told him that Pharaoh and his servants who were pursuing him had died, and he had a child, then Moses said 'God saved me from Pharaoh's sword', because all the days of his life [up until then] he feared [Pharaoh].
(ב) ויברח משה. הנה אומר משה הוא מיותר שאחר אומרו את משה הל"ל כי ברח מפני פרעה וידוע כי משה הנז' בתיבה הקודמת הוא הבורח אך יכוון מאמר רז" ל (שם) האומרים כי ירד מלאך כדמותו ותפשהו עד שנשמט משה וברח וזהו ויברח משה. כלו' אך אחר נשאר שם ולא ברח אז והוא המלאך שבדמותו. והנה אומרו מפני פרעה הוא מיותר ואפשר כיון ב' דברים א' שברח בהיותו בפני פרעה שהוא פליאה כי מי יוכל לפני פרעה לברוח ולא יתפס על ידי כל אנשי בית המלכות כי רבים אשר אתו גבורי כח עושי דברו שנית שבהרף עין נמצא עומד בארץ מדין....
To say that 'Moses escaped' is superfluous since...the Torah mentioned just before...The Sages explain that an angel came down that was a clone of Moses, and the [authorities] captured him until Moses got free and escaped, and that is why the Torah says, "Moses escaped".
The Torah says [he escaped] "from Pharaoh" - this is also superfluous, but it is possible [to explain it this way]...It is miraculous for one to escape Pharaoh. Who could escape from Pharaoh and not be captured by all the servants of his kingdom, since there are so many with him, powerful soldiers who instantly follow his orders...
Pharaoh sought to kill Moses: Since Moses killed the Egyptian [taskmaster] who was doing Pharaoh's bidding.
-The commentaries struggle with how Moses was able to escape.
-This focus brings up the idea of extradition - when to we attempt to extradite criminals who committed crimes on our soil or crimes affecting the lives of fellow citizens?
-Ibn Ezra focuses on Moses' mental state during the time after he escaped Egypt - could this be similar to the fear of someone in a witness protection program?
-Bekhor Shor simply explains Moses committed a crime subject to the law of Egypt
Sforno suggests each side of this conflict knows the other, and perhaps this is a regular occurrence.
Unlike in Egypt, Moses does not 'take revenge' but rather ends the conflict by creating a safe space for the daughters of Jethro.
Since Moses could not have known though about the history between the daughters and the other shepherds, does this situation show Moses has grown from impulsive revenge-taker to a more thoughtful path to conflict resolution? Is this situation an example of an MLK approach vs. a Malcolm X approach?
(א) ויבאו הרועים ויגרשום. מאחר שהוא היה כהן וגדול שבמדין היאך היו מגרשים הרועים את בנותיו, אלא למדך הכתוב שנדוהו מביניהם לפי שהוציא מביתו כל תשמישי ע"ג קודם שבא משה אצלו והסכימו ביניהם שלא יעשו עמו מלאכה ולא ירעו את צאנו ועל כן הוצרכו בנותיו לרעות את צאנו והיו הרועים מגרשין אותן.
...Since he was the High Priest of Mirian, how was it that the shepherds would chase away his daughters? Rather, this incident teaches us that Jethro was under judgment for having removed all idols from his house before Moses arrived, and the other [Midianites] agreed [then] to not do business with him nor shepherd his flocks, and so the others chased them away...
R. Bahya suggests Jethro was under excommunication from his community. The violence against the daughters then was the result of Jethro's decision - righteous suffering? As MLK said, 'unearned suffering is redemptive'...
...God assured [Moses] he could go without fear since Pharaoh, and all his servants, who knew of the Egyptian [That Moses killed the taskmaster] had died....All the days that Pharaoh was alive, it was not correct for Moses to be the representative to Pharaoh...
-God knows Pharaoh will refuse to let the people go, so why does it make a difference as far as Moses' role whether it is the Pharaoh from Moses' time in Egypt or a new Pharaoh?
...כי בעבור זה יבטחו בו ישראל יותר כי בהיותו בן חורין במדין יושב בביתו בשלום עם בניו ועם אשתו חתן כהן הארץ, לא יביא אותם להיות עם עבדים וימררו את חייהם בעבודה קשה רק אם היה נכון לבו בטוח שיצאו בקרוב ויעלה עמהם לארץ כנען, ולא יצטרך בצאתם לשוב למדין לקחת אשתו ובניו משם:
...Due to [the fact he took his family with him to Egypt] he would be able to assure the Israelites more since he was a free person in Midian, dwelling in peace in his home with his children, wife, and his father-in-law the Priest of the Land. He would only bring them to be with slaves, [potentially] embittering their lives with slavery if he was sure in his heart that they would leave soon and go to Canaan...
-Moses here is a leader in a symbolic way - by joining his fellow Israelites as an Israelite (rather than as a 'prince of Egypt'), the people should identify with him and have hope. If he gave up his freedom willingly with belief in a quick liberation, then the people would recognize his sacrifice and believe themselves...but do they?