Life was tough in Egypt for baby boys. Girls were allowed to live but boys were to be thrown into the Nile. To confirm whether a baby was male or female the midwives looked at the ovnayim, literally “the stones” (Ex. 1:16).
Ovnayim is sometimes translated as “birthstool”, but the word never again appears in this sense in the Tanach. Indeed it only appears once more in the Bible, in Jeremiah 18:4, where it means a potter’s wheel.
The Midrash regards it as “the place where the baby turns”, i.e. the womb. This seems to indicate that the womb is where the future is not only determined as male or female in the normal way but where every aspect of the child’s development is determined.
Is the name “Moshe” passive, bearing the meaning, “the one who was drawn out of the waters”… or is it active, i.e. “the one who draws out (his people)”?
The Biblical context appears to favour the first view, because the king’s daughter says, ki min hamayim meshitihu, “I drew him out of the water”.
Samson Raphael Hirsch is unwilling to leave it at that but adds a further aspect. According to Hirsch, what Pharaoh’s daughter’s words imply is, “Moses must never forget that I drew him out… and because he was drawn out of the River Nile, he is to be a deliverer of others.”
How aptly this illustrates Jewish ethics: The person who was once poor must alleviate poverty; the person who was once sick must ease others’ pain; the person who was once homeless must help others to find a home; the person who was once degraded must aid everyone else and never tolerate racism; the person who once lacked freedom must never rest until everyone else is free.
Q. How can the second section of the Bible be called Neviim (Prophets), when the first section (Torah) is a record of the Father of Prophecy, Moses?
A. If we are to be honest, the third section of the Bible (Ketuvim) also contains prophecies, so it is not only one of two sections but the whole Bible is a Prophetic work.
Abravanel explains that the Biblical names Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim reflect authorship and not necessarily content.
The first section presents the highest level of prophecy as found in Moses. The second and third sections are on a lower level of prophecy.
It should also be pointed out that the phenomenon of prophecy in the Bible is not cheap exhibitionism, i.e. gazing into a crystal ball to ascertain the future. The word navi, a prophet, indicates a forthteller of God’s word, not necessarily a foreteller or prognosticator.
Thus King David is a prophet whether or not he predicted future events and his Psalms are often works of prophecy.
Jacob on his deathbed, by Jan Victors c.1635The sidra opens by telling us an important story with universal implications.
When Jacob was on his deathbed all his children wanted to know how the future was likely to turn out, and the dying man – as a prophet – was willing to tell them what he knew. At that moment, say the rabbis, the picture of the future was taken away from the patriarch.
It’s an allegory of life. We all yearn for knowledge of the future but God tells us it’s better that we shouldn’t know too much.
If we knew that the future would be evil, we would give up trying, because nothing would change the picture.
If we knew that things would turn out to be good, we would probably also give up trying because the picture would be good regardless of our efforts.
Emblem of the modern day city of ShilohJudah will bear rule for a lengthy period (Gen. 49:10) – “until Shiloh comes”.
The word Shiloh is difficult. Maybe it is geographical. Rashi says the reference to Shiloh alludes to the belief in the Mashi’ach, who will replace Judah as the leader in due course.
Rashbam thinks it alludes to King Solomon, whose royal sway was broad and enduring. (I Kings 5:4). Possibly Shiloh links to a root that means son or issue, and hence the verse means that Judah will rule as long as humanity lasts.
Ramban links the word with “kingship”, i.e. “as long as there exists rulership in Israel”.
Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple zt”l passed away in January 2024. As an archive of the Rabbi’s written contributions across his many fields of interest, this site is a tribute to the man and his work. See the About section for more information on his life. Y’hi zichro baruch.
OzTorah is a weekly email service and website exploring the timeless teachings of Jewish tradition from a contemporary Australian and global perspective. The site includes insights into the parashah, an Ask the Rabbi forum, and articles on various Jewish and interfaith issues.
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Life was tough in Egypt for baby boys. Girls were allowed to live but boys were to be thrown into the Nile. To confirm whether a baby was male or female the midwives looked at the ovnayim, literally “the stones” (Ex. 1:16).
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