Daily Chumash

G‑d tells Moses to go speak to Pharaoh, and Aaron should serve as his spokesman. G‑d informed him that He will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will refuse to release the Israelites. At that point G‑d will "multiply His wonders" in Egypt, until the Egyptians will recognize that G‑d is the L-rd.

The Torah takes a brief interlude and traces the lineage of Moses and Aaron, listing their family trees.

G‑d told Moses that He revealed Himself to the Patriarchs and established with them a covenant to give them the land of Canaan. And now the time has arrived to fulfill His promises. G‑d told Moses to tell the Israelites that He has heard their cries, and He will now deliver them from Egypt and bring them to the Promised Land. Moses relayed the message, but their unbearable workload prevented them from accepting his words. G‑d then told Moses to instruct Pharaoh to send the Israelites from his land. Moses protested: "If the children of Israel did not listen to me, how then will Pharaoh listen to me? I have a speech impediment?"

Moses took his wife and two sons and headed for Egypt. G‑d charged Moses to warn Pharaoh: "So said G‑d, 'My firstborn son is Israel. So I say to you, send out My son so that he will worship Me. And if you refuse to send him out, behold, I will slay your firstborn son.'" En route to Egypt, Moses' wife rescued her husband from divine wrath by performing a circumcision on their son. Moses met Aaron, who had come from Egypt to greet him, and together they went to Egypt, gathered the elders and performed the wondrous signs that G‑d had given Moses.

G‑d gave Moses specific instructions: He was to gather the Israelite elders and inform them that G‑d had remembered them and would now rescue them from Egypt and bring them to a Land of Milk and Honey. Then he was to approach Pharaoh and request permission to leave along with the Israelites. G‑d informed Moses that Pharaoh would not accede to this request – but the redemption would come nonetheless after G‑d will smite Egypt with a strong arm. At that point, the Israelites would leave with much riches. G‑d gave Moses three miracles to perform before the Israelites to prove that he was sent by G‑d. When Moses protested that he was not suited to be G‑d's messenger due to his speech impediment, G‑d assigned his brother Aaron to be his spokesperson.

Moses was raised in Pharaoh's palace. When he matured, he went out one day and saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew. Moses slew the Egyptian. Word of his deed reached Pharaoh, and Moses was compelled to flee. He escaped to Midian where he married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro. They gave birth to a son, Gershom. Back in Egypt, meanwhile, the plight of the Israelite slaves was worsening. They cried out to G‑d, and He remembered the covenant He had made with their forefathers.

Pharaoh called the midwives to task for not following orders. They answered that the Hebrew women were skilled in midwifery and delivered their babies before they even arrived. G‑d rewarded the midwives for their bravery. Pharaoh then commanded the Egyptians to cast all newborn males into the Nile. Moses was born. His mother, who feared for her baby's life, put him into a waterproofed basket and set him afloat in the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe, and took the child as her own. Moses' sister Miriam, who observed the entire episode, offered to bring a Hebrew nursemaid for the child, and when Pharaoh's daughter agreed to the suggestion, Miriam called the child's mother. Moses' mother nursed the child and after he was weaned brought him back to Pharaoh's daughter.

Jacob's sons all died. Jacob's descendants in Egypt, however, were "fruitful and swarmed and increased and became very very strong." A new Pharaoh arose, and he resolved to find a solution to the "Israelite problem." He proposed to afflict the Israelites and impose slave labor upon them, thus preventing them from multiplying. He implemented the plan, and the Israelites were forced to construct storage cities for Pharaoh. "But as much as they would afflict them, so did they multiply and so did they gain strength." Pharaoh then summoned the Hebrew midwives and instructed them to kill all the Hebrew sons that they delivered. The righteous midwives feared G‑d, however, and defied Pharaoh's order.

Jacob blesses Benjamin. He instructs the tribes regarding the place of his burial. Jacob passes. He is mourned, embalmed, and buried in Hebron as per his instructions. Jacob ensures his brothers that he intends to treat them kindly, dispelling their fears of retribution.

Jacob continues blessing his children. In today's portion, the tribes of Gad, Asher, Naphtali, and Joseph are blessed.