Tag Archives: Shemot (Parasha)

The Concealment of Mashiach

‘The Finding of Moses’ by Gustav Doré

This week we begin reading the second book of the Torah, Shemot, and the account of the Exodus. Yocheved gives birth to a baby boy, “and when she saw how good [tov] he was, she hid him for three months.” (Exodus 2:2) Based on this, the Talmud explains that Yocheved named her baby “Tov” or “Tuviah” (Sotah 12a). The Talmud adds that she “saw” that he was good because the entire room filled with light when he was born, and that he was actually born without a foreskin, just as Adam was originally created. Yocheved hid the baby from the authorities for three months, and when “she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him…” (Exodus 2:3) The daughter of Pharaoh discovers him in the Nile and calls him “Moshe”, Moses.

The fact that baby Moses was concealed for three months is significant. The Sages teach that just as the First Redeemer (Moses) was concealed for a period of time, so too the Final Redeemer (Mashiach) will be concealed. The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 11:2) explains:

How long was he concealed from them? Rabbi Tanhuma said: Three months; as it is written: “They encountered Moses and Aaron…” (Exodus 5:20). The Final Redeemer, too, will appear to them and will then be concealed from them. How long will he be concealed from them? Rabbi Tanhuma said in the name of Rabbi Hama ben Rabbi Hoshaya: Forty-five days. That is what is written: “From the time of the abolishing of the daily offering and the setting up of the abomination of desolation there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days” (Daniel 12:11), and it is written: “Happy is one who waits, and reaches one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days” (Daniel 12:12). How many are these extra days? They are the forty-five days that he will be concealed from them and will then reappear to them.

Rabbi Tanhuma states that Moses was concealed for three months—not those three months as a baby when he was born, but rather after his return to Egypt around age 80. Apparently, three months had elapsed between the time Moses first returned to Egypt and revealed himself to be God’s chosen one (and first appeared before Pharaoh, Exodus 5), and the second time he appeared before Pharaoh and turned his staff into a serpent (Exodus 7). During these three months, Moses was “concealed” and the Israelites were perplexed.

Rabbi Tanhuma continues to suggest that when it comes to the Final Redeemer, the period of concealment will not be three months as was with the First Redeemer, but rather 45 days (approximately half the time). This is based on a famous verse in the Book of Daniel. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Itzchaki, 1040-1105) comments on that same verse (Daniel 12:12) and expands the 45 days to 45 years. This is because Daniel’s “days” are indeed often interpreted as years, and the 1290 years play an important role in later texts. In fact, the Zohar was published specifically in the year 1290 CE, and the reason it was published then after so many centuries in hidden manuscripts is partly connected to Daniel’s 1290 years. (For lots more on this, see ‘When & Why Was the Zohar Published?’ in Volume Three of Garments of Light. See also the recent class on ‘The Spiritual Significance of 2025.’) Interestingly, in its exploration of this week’s parasha, the Zohar (II, 8b) suggests that Mashiach’s concealment will not have a duration of years, but rather 40 days, followed by another period of 30 days, for a total of 70 days. We therefore seem to have three possibilities: a concealment of 45 days (Midrash), or 70 days (Zohar), or as much as 45 years (Rashi). Continue reading →

The Mystical Meaning of Snow

This week we begin reading Shemot, the Book of Exodus, and are reminded of some of the smaller details which are sometimes forgotten. One of these is when Moses asked God to provide him with signs that he could use to prove to the Israelites that he is really the redeemer (Exodus 4). God gives Moses three signs: the first is Moses’ staff transforming into a serpent, the second is Moses’ hand becoming “leprous like snow”, and the third is turning water into blood.

The first sign we later see expanded in the famous episode where Moses and Aaron go head-to-head with Pharaoh’s magicians and a serpentine battle ensues. The third sign would, of course, become the First Plague. But what of the middle sign? What is the meaning behind Moses’ hand becoming snowy? Even more intriguingly, the word “snow”, sheleg (שלג), actually appears for the very first time in the Torah right here. As a general rule, when a word appears for the first time in the Torah, it is there that we find its true significance. What is the spiritual significance of snow? Continue reading →

What’s The Ideal Number of Children to Have?

1907 Illustration of the Exodus from the Providence Lithograph Company

This week we begin reading Shemot, the second book of the Torah. Commenting on Israel’s rapid population growth (Exodus 1:7), Rashi famously cites the Midrash that each woman gave birth to six children in a single pregnancy! This is a classic Midrash in the sense that it probably should not be taken literally. One way to make sense of it is to suggest that perhaps each woman produced six Jewish souls per pregnancy. We know that while there was a limited number of Israelites physically present in Egypt and at the Exodus, we maintain that all Jewish souls that ever lived or will live (including those of converts) were there spiritually. Jewish souls from across history were liberated from slavery in Egypt and experienced the Revelation at Sinai. That’s one reason the Passover Haggadah reminds us that each and every Jew at the seder should feel like he or she personally came out of Egypt. You did!

Back in Egypt, the physical Jewish population did indeed grow rapidly. However, when we read the detailed genealogical lists in the Torah, we find that family sizes were not disproportionally large. Amram and Yocheved had three children, Aaron had four, Moses just two. In fact, throughout the Torah family sizes seem relatively small. Isaac had two sons, and Joseph had two as well (that we know of). Abraham was one of three sons. He went on to have a single child with Sarah, one with Hagar, and six more with Keturah (who may or may not be the same person as Hagar). There’s a tradition that Abraham had a daughter, too. Jacob had two children from Rachel, two from Bilhah, two from Zilpah, and seven from Leah—six boys and a girl (like Abraham). The reason for this, from a mystical perspective, is quite evident.

When it comes to the Sefirot, six are described as “masculine”, and the seventh is the feminine Nukva. Higher above, the Sefirah of Binah is called Ima, the “mother”, while Chokhmah is called Aba, the “father”. In this arrangement, the first and highest Sefirah of Keter symbolizes God Above. So, there’s God, father, mother, the six sons, and the daughter. This is a complete mystical “family”. Is this, then, the ideal family on the physical plane as well?

Not exactly. Continue reading →