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midrash session 3.1
As before, I'm generally trying to translate pretty closely, rather than finding the phrasing that flows most smoothly in English, because part of the point is to improve my language skills. Well, except for the parts where I waved my hands more broadly because I got the gist just fine but fell down on some individual words. As always, comments, corrections, and improvements are most welcome.
And let me just praise Rabbi Symons here: not only did he make me nice large photocopies of this text (the original lines were maybe 3" wide -- tiny font), but he cut out and taped together all the resulting pieces to make nice continuous columns for me! That's kindness!
First we read the passage in Sh'mot leading up to Moshe's flight from Egypt. I either hadn't noticed or had completely forgotten that the text mentions two kings after Yosef -- Yosef died and a new king arose who didn't know him, and then he died and the people cried out from their slavery-induced anguish. I thought it was one king. The following midrash starts from the passage about that second king's death.
(1) "And the king of Egypt died" -- (this is approximate:) he was a leper [a], for a leper is like the dead, as it is written: "please she is not like the dead" (this refers to Moshe's prayer for Miriam). [b]
[a] M'tzora, the scaly skin affliction discussed at some length in the middle of the book of Leviticus and that affects Miriam in the desert. It's usually translated "leprosy" but they don't really mean the disease we know by that name today.
[b] A better rendering would be "please let her not be like the dead", but I don't know if that's a fair reading or eisegesis.
We initially disagreed on whether this passage meant he had died of leprosy, but the following text will resolve that.
New paragraph: (2) "The children of Israel groaned" -- what did they
groan? (3) Because [to Paro] the magicians of Egypt said: (4) there is
not to you healing if we don't slaughter [c] young children of Israel,
150 in the evening and 150 in the morning, and you wash (bathe) in their
blood two times a day. [d] (5) As soon as Israel heard (the) decree [e]
they began to maon and groan and lament [f].
[c] shachat, the same word as for ritually slaughtering animals.
[d] The if/negation got dropped in the last clause, but the meaning should be clear: they're saying Paro only gets healed of his leprosy if they slaughter all these kids and he bathes in their blood twice a day (for an unspecified number of days).
[e] Literally, I think, "a decree Israel (plural) heard" -- I don't see a definite article or a "this" or the like.
[f] We had to consult a dictionary for some of these verbs. I might have them in the wrong order.
New paragraph: (6) "And God heard their groaning" -- Rabbi Akiva says:
(7) executioners [g] for Paro were drowning Israel in walls of houses
to build (that is, while houses were being built they were held in the
concrete or mud or whatever), and they would cry [out] from the midst
of the buildings, crying from the midst of the walls -- and the Holy
One blessed be He heard [h] their moaning.
[g] This is not a Hebrew word. It's just not built like one. We consulted a translation of this midrash.
[h] "Heard" would be "sham'a", not "shomei'a", so I'm missing nuance. That's not present tense, is it? (I wouldn't expect a final vowel for present tense, but gutterals have their own rules sometimes.)
Aside: this method of killing seems incompatable with Paro needing the blood. Also, not really "shachat" at that point.
New paragraph: (8) "And Moshe was a shepherd" -- the Holy One blessed
be He administered a test [i] to Moshe in (through?) a flock. (9) Our
teachers said: when Moshe our teacher was a shepherd of [his] flock for
Yitro [j] in the wilderness a lamb ran (scampered?) from him, and he ran
after it until the lamb took shelter (?). (10) Immediately [k] when
the lamb took shelter it prepared (?) [l] itself and knelt for
water and the lamb stood to drink [that is, there was a pool of water
and it was getting ready to drink]. (11) Immediately when to the lamb
Moshe approached (?) he said: (12) I was not knowing [m] that you ran
from me because you were thirsty, [and] you tire [you must be tired now,
approx] . (13) He lifted [n] it on his shoulder and he was walking
(started to walk? no infinitive). (14) The Holy One blessed be He
said: you have compassion to a lamb of a flock of flesh and blood, so --
as you live, you will shepherd my flock Yisrael.
[i] That's my best stab at "tested to Moshe".
[j] I think it's really "shepherd of Yitro's flock", but the construction is a little awkward; there's an extra possessive in there.
[k] "Miyad" and "keivan" both mean immediately, but if I understand correctly the former is more immediate than the latter.
[l] It's hitpael but with a dalet substituted for the taf ("hidpael" :-) ). The root is zayin-mem-nun. I had to ask. (Those marks below those letters are mine.)
[m] Two verbs, "was" and "knew"; not sure why. Same construction on yodei'a as shome'a above, by the way.
[n] I'm not getting a verb here, actually, but there's got to be one and this is what I got from our discussion. Can't reconstruct, though.
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