vaera
sholem aleichem,
Apologies for the lateness. Bodies, minds, limitations, etc.
So. Moshe has been trying to convince Par’oh to let the b’nei Yisrael go and make sacrifices to haShem, and
וַיִּקְרָ֣א פַרְעֹ֔ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֖ה וּֽלְאַהֲרֹ֑ן וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לְכ֛וּ זִבְח֥וּ לֵאלֹֽהֵיכֶ֖ם בָּאָֽרֶץ
Par’oh called to Moshe and to Aharon, and said “Go! Sacrifice to your god in the land [i.e. within Mitzrayim]
Moshe responds:
לֹ֤א נָכוֹן֙ לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת כֵּ֔ן כִּ֚י תּוֹעֲבַ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם נִזְבַּ֖ח לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ הֵ֣ן נִזְבַּ֞ח אֶת־תּוֹעֲבַ֥ת מִצְרַ֛יִם לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א יִסְקְלֻֽנוּ
it is not fitting to do this, because we will sacrifice an abomination of Mitzrayim to haShem our Elohim — and if we sacrifice an abomination of Mitzrayim before their eyes, will they not stone us?
The phrase “an abomination of Mitzrayim” isn’t totally clear. Rashi offers two possibilities:
the act of sacrifice itself is an abomination to Egyptians
the animals being sacrificed are the idols that Egyptians worshipped, and idols are considered abominations
Ibn Ezra records an opinion agreeing with Option 2:
אמר ישועה כי פרוש תועבת מצרים משה כתב כן לגנות עבוזה זרה כי לא אמר לפרעה רק אלהי מצרים
Rabbi Yeshua said as explanation of "abominations of Mitzrayim": Moshe wrote this to condemn avodah zarah [idol worship]. But he didn't say anything to Par'oh except "gods of Mitzrayim"
This is a stunning midrash. Rabbi Yeshua (who many scholars say is a Karaite (h.t. to Yavni from Shel Maala)) is saying that what Moshe actually said was “gods of Mitzrayim”. But when Moshe wrote down the Torah, Moshe claimed to have said “an abomination of Mitzrayim”.
Why? According to Rabbi Yeshua, Moshe tells this lie in order to condemn the practice of avodah zarah.
But if that were all Moshe wanted to do, he could have written the truth of what he said to Par’oh and, separately, a condemnation of the Egyptian practice as abominable. Certainly the Torah is full of condemnations of idol worship.
So why does Moshe combine the two and, in doing so, present an event that did not happen?
It seems to me that in changing what he actually said, he is not just trying to condemn avodah zarah, but also trying to present himself as one who condemns, as one who speaks truth to power. Perhaps this comes from a good place, of wanting to teach the b’nei Yisrael by example to do the same.
But when Korach actually speaks truth to power, challenging Moshe himself, does Moshe listen? Or does he shut down, as perhaps he feared Par’oh would, and dismiss Korach’s truth?
What could have been different if Moshe had told the story as it was to the b’nei Yisrael? Saying “I was afraid to say this to Par’oh” or “I thought the conversation would go better if I spoke more temperately to Par’oh” or “I don’t know why I spoke this way, when these are abominations and not gods”.
What would be different in our own lives, if we dropped the desire to control how people perceive us? If we trusted our communities to know us as we are?
shavua tov,
ada
p.s. there’s a whole dvar in connecting this midrash to the same word, toevah/abomination, appearing elsewhere in the torah…
p.p.s. there’s also a whole dvar in thinking about the ways we re-write others’ histories in this same way — for example, the culture among chazal of bending Tanakh to the breaking point to explain how Moshe and David were both perfect tzadikim
p.p.p.s. ibn Ezra goes on to hypothesize here that the Egyptians were completely vegan. It’s a wild ride. Read the whole commentary.