This week we read parshat Shemot. In the parsha we see the Jewish people becoming enslaved in Egypt and Moshe being forced to run away to Midian. One day when Moshe is watching his father-in-law’s sheep he sees a bush, which although on fire, is not burning up. Hashem speaks to him from the bush and tells him to go back to Egypt to take the Jewish people out of slavery.

Moshe is afraid of the responsibility and replies “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”. He does not feel like a leader or a person worthy of the role. Throughout the Tanach, the people who reveal themselves to be the most worthy are those who claim that they are not. The prophet Isaiah, the prophet Jeremiah, King David of Israel, and the prophet Jonah all tried to run away from the mission that Hashem gave them, sharing the same argument: “Who am I?”

The heroes of the Bible have no clear sense of self-importance or superiority over others. They were not born with a gold spoon in their mouths. They were not born to rule. On the contrary – they were people who doubted themselves and their abilities. At times, they were ready to give up, and almost against their will, they became the heroes of our Tanach.

Moshe, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jonah all reached the depths of despair and even asked for death. But they had a task to do – Hashem told them so – and they did it. Hashem did not, therefore, answer Moshe’s question “Who am I?” He simply gave him the mission.

According to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, when Moshe asks “Who am I?” he is really asking himself – “What is my identity? Am I a part of the people of Israel? Based on Moshe’s  life up to this point, the answer might be no. Moshe is not part of the people of Israel. So what is he? There are two possibilities.

The first is that Moshe is an Egyptian prince, since Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him when he was a baby. His name, Moshe, was given to him by her. He grew up in the royal palace. He dressed like an Egyptian, looked like an Egyptian, and spoke like an Egyptian. Even Yitro’s daughters tell their father at home: “An Egyptian man saved us.” Moshe is an Egyptian. The second possibility is that Moshe is a Midianite. Although raised as an Egyptian, he was forced to leave Egypt. He made his home in Midian, married a Midianite woman named Tzipporah, the daughter of a Midianite priest, and agreed to live there a peaceful life as a shepherd. Moshe spent many years there. He left Egypt as a young man, and when he first spoke to Pharaoh, he was already eighty years old. Most of his adult life, it seems, was spent in Midian, far from both the Israelites and the Egyptians.

Moshe is, therefore, apparently either an Egyptian or a Midianite. So when he asks “Who am I?” he is questioning not only his worthiness but also his identity.. He was born an Israelite, but he did not suffer with his Israelite brothers in their slavery. He had good reason to fear that the Israelites would not recognize him as one of their own, let alone as their leader. And even for himself, how could he see himself as their leader? Their fate was not his fate. Their suffering was not his suffering. His life was not intertwined with theirs.

“Who am I?” asked Moshe but in his heart, he knew the answer. “I am neither Moshe the Egyptian nor Moshe the Midianite”. When I see my brothers in their suffering, I am Moshe the Israelite, and I cannot be anything else. And if this recognition places upon me a heavy responsibility and a bold mission, I must bear it. For I am who I am because my people are who they are. This is the Jewish identity — then and now.

Sometimes we ourselves might think “Who am I?”. I am only one person. What can I change? And yet, from Moshe's story we learn that every person has the power to make a difference if they listen to the voice of conscience and act with courage. That is why it is so important to seize every good opportunity to help others, improve the situation around us, and make the world a little better. And we must never forget that we are part of a great, unbroken chain of generations of people who carried faith, kindness, and responsibility forward to us, and in turn depend on us to carry it further.

Written by Yannay, Grade 11