Closing Message - Rabbanit Bracha
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Yesterday, Rav Steven spoke about the strength of Moshe’s reunion with his wife Tzipporah אַחַר שִׁלּוּחֶיהָ - after he had sent her away when he recognized the magnitude of his mission in Egypt.
Taking a step back, I’d like to look at the story of their reunion through a different lens, while reaching a similar conclusion. The Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael - quoted by Rashi - sets the moment when Tzipporah and her sons parted from Moshe, at a place called Har HaElokim - the mountain of God. Moshe and his family were journeying from Midayn to Egypt when Aharon met them.
Aharon asked Moshe: “Who are these people with you?”
Moshe answered: “This is my wife Tzipporah and my two sons.”
Aharon: "Where are you taking them?"
Moshe: "To Egypt"
Aharon responded: “Moshe - we already have so many of our people we are grieving for in Egypt - do you want to add your wife and children as well?”
Moshe heeded Aharon’s words and sent Tzipporah and his sons back to her father’s home.
The next time Moshe and Tzipporah meet is right here in this week’s Parashah. And where do they meet? In the same place they said good-bye: [Ex 18:5]
וַיָּבֹא יִתְרוֹ חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה, וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ--אֶל-מֹשֶׁה: אֶל-הַמִּדְבָּר, אֲשֶׁר-הוּא חֹנֶה שָׁם--הַר הָאֱלֹקִים.
“Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, brought Moshe’s sons and wife to him in the wilderness, where he was encamped at Har HaElokim - the mountain of God.”
They met exactly where they had parted months before - at Har HaElokim - but what a vast difference in the experiences they had weathered.
Tzipporah: separated from her husband, raising her children alone, most probably worried and anxious about what was happening to Moshe, longing for their reunion.
Moshe: completely immersed in confronting Pharoah, orchestrating the Ten Plagues, freeing the Israelites from slavery, keeping the first Pesach, fleeing Egypt and crossing the Yam Suf.
Similarly, we have experienced our own period of separation from each other. We have been kept apart from our gathering places, from our friends, and from our loved ones.
We each have our own Har HaElokim, the place where we parted and long to return. For some the reunion will be back in shul, for others walking across the street for a shared Shabbat meal, and for others still meeting up with loved ones across the world.
And when we meet, let us recognize and remember that just like Tzipporah and Moshe, our experiences during the separation have not all been the same.
As Rav Steven said yesterday - May our reunions be stronger than our separations!
Reminder to all to take good care of ourselves and each other. Try to do something specific today that strengthens you, and something else that strengthens someone else.
