And Moshe said to God: ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt?’ (Shemot 3:11)

ויאמר משה אל האלקים הנה אנכי בא אל בני ישראל ואמרתי להם א-לקי אבותיכם שלחני אליכם ואמרו לי מה שמו מה אומר אליהם. (שמות ג:יג)

And Moshe said to God: ‘Behold when I come to Bnei Yisrael and say to them: the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they will say to me: what is his name, what shall I say to them?’ (Shemot 3:13)

ויען משה ויאמר והן לא יאמינו לי ולא ישמעו בקולי. (שמות ד:א)

And Moshe answered and said: ‘Behold, they will not believe me nor hearken to my voice.’ (Shemot 4:1)

ויאמר משה אל ה' בי אדני לא איש דברים אנכי גם מתמול גם משלשם גם מאז דברך אל עבדיך כי כבד פה וכבד לשון אנכי. (שמות ד:י)

And Moshe said to God: ‘Oh Lord, I am not a man of words, neither from yesterday nor from the day before, nor since the day that you spoke unto your servant, for slow of speech and slow of tongue am I.’ (Shemot 4:10)

ויאמר בי אדני שלח נא ביד תשלח. (שמות ד:יג)

And he said: ‘Oh Lord, send I pray thee by the hand of him that you will send.’ (Shemot 4:13)

Moshe ultimately accepted the mission and returned to Egypt. After his first unsuccessful encounter with Pharaoh, Pharaoh increased the labor of Bnei Yisrael, who then found it difficult to pay heed to Moshe:

וידבר משה כן אל בני ישראל ולא שמעו אל משה מקצר רוח ומעבודה קשה. (שמות ו:ט)

And Moshe spoke so to Bnei Yisrael, but they did not listen to Moshe because of their short spirit and the hard labor. (Shemot 6:9)

Subsequently, God commanded Moshe again to speak to Pharaoh about releasing Bnei Yisrael from Egypt. Once again, Moshe expressed reservations:

וידבר משה לפני ה' לאמר הן בני ישראל לא שמעו אלי ואיך ישמעיני פרעה ואני ערל שפתיים. (שמות ו:יב)

And Moshe spoke before God saying: ‘Behold Bnei Yisrael have not listened to me, how then will Pharaoh hear me, I having a speech impediment?’ (Shemot 6:12)

ויאמר משה לפני ה' הן אני ערל שפתיים ואיך ישמע אלי פרעה. (שמות ו:ל)

And Moshe said before God: ‘Behold, I have a speech impediment, so how will Pharaoh listen to me?’ (Shemot 6:30)

Moshe’s response seems problematical for two reasons:

1. Moshe’s comments in verses 6:12 and 6:30 reiterate one of his original concerns, that of his speech impediment, in spite of the fact that God had already reassured him and provided Aaron as his spokesman:

מי שם פה לאדם או מי ישום אלם או חרש או פקח או עוור הלא אנכי ה'. ועתה לך ואנכי אהיה עם פיך והוריתיך אשר תדבר. (שמות ד:יא-יב)

Who made man’s mouth and who makes man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and I will teach you what to say. (Shemot 4:11-12)

ויאמר (ה') הלא אהרן אחיך הלוי ידעתי כי דבר ידבר הוא וגם הנה יצא לקראתיך וראך ושמח בלבו. ודברת אליו ושמת את הדברים בפיו ואנכי אהיה עם פיך ועם פיהו והוריתי אתכם את אשר תעשון. ודבר הוא לך אל העם והיה הוא יהיה לך לפה ואתה תהיה לו לאלוהים. (שמות ד:יד-טו)

And (God) said; ‘Is there not Aharon your brother the Levi? I know that he can speak well. And also behold, he is coming out to greet you, and he will see you and be glad in his heart. And you will speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and I will teach you what to do.’ (Shemot 4: 14-15)

2. Moshe’s argument seems inconsistent with what seems to be the source of his insecurity, the fact that the people did not listen to him. The Torah tells us that the people did not listen to Moshe because of “their short spirit and the hard labor" (“מקצר רוח ומעבודה קשה”), not because of his speech impediment. If so, why does Moshe base his argument on the speech impediment?

Moshe’s Two Distinct Missions

Ramban suggests that Moshe’s protest in chapter 4 relates only to his mission to Bnei Yisrael, while his protest in chapter 6 relates to his mission to Pharaoh:

עם פיך - להורותך אשר תדבר אל פרעה. כי עתה לא אמר שידבר אהרן בעבורו רק אל העם כמו שנאמר וידבר הוא לך אל העם (שמות ד:טו). ויתכן שיהיה זה לכבוד המלכות. ובסוף חזר משה ואמר הן אני ערל שפתים ואיך ישמע אלי פרעה (שמות ו:ל). ונתן לו רשות שלא ידבר גם לפרעה … (רמב"ן שמות ד:טו)

With your mouth - To teach you what to say to Pharaoh. For now, he only said that Aharon should speak for him to the people, as it says: “And he will speak for you to the people” (Shemot 4:15). And it could be that this was to give honor to the royalty. And in the end, Moshe returned and said: “Behold, I have a speech impediment, so how will Pharaoh listen to me?” (Shemot 6:30) And he gave him permission also not to speak to Pharaoh …(Ramban, Shemot 4:15)

Ramban posits that while Aharon was employed to speak on Moshe’s behalf to Bnei Yisrael, Moshe was supposed to speak directly to Pharaoh in order to impress upon him the importance of his message. According to Ha’amek Davar, God accepted Moshe’s reservations and allowed Aharon to function as the spokesman to Pharaoh, but stressed that this approach must be viewed as a position of strength:

כן יהי כאשר דברת שלא תדבר בעצמך לפרעה, אבל לא משום שתהיה שפל ונבזה בעיניו, אלא משום שהוא יחשוב שאתה גדול כל כך כמו אלקים … שאינו ראוי לשמוע מפיך כי אם מפי אהרן שהוא נביאך…

So it will be, as you have spoken – that you will not yourself speak to Pharaoh, not because you will be lowly and degraded, but because you will be exceedingly great like a god … that he isn’t worthy of hearing directly from your mouth, but rather from the mouth of Aharon who is your prophet…

The commentaries of Ramban and Ha’amek Davar are based on a psychological premise that in order to have an impact, Moshe had to approach Pharaoh in a manner appropriate to his position and ideology. As such, these commentators understand the word “אלהים” in verse 7:1 (“ראה נתתיך אלקים לפרעה” – “behold I have set you as a god to Pharaoh”) as a reference to a deity, in contrast to other commentators who interpret “אלהים” in a secular sense as “judge” or “lord”.[1] This psychological element is addressed directly by Midrash Sechel Tov:

אתה רואה שאימתך מוטלת עליו כאימת יראתו דהיינו עבודה זרה שלו.

You see that your reverence is cast upon him as his own reverence, that is his idolatry.

In the idolatrous beliefs of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Pharaoh himself was considered a deity. It was, therefore, important for Moshe to appear to Pharaoh as a deity. In this instance, Aharon appeared to serve as the prophet of Moshe in the literal sense.

Thus, according to Ramban, Moshe’s expression of reluctance to speak to Pharaoh was not redundant. In each instance, Moshe was responding to a different request by God. In one sense, the text supports the Ramban’s assertion. We find in Shemot 4:29-30 that Aharon alone addressed Bnei Yisrael, while verse 5:1 implies that both Moshe and Aharon spoke to Pharaoh:

וילך משה ואהרן ויאספו את כל זקני בני ישראל וידבר אהרן את כל הדברים אשר דבר ה' אל משה... (שמות ד:כט-ל)

And Moshe and Aharon went and they gathered all of the elders of Bnei Yisrael, and Aharon spoke all of the words that God had spoken to Moshe … (Shemot 4:29-30)

ואחר באו משה ואהרן ויאמרו אל פרעה … (שמות ה:א)

And afterwards, Moshe and Aharon came, and they said to Pharaoh …(Shemot 5:1)

This same text, however, poses a difficulty for the interpretation of the Ramban. If Moshe had already spoken to Pharaoh, why would he not express his reluctance at this point based on the lack of success in reaching Pharaoh rather than on the reaction of Bnei Yisrael?

And They Did Not Listen to Moshe

In contrast to the Ramban, Rashi and other commentators contend that Moshe’s reluctance to return to Pharaoh was indeed based on the negative response that he received from Bnei Yisrael. Rashi claims that Moshe’s argument in verse 6:12 is one of ten examples in the Torah of a קל וחומרargument, an inference from a less important to a more important item. Siftei Chachamim explains the קל וחומר argument as follows:

ומה ישראל ששמועה טובה היא להם והיה להם לקבל דברי ואפילו הכי לא שמעו לי, פרעה ששמועה רעה היא לו כל שכן שלא ישמעני.

Just as Bnei Yisrael, for whom it is a good tiding that they should have accepted, nevertheless did not listen to me, how much more so Pharaoh, for whom it is a bad tiding, will not listen to me.

Siftei Chachamim bases the argument on the fact that Bnei Yisrael stood to benefit from Moshe’s activity while Pharaoh stood to lose. He is forced to disregard the issue of the “impatience of spirit and hard labor” (“קוצר רוח ועבודה קשה”) as a factor because it would invalidate theקל וחומר argument. Certainly, Pharaoh did not suffer from the conditions that, according to the text, caused the Jewish people to “not heed” Moshe’s message. Siftei Chachamim explains this apparent discrepancy as follows:

וא"ת איכא למיפרך דמה שלא שמעו אל משה מקצר רוח וגו', ויש לומר דמשה לא היה יודע שלא שמעו לו בשביל קוצר רוח אלא הוא סבר שבשביל שהוא ערל שפתים לא שמעו לו. ומה שכתוב בקרא כן מפני שהתורה כתבה לפי האמת, אבל לפי דעתו שהיה סובר משום שהיה ערל שפתים לא שמעו אליו אתי שפיר קל וחומר.

And if you want to say that one could invalidate the argument as follows: “the reason that Bnei Yisrael did not listen was their shortness of spirit etc.”, you could say that Moshe didn’t know that it was because of their shortness of spirit that they did not listen to him, but he thought that they didn’t listen because of his speech impediment. And the reason that it is written in the Torah in this way is because the Torah recorded the truth. But in his mind, since he believed that they didn’t listen to him because of his speech impediment, the קל וחומרargument is very valid.

Thus, according to Siftei Chachamim, Moshe perceived that his message had not resonated with Bnei Yisrael because of his shortcomings as a presenter, a factor that he feared would negatively affect his message to Pharaoh.

The interpretations of Rashi and Siftei Chachamim portray Moshe as a frustrated leader who blames himself for his apparent setbacks. A close reading of the text reveals that Moshe did not in this instance actually express his reservations to God. Rather, it seems that Moshe was torn by inner doubts to which God responded. This is indicated by a comparison of the parallel sections in chapters 3-4 and in chapter 6. In Moshe’s initial attempts to refuse the mission in chapters 3-4, the text records several times that he expressed his complaints directly to God, “אל ה'”. In chapter 6, however, his comments are expressed before God, “לפני ה'”:

Thus, Moshe expressed his self doubts in the presence of God. God acted to allay his fears by having Aharon speak to Pharaoh, but impressed upon Moshe the importance of his role in relation to both Aharon and Pharaoh.

Impatience of Spirit and Hard Labor

What was the nature of the circumstances that so shook Moshe’s self-confidence. The commentators differ on their interpretation of the phrase “ולא שמעו אל משה מקצר רוח ומעבודה קשה” in verse 6:9. Rashi and Sforno claim that Bnei Yisrael heard Moshe’s message of hope, but were unable to accept it because of the physical oppression:

רש"י - ולא שמעו אל משה - לא קבלו תנחומין.

מקצר רוח - כל מי שהוא מצר רוחו ונשמתו קצרה ואינו יכול להאריך בנשמתו.

ספורנו - ולא שמעו אל משה - להתבונן בכל זה שיבטחו בישועת הא-ל יתברך.

ומעבודה קשה - כי לו לא העבודה הקשה היו נותנים לב לדברי משה והיו מבינים טענותיו שראוי לבטוח.

Rashi - And they did not listen to Moshe - They did not accept his words of comfort. Impatience of spirit - Anyone who is troubled, his wind and breathing are short and he cannot take a long breath.

Sforno - And they did not listen to Moshe - To discern that they should trust in the salvation of God.

And hard labor - Were it not for the hard labor, they would have given their attention to Moshe and understood his claim that it is worthwhile to trust (in God).

Both Rashi and Sforno depict Bnei Yisrael as a despondent people, lacking faith and unable to find hope for the future.

Ramban and Ibn Ezra, on the contrary, believe that the reaction of Bnei Yisrael did not reflect a lack of faith. Rather, they were simply unable to give their attention to Moshe because of the circumstances:

רמב"ן - מקצר רוח ומעבודה קשה- לא בעבור שלא יאמינו בני ישראל בה' ובנביאו רק שלא הטו אוזן לדבריו מקצר רוח… וקצר רוח הוא פחדם שלא יהרגם בחרב … ועבודה קשה הוא הדוחק שהיו הנוגשים אצים בהם ולא יתנום לשמוע דבר ולחשוב בו.

אבן עזרא - וידבר ולא שמעו - ולא הטו אוזן לדבריו כי קצרה רוחם באורך הגלות ובעבודה הקשה שהתחדשה עליהם.

Ramban - From impatience of spirit and hard labor - It was not because Bnei Yisrael did not believe in God and his prophet, but they did not pay heed to his words from impatience of spirit … Impatience of spirit is the fear that Pharaoh not kill them by the sword … and hard labor is the pressure that the taskmasters placed on them that did not allow them to hear or give thought to anything.

Ibn Ezra - And he spoke and they did not hear - They didn’t pay heed to his words because their spirit was impatient by virtue of the long exile and the hard work that had been placed on them anew.

While Ramban relates both “קוצר רוח” and “עבודה קשה” to physical oppression and the fear of physical harm, Ibn Ezra views them as two separate factors, one physical and one spiritual. According to Ibn Ezra, the renewal of hard labor served to intensify the spiritual degeneration caused by the long exile.

The midrash (Shemot Rabbah 6:6) emphasizes the spiritual element:

ולא שמעו אל משה - היה קשה בעיניהם לפרש מעבודה זרה.

And they did not listen to Moshe - It was difficult in their eyes to separate from idol worship.

The midrash uniquely associates the phrase “עבודה קשה” with “עבודת כוכבים”, idolatry. According to the midrash, it was not the current physical oppression, but the previous assimilation that made it difficult for Bnei Yisrael to relate to Moshe’s message.

Conclusion

In his initial encounters with Pharaoh and with Bnei Yisrael, Moshe found that a leader, even one carrying the message of God, must contend with human psychological and spiritual factors in order to get his message across. Pharaoh’s religious ideology and the effects of the long sojourn in Egypt on Bnei Yisrael made it difficult for Moshe to gain acceptance on both fronts. This realization initially shook his confidence. God encourages him to carry on and we find that in future encounters, Moshe’s self confidence as a leader grows progressively, as we will see in our iyun on Parashat Bo.

[1] See Rashi and Onkelos. Ibn Ezra explains the term as referring to an angel, an approach that is more similar to that of the Ramban.