In the book of Exodus is written:
"וַתֹּאמַרְןָ–אִישׁ מִצְרִי, הִצִּילָנוּ מִיַּד הָרֹעִים; וְגַם-דָּלֹה דָלָה לָנוּ, וַיַּשְׁקְ אֶת-הַצֹּאן. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל-בְּנֹתָיו, וְאַיּוֹ; לָמָּה זֶּה עֲזַבְתֶּן אֶת-הָאִישׁ, קִרְאֶן לוֹ וְיֹאכַל לָחֶם. וַיּוֹאֶל מֹשֶׁה, לָשֶׁבֶת אֶת-הָאִישׁ; וַיִּתֵּן אֶת-צִפֹּרָה בִתּוֹ, לְמֹשֶׁה"
"And they said: ‘An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock and he said unto his daughters: ‘And where is he? Why is it that ye have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.’And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter" (Ex 2:19-21)
We all know that Moses went out from Egypt after pharaoh discovered that he killed an Egyptian man. Moses went to a place called Midian and there he helped the daughters of Reuel. Zipporah was one of the daughters and Moses married her after he the helping with the shepherd near the well.
The legend on Moses tells us a different story. Reuel was afraid that the king of Egypt will find moses in his house so he decided to put him in a pit. Zipporah felt mercy over him; she came to see him every day and gave some bread.
After seven years she told to her father: you put a clean man, pure one, in the pit. He didn’t drink a lot of days, but he is praying to his God so he is alive.
Reuel went to see the man, Moses, that was singing a song to his Lord in that day, so he took him out from the pit and gave him to Zipporah, only because she spoke the good things about him…
Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation
|
Hebrew |
Transcription |
Translation |
|
בּוֹר |
bôr |
Pit |
|
תְּפִלָּה |
tepillāh |
Prayer |
|
הֲרִיגָה |
hărîgāh |
Killing |
|
מִדְיָן |
midyān |
Midian |
|
שֶׁבַע |
Šeba’ |
Seven |
|
שָׁנָה |
šānāh |
Year |
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The midrash struggles mightily to infiltrate the Torah with a supra-orthodox rationale for intermarriage. It parallels the motif of Esther marrying the non-Jew Achashverus so she would be in a position to save the Jews. A more enlightened drash would be to recognize Torah’s emphasis that we are a People–not a race. Except for prohibiting wedlock to the seven enemy nations (even exempting Ruth, the Moabite great-grandmother of King David)intermarriage was permitted, especially to Egyptians (Explicitly stated in Torah, and exemplified by Joseph’s marriage to Asenat). Yes, let’s be proud we do not see ourselves as “racially” pure–or biologically superior. Miriam was cursed with leprosy for her derogation of Zipporah. And Moses himself warned that were we to act like Canaanites we would be the same as they in God’s eyes. The only threat from intermarriage is to our cherished relationship with God. We must commit ourselves to preserving our heritage and a spouse of another background must enter the chupah of our Torah through study and appreciation of joining the larger Jewish family.