Anyway, I agreed to give the d'var torah (literally, "a word of torah"--I guess kind of like a mini-sermon) in shul this week, and I'm soliciting opinions/thoughts/feedback. This week's section of the torah that we read is the first chapters of the book of Exodus. This includes, of course, the birth of Moses.
Moses was raised for a little bit by his birth mother, then found by the daughter of Pharaoh who gave him back to his birth mother to raise for longer, and then finally given back to the daughter of Pharaoh who was more-or-less officially his mother. For how long Moses was with his birth mother at any of these times is a subject for debate, and whether Moses knew he was an Israelite child is a subject for debate, but in any event, there are interesting dynamics of parenting going on.
And this, understandably, is interesting to me.
So within this general context, I would love to get your thoughts on parenting in the Bible, whether this particular story or others. I am obviously going to focus on sources in the Jewish part of the Bible, but interesting stories from the New Testament are welcome, too. (The person who gave the d'var torah this past Friday referenced Julius Caesar. We're an intellectual crowd here in my Big City.) Based on your experiences with your kids, what do you think it means for Moses to have two sets of parents? To be willingly given up by his birth family in order to save his life? Moses grew up to be a leader; do you think this is in spite of his family dynamics or because of them?
Thanks for your feedback!
Not quite parenting, but in terms of families and family building, how about Ruth and Naomi?
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