Prince of the prophets – Sh’mot
Brought up in Pharaoh’s court with the best possible grounding in the culture of the kingdom, Moses seems to have jeopardised his whole status and future by killing an Egyptian who was maltreating an Israelite (Ex. 2:11-12).
Moses kills the Egyptian taskmaster, from the Amsterdam Haggadah, 1695
Surely he was not so foolish as to lose everything as the result of one intemperate act!
The rabbinic sages have a different take on the episode. They say that Moses was far from rash and impetuous. His act was reasoned and deliberate.
He had two choices – to be an Egyptian or to be a Hebrew. If the latter, he needed to choose a dramatic moment to show his Hebrew loyalty.
As an Egyptian royal he could have been a great prince of prosperity. Instead he chose to be a prince of the prophets.
