Parashat Shemot opens the book of Exodus, shifting the Torah’s focus from the story of one family to the emergence of a people. The portion begins with shemot, literally “names”, quietly teaching that a nation is never an abstraction; it is built from remembered individuals. Where Genesis ends with Joseph sealed in a coffin, Exodus begins with a surge of life. The Torah piles up verbs of growth and vitality, echoing the language of Creation itself, as if to say: despite exile, life is still unfolding exactly where it seems most constrained.

1. A King of Fear and Constriction

A new ruler arises, Pharaoh, who “does not know Joseph.” This is more than historical ignorance; it signals a refusal to recognize moral debt and divine purpose. Pharaoh fears that Israel has become atzum, often translated as “mighty,” but the word also carries the sense of something essential, like bone. Israel is no longer just present in Egypt, they are becoming integral to it. In response, Pharaoh imposes avodah kashah, crushing labor, attempting to break that inner strength. Ironically, the Torah frames this suffering as labor pains: the nation is being born through pressure.

2. Women as the First Resistors

Redemption begins not with spectacle, but with quiet courage. The midwives, Moses’ mother and sister, and Pharaoh’s daughter all choose life over obedience to cruelty. The Torah calls the midwives Ivriyot, related to Ivri, meaning “one who crosses over.” They cross moral boundaries and political lines, refusing to let Pharaoh define reality. Their resistance reminds us that transformation often begins with those willing to step beyond what the system declares inevitable.

3. The Child Drawn from the Water

Into this world, a child is born, Moses, and his mother sees that he is tov, “good.” In the Torah, tov is the word God uses in Genesis when creation reaches a state of fulfilled potential. Moses is placed in a teivah, a small ark, the same word used for Noah’s vessel, suggesting that words, stories, and futures can float even when the waters are dangerous. His name, Moshe, means “drawn out,” hinting that his life’s purpose will be to draw others out as well.

4. From Silence to Calling

Moses grows up, flees injustice, and disappears into an ordinary life in Midian. There, at the Burning Bush on Mount Horeb, God calls to him. The Divine Name revealed, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, is often translated “I Am That I Am,” but it more literally means “I Will Be What I Will Be.” For the non-Hebrew reader, the idea is simple yet profound: God is not static, but present in the process of becoming. When Moses doubts himself, his staff turns into a snake, an image of fear and whispered uncertainty. Redemption requires not the absence of doubt, but the willingness to pick up the staff again.

5. The First Confrontation

Moses and Aaron return to Egypt, but their first attempt only deepens the people’s suffering. Freedom, at first, makes things worse. Pharaoh’s language reveals his desire to halt Israel’s increase and erase Joseph’s legacy altogether. The Torah does not romanticize beginnings; it teaches that the first steps toward liberation are often met with backlash.

6. A Promise of Strong Deliverance

The portion ends with Moses crying out in frustration. God responds with a promise: Pharaoh will ultimately release the people with a strong hand. The same verb used for humanity being driven from Eden is now reversed in direction, history is moving, painfully but deliberately, toward a future where covenant and purpose can emerge.

Closing Image

Shemot is like a seed trapped beneath a heavy stone. The pressure is real, and the darkness undeniable, but the life inside is stronger. Even as fear hisses and doubt whispers, the teivah is already floating, and the act of being “drawn out” has begun. Exodus starts by teaching that oppression can slow growth, but it cannot stop becoming.