The book of Shemos is not only the story of Exodus and redemption, but also our

guide to living in exile. Dayan Swift from England in his book “Moreshet Moshe” has
many valuable thoughts on our parsha. The following is based on his writings: “And
Yosef died and all his brothers and all that generation.”
Not only did the old generation of Jews die, but that generation of Egyptians ha
d died too. Everything of the past had disappeared. Old ideas were no longer res
pected. In that society, there was no longer pride in being a grandson of Yaacov
Avinu, or even a nephew of Yosef Hatzadik. The Torah does not mention the names
of Moshe’s father or mother or older sister. In this type of exile it made no dif
ference how great your grandparents or great-grandparents were. Moshe’s parents re
alized that a great Jewish child would never survive in such climate, if he were
only being fed the crumbs of past generations.
Parents have to instill strong and solid values within their children, to indepe
ndently withstand the challenges of society. Yocheved had lined Moshe’s basket wit
h “pitch from the outside and clay from the inside, so that the righteous child mi
ght not smell the disagreeable odor of the pitch.”
Yocheved is teaching all mothers, that for a child to successfully grow up in ex
ile, the disagreeable odor, the unpleasant influences from the street cannot pen
etrate the walls of the home. From such an insulated home, with the right type 0
f “lining”, Moshe develops an even stronger connection to the Jewish people,and conc
ern for his brothers. With the right foundation, Moshe and all Jewish children c
an face and overcome any pressure that Paroh’s society creates.
Moshe sees an Egyptian hitting a Jew, so he “looked this way and that way and saw
there was no man.” Chazal comment: “He saw what the Egyptian had done to him in the
home and he saw what he did to him in the field.”
Unfortunately, Moshe observed the damage already done by the gentile society. He
saw that the influence had indeed penetrated the homes, causing some degree of
disintegration of Jewish values. He noticed as well “what the Egyptian had done to
him in the field.” The influence of the society which today might be the media, t
he work place, and the fast paced growth of technology.
Moshe and his family taught us that we can succeed. With a strong home, the prop
er values, and an uncompromising affiliation to the Jewish people and the word o
f Hashem, we can merit our own redemption from this last period of exile.
May we strengthen ourselves as we read the story of geula, and hopefully through
our efforts hasten the coming of Mashiach!
Rav Yehoshua Landau