Commento su Esodo 3:11

מי אנכי WHO AM I? — Of what importance am I that I should speak with monarchs?

ויאמר משה מי אנכי?, anyone who wants to truly understand the plain meaning of this sequence will heed my exegesis carefully. My predecessors were quite wrong. Moses replied to two things G’d had requested from him. He had been asked to go to Pharaoh, and he had been asked to take the Jewish people out of Egypt at Pharaoh’s command. In respect of G’d’s first instruction he answered:

מי אנכי כי אלך?, how will my warning be effective?

מי אנכי כי אלך, "who am I that I should be qualified to go?" Moses meant that even if he were anxious to accept such a mission he did not consider himself qualified to speak up in front of a king. Seeing that he lacked that self-confidence his mission was unlikely to succeed. We have other examples of prophets who lacked confidence that their mission would succeed because they were personally not confident; compare Samuel I 16,2 or Amos who is reported in Kohelet Rabbah 1 as having suffered from a lack of self-confidence because his peers belittled him. Moses added וכי אוציא את בני ישראל, "and that I should lead the Israelites out of Egypt," in order to emphasize the enormity of the task G'd was about to place on his shoulders, i.e. to orchestrate the Exodus. He implied that in order for such an undertaking to succeed the messenger G'd chose would have to be an outstanding personality. He was afraid that if Israel would suffer some setback on the road to freedom he might be held responsible since he was not qualified to be that leader.

Who am I. The word “who” [am I] is used in place of “what” [am I] because it is not possible to explain this statement as referring to “bringing them out,” for the verse continues “Am I able to bring the Bnei Yisroel out.” Perhaps Moshe felt inadequate to speak with Pharaoh for he was a king. Thus Rashi comments “that I might speak with kings.”

V.11. Du setzest mir eine doppelt riesige Aufgabe, ich soll Pharao und Israel bewältigen, Pharao stürzen und Israel anführen, zu beidem finde ich nicht die leiseste Spur von Kraft und Fähigkeit in mir. Und wohl durfte ein Mensch, dem eine solche Aufgabe ward, sich wieder und wieder auf die Waagschale legen. Hätte es nur dem eigenen Geschick gegolten, so durfte er vielleicht sich in die Schanze schlagen; aber von dem Gelingen dieses Auftrages hing das Wohl und Wehe eines ganzen Volkes ab; und da durfte wohl ein Mensch, zumal der wie Mosche, als der ענו מאד מכל האדם אשר על פני האדמה, als der Mann von dem äußerst bescheidenen Charakter, als der ,,Bescheidenste unter allen Menschen auf Erden", in der Tat keine Faser zu dem Zeug in sich verspürte, aus welchem siegreiche Volksaufwiegler, Volks- und Heerführer, Helden und Herrscher gemacht werden, der sich also als den zu einer solchen Aufgabe geradezu untauglichsten unter allen Menschen wusste, wohl durfte ein solcher Mensch vor dem Gedanken einer solchen Aufgabe, selbst wenn die Aufforderung dazu von Gott kam, staunend zurückschrecken. Konnte das Unternehmen nicht an seiner Unzulänglichkeit, seiner Ungeschicklichkeit, seiner Zaghaftigkeit und Schwäche Pharao gegenüber scheitern und er dann nur Unheil auf Unheil über seine Brüder häufen? Durfte er sich nicht die imponierende, überwältigende Kraft absprechen, die dazu gehört, aus der unter der Peitsche aufgewachsenen ziegelbrennenden Masse ein Gottesvolk zu bilden?

?מי אנכי, “what distinguishes me?” Moses answered G-d point by point in the order of what G-d had said to him. The question of what qualified hm to be chosen for this task was the answer to G-d having said to him: !לכה, “go!” the words: כי אלך אל פרעה, “that I should go,” was the answer to G-d having said to him: ואשלחך אל פרעה, “I am sending you to Pharaoh.” The words: וכי אוציא, “and that I should lead out,” were Moses’ reply to G-d having said to him: והוצא את עמי, “and lead out My people.” G-d in turn, proceeded to answer Moses point by point in order: כי אהיה עמך, “For I will be at your side,” was the answer to Moses’ question: “Why am I qualified etc.” The words: כי אנכי שלחתיך, “for it is I Who have sent you,” is the answer to Moses having said: כי אלך אל פרעה, “that I should go to Pharaoh;” the words: בהוציאך את העם הזה, were the answer to Moses having asked וכי אוציא.

וכי אוציא את בני ישראל AND THAT I SHOULD BRING FORTH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — and even if I am of sufficient importance for this, how has Israel merited that a miracle should be wrought for them and that I should bring them forth from Egypt?

וכי אוציא את בני ישראל, that I will have the merit to take out the Jewish people who are at this time not deserving of this?

What did the Israelites do to merit . . . [Rashi knew this] because Hashem responded, “When you bring the people out [to receive the Torah].” This implies that Moshe asked this (i.e., what did.the Israelites do to merit . . .)