Ten things you should know about Moses’ speech impediment
By Rabbi Shmuel Marcus IF IT WERE A PART OF A NOVEL it would introduce a great twist of irony to the plot: the main character, whose job it is to confront evil and verbally communicate eternal and universal truths to all of mankind, is speech deficient. Problem is, it’s not fiction—it’s factual history. Moses, who by self-admission “stammers and speaks with difficulty” (Exodus 4:10), is the one chosen by G-d to address Pharaoh, to lead the Jewish people out of slavery, and to eventually teach G-d’s wisdom in an unprecedented way. In other words, the great leader of the Jews, the warrior, the articulator of the Divine commandments and scribe of the Torah, needed a speech therapist. How did this happen? And why did G-d choose him for a job that required basic skills that he seemed to lack? There’s got to be a message here for us—if not in the realm of speech pathology then at least in the realm of spirituality and personal growth. As a child I heard the story of how Moses lost his power of speech. It goes something like this (Midrash Shmot Rabbah, 1:26): Moses, having been drawn from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter Batya, was raised in the palace. Batya loved him, and treated him with great affection as if he were her own child. Pharaoh, too, loved Moses, and played with him on his lap. On more than one occasion, little Moses reached for Pharaoh’s crown and put it on his own head. In the eyes of Pharaoh’s advisers, this augured no good. Perhaps this is the child who will overtake the throne? He must be killed immediately. One adviser, Yitro, came to the child’s defense: He is but a child without discernment, simply enthralled by the crown’s glitter. Test him. Bring a plate filled with gold and glowing coals. If he reaches for the gold then he knows what he is doing and must be killed. But if he reaches for the coals this will prove that he simply likes to touch things that sparkle and shine and his reaching for the crown was innocuous. The plate was brought and Moses was about to reach for the gold, but the angel Gabriel quickly descended and pushed his hand to the coal. Reflexively, Moses put the hot coal to his mouth and burned his tongue. This affected his speech for life. Spring 2013