From Stumbling Speech to Sacred Signal

Shalom from Yoel and Orly, founders of?Ulpan-Or,?the International Center for Hebrew and Israeli Culture Studies!

Hebrew at the Speed of Light!

This Shabbat we will read the first Torah portion?"?Shemot in the book of Exodus.??

The Torah tells us how the?children of Israel?multiply in Egypt.

Threatened by their growing?numbers, Pharaoh?enslaves them and orders the Hebrew midwives to kill all male babies at birth.

They do not comply, and he commands his people to cast the Hebrew babies into the?Nile.

A child is born to?Yocheved, and placed in a basket on the river, while the boy's sister,?Miriam, stands watching from afar.?

Pharaoh’s daughter discovers the boy, raises him as her son, in Pharaoh's palace and names him ??? -?Moshe. (Takes out?from water).

As a young man,?Moshe leaves the palace and discovers the?hardship?of his brethren. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and?kills?the Egyptian.

The next day he sees two Jews?fighting; when he admonishes them, they reveal his deed of the previous day, and Moses is forced to flee to?Midian.

There he rescues?Jethro’s daughters, marries one of them, Tzipporah, and becomes a?shepherd?of his father-in-law’s flocks.

G?d?appears to Moshe in a?burning bush?at the foot of?Mount Sinai, and instructs him to go to Pharaoh and demand:

“Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.”

Moshe claims he is not worthy of this mission.?

And Moses said unto God: 'Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?'?(Exodus 3, 14)

Then G-d tells Moshe to tell a certain phrase to the People of Israel:

Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying:

I have surely?remembered?you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.

According to ancient tradition, a secret sign of redemption was passed down through the generations of Israelite elders in Egypt.

This sacred phrase - "PAKOD PAKAD'TI ETKHEM" (?????? ??????????? ???????) - meaning "I have surely remembered you" - was first spoken by Joseph on his deathbed.

He prophesied that these exact words would be uttered by the true redeemer whom God would send to free the people from Egyptian bondage.

This double expression "PAKOD PAKAD'TI" carries profound significance, as the repetition of the root word "pakod" emphasizes the absolute certainty of God's remembrance and forthcoming redemption.

This phrase became the ultimate credential - a divine password that would identify the authentic deliverer of Israel. When Moses returned and spoke these precise words, the elders recognized this ancient sign, validating his role as the chosen redeemer who would lead the exodus from Egypt.

The transmission of this phrase through generations of slavery served as a flame of hope, assuring the people that their suffering was not forgotten and that redemption would surely come.

It represented not just words, but a divine promise preserved through centuries of waiting.

Question:

What made this phrase special as a divine sign? How could it serve as proof of the true redeemer when anyone could have memorized and spoken these words?

The Divine Signature in Speech Impediment

What appeared as a simple phrase - "PAKOD PAKAD'TI ETKHEM" - revealed its true miraculous nature through Moses's speech impediment.

This apparent weakness became the very seal of authenticity that transformed a seemingly simple password into an undeniable sign of divine appointment.

Consider the profound irony:

A man with "faltering lips" (????? ????)

As Moses describes himself in the next Torah portion:

But Moshe said to the?Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen?to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with?faltering?lips?”?(Exodus 6, 12).

Tasked with delivering precise, specific words. Yet he was pronouncing these sacred words with perfect clarity...

This created an extraordinary validation:

1.????? When Moses, known for his speech difficulties, suddenly pronounced these specific words with supernatural clarity, it demonstrated divine intervention.

2.????? His speech impediment actually served as a built-in authentication system - an imposter with normal speech couldn't replicate the miracle of a stutterer speaking perfectly.

3.????? The stark contrast between his usual faltering speech and the crystal-clear delivery of "PAKOD PAKAD'TI" became a sign more powerful than the words themselves.

The elders witnessed something extraordinary: not just the predicted words, but the divine orchestration of having them delivered through someone whose very speech limitations made him an unlikely messenger.

This transformed what could have been a simple password into an undeniable miracle - the stammerer speaking with sudden clarity became the true sign, not just the words themselves.

Thus, what initially seemed like a vulnerability in the authentication system ("anybody could say it") proved to be its strongest verification.

God's choice of Moses, with his speech impediment, created a validation system that no imposter could falsify - a divine signature written in the contrast between the messenger's natural limitations and the supernatural clarity of his delivery.

The 22 consonants of the Hebrew alphabet are produced in 5 different areas of the mouth:

Teeth???? Palate???? Throat???? Lips???? Tongue

Because of his speech problem, Moshe was not able to close his lips and pronounce those consonants that require lip closure.

?These consonants are:?

B, P, V, M, W

? ? ? ?

Thus, normally Moshe would not be able to say:?PAKOD?PAKAD’TI, because those words contained the "P" - ?? sound.?

But now People of Israel witnessed a miracle of Moshe being able to pronounce perfectly the above phrase.

Therefore?they came to believe that Moshe indeed was the?messenger?of G-d, who put words in his mouth, and thus he would be their savior.?

We pray for the lives of the innocent civilians and soldiers who have been heartlessly kidnapped by Hamas.

We pray for the lives of the soldiers who are defending our country on so many war fronts opened against Israel.

Please G-d, watch over them and bring them home safe and healthy.

Shabbat Shalom,

Yoel & Orly

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