by Hallie Mogelson
Member of Bet Shalom Congregation, Minnetonka, MN

February is Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month. We thank Hallie for sharing her D'var Torah from her Bat Mitzvah last month.
We will be featuring blog posts about disability inclusion in Jewish communities. Also visit the RACBlog for posts on this topic.
 
D'var Torah: Va'era

Shabbat Shalom! Welcome to services at Bet Shalom and my Bat Mitzvah. My Torah portion is Va'era from the book of Exodus.

In this parsha, God reminds Moses of the Covenant he made with his ancestors; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Covenant is that God promises the Jews the land of Canaan, known as Israel today. Adonai is reminded of His Covenant after hearing the cries of the Jews, in cruel bondage. Moses is told, by G-d, to go to Pharaoh and demand freedom for the Jewish slaves. Moses predicts that Pharaoh will not pay attention to him, just as the Israelites had not listened earlier. He makes an appeal to G-d saying, "The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, me - who gets tongue-tied!"

When I was little, at Shabbat dinner, I remember learning, that Moses had a speech impediment. The first time I read my Torah portion, I realized this is what we had talked about that night.  I was amazed that Moses got "tongue-tied"! How could this be? Our most well-known leader couldn't even talk to Pharaoh without stuttering, or being slow of speech? Why did he stutter? Why would G-d choose him to free the Jewish people? Why wouldn't G-d fix his disability?

According to the Midrash, when Moses was a child, often while sitting on Pharaoh's lap, he would take Pharaoh's crown, and place it on his own head. The court sorcerers thought this was a bad sign, so they gave the small Moses a test. There were two bowls; one filled with gold, one filled with hot coals. If Moses took the gold, he would show intelligence and have to be killed. If he took the hot coals, he would not be considered a danger, and his life would be spared. When Moses reached out, an angel pushed his hand to the hot coals. Moses took the coal, and often as children do, he placed it in his mouth, leaving him with a lifelong speech disorder.

Other explanations suggest that "tongue-tied" did not mean that Moses had a physical problem with speech, but that he was not fluent in the language of the Israelites. He had grown up on "the other side of the tracks" and was considered an outsider. After pleading with G-d, Moses was allowed help from his brother, Aaron, who could speak the language of the Jews.  If this is true, it would also explain why Moses could talk easily to G-d, but found it much more difficult to speak to the Israelites.

On the other hand, if Moses truly did stutter, you would think G-d would cure him of his disorder, allowing him to speak with confidence to Pharaoh and the Israelites.  Maybe G-d decided not to remove his speech impediment because He wanted the Jews to follow Moses, not because of how he spoke, but rather the truth of his message.

While Moses may have been one of the greatest leaders of Jewish history, there have been many leaders in the history of the world that have achieved amazing accomplishments, while suffering from some major disability. The measure of leadership is the content of a person's ideas, not necessarily the physical strength of the individual.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (our 32nd president) had polio. He was paralyzed from his hips down. Even with this huge obstacle, he is still known today for his leadership. Although he was often in severe pain during his years as president, he never let that interfere with his ability to lead our country through the Great Depression, and World War II. This great man made our lives better, yet he couldn't even stand on his own two feet.

Clara Barton, a teacher and nurse, was the founder of the American Red Cross. What many of us don't about her is that she also had a lisp. When she was young she lived in fear of her speech problem and was extremely shy because of it. Eventually she overcame it by focusing on helping others. During the Civil War, she brought food and medicine to the soldiers in the battlefield; something that had never been done before, by an unmarried woman. Her nickname became the "Angel of the Battlefield."

Stephen Hawking is a world known scientist who is recognized for his knowledge in Cosmology and black holes. For all that he has accomplished you would never know that he has motor neuron disease, which makes him unable to move. He uses a computer to communicate, by blinking or moving one of his cheeks to move a cursor on a screen. Stephen's computer is like Aaron. Without it speaking for him, no one would know how brilliant he is. Which draws me to an interesting conclusion.

Generally, when we see people who suffer from some type of disability, we tend to feel sorry for them, or think they are unable to perform, even the easiest of tasks. Perhaps they are limited in physical ways, however, their minds may be able to perform great feats, and we shouldn't underestimate their ability to accomplish important things.

It is a matter of being judgmental. I am suggesting that we all consider not being so quick to categorize or judge someone before taking the time to get to know them, or to learn what they stand for.  At least this attitude gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. 

After reflecting upon my entire Torah portion, it suddenly hit me. The reason why the Torah connects to every person, is that there are so many different morals and stories you can learn. When starting my D'var Torah, I didn't know I was going to talk about Moses' speech impediment. There were a least three other directions that I could have explored. Every person has different ideas, so every time someone reads from the Torah, there is something that is going to touch them, and compel them to study further. This isn't just a book that all Jews read on their Bar or Bat Mitzvahs. It's not made up of characters that the Disney Channel can make big bucks off of. It's a story of our ancestors going through the struggles of being Jewish. It is the history of our people. And today it has been passed down to me, as a Bat Mitzvah, and I enthusiastically accept it as I do the responsibility of becoming a Jewish adult.

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