Listen to the first words voiced by the three heroines who returned this week from their captivity in Gaza, and you’ll understand how the ancient text of this week’s parsha continues to resonate in 2025.
The first words Emily said to her mother were: "רק בשבילך שרדתי – Only for you I survived!" Romi turned to Emily’s mother and said, “You don't know what your daughter was for me there”.
Emily, Doron, and Romi were expressing a profound human truth, one best articulated by Viktor Frankl, the neurologist and psychiatrist whose experience in the Holocaust death camps led him to found logotherapy. Frankl famously said: “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear with almost any ‘how.’” This encapsulates his belief that survival hinges on a sense of purpose or meaning—something beyond oneself that provides direction and resilience, even in the face of unimaginable suffering.
In Judaism, our connections are both horizontal and vertical. As a religion, Judaism could not have survived without community. Its laws, rituals, and rites depend on family and communal bonds—the horizontal ties that bind us to one another and give life meaning and depth. But Judaism also emphasizes the vertical connection—the ties we have to transcendence, to the God of the Jewish people.
Both dimensions attest to a profound truth: that even in the face of adversity, knowing we are part of something greater than our individual existence propels us forward.
This truth is what Moshe discovers in this week’s parsha.
In a moment of deep despair, Moshe turns to God and laments his inability to influence Pharaoh or even the Israelites:"The children of Israel have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me? I am a man of uncircumcised lips." (Shemot 6:12)
Moshe’s reference to “uncircumcised lips” conveys his feelings of inadequacy. Circumcision removes a layer to reveal something beneath. Moshe is saying to God: “I lack the necessary polish and adornments to lead. I don’t have the gift of eloquence or the charisma of a Pharaoh. I am neither articulate nor persuasive. I lack the presence and grandeur of a ruler, and I cannot inspire as a conventional religious leader might. I come to the people raw and unrefined, with poor speech.”
God’s response is revealing. He instructs Moshe to return to Pharaoh and once again demand the people’s release. Through this, He teaches Moshe the ethos of perseverance and the significance of process. However, the deeper answer lies in the very next verse. In a seemingly strange juxtaposition, the Torah lists the genealogy of Moshe’s household:
"These are the heads of their fathers' houses" – אֵלֶּה רָאשֵׁי בֵּית אֲבֹתָם (Exodus 6:13-14).
Why is this placed in the middle of the Exodus narrative?
The Torah gives voice to Moshe’s doubts and immediately follows with his lineage to emphasize the essence of biblical leadership and the secret to human resilience: the horizontal and vertical ties that define who we are. It is as if God is saying to Moshe, “Nothing of significance can be achieved overnight, and success cannot be measured by immediate results. When faced with doubt of resistance and adversity knowing where you come from, your connection to something larger than yourself will give you the strength to face any obstacle with will and resolve”.
Revolutions often fail to create sustainable change, while authentic transformation requires patience, time, and effort. Leadership that arises overnight—built on fame or fleeting influence—lacks the depth and authenticity needed to endure.
Moshe’s despondency is met with a Divine reminder of his lineage. The fact that he comes from greatness means he can rise to greatness. Every successful leader knows they stand on the shoulders of giants, while every poor leader believes they are the giant, expecting others to stand on their shoulders.
The narrative concludes with these words:"These are the leaders of their fathers' houses of the Levites... This was the Aaron and Moshe to whom the LORD said: 'Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.' They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt." (Exodus 6:25-27).
These words are a powerful reminder of our identities. Moshe and Aaron are their ancestors. None of us are born in a vacuum. We are all part of a chain of generations, a legacy that precedes us, but each of us has the ability to create a legacy that endures after us.
To overcome adversity, we must view our potential for greatness with humility and self-sacrifice. We must recognize the vertical ties that connect us to God, transcendent values, and the generations that came before us, as well as the horizontal ties that connect us to each other and our communities.
This is the lesson we learn from the giants who were released from Gaza this week, and it is the lesson God teaches Moshe in this week’s parsha: We all have the potential for leadership, for like Moshe and Aaron, we are descendants of greatness. On the shoulders of giants, we stand.
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