CU3-22

**Goal**: Students will review Moses’ brother Aaron’s priestly roles in the story and the Israelites. Aaron speaking up to the Pharoah how is like God ** 1. **** Gain attention of the learner**: What do your students to get enough nerve to speak up to authorities? ** 2. **** Review relevant past learning**: Moses is a strong figure, but he is not a priestly figure. The Bible was written by a priestly class and a character has to been included that shows the strength of the priestly class. ** 3. **** Present new material**: Moses wants to take the Israelites out of Egypt, but they are important to the working progress of the growth of Egypt. Moses must convince Pharaoh to release him, but the Bible states that he is too timid to speak up to Pharaoh and asks his brother to go with him. Pharaoh is convinced further by the plagues sent to scare him. Exodus 2:11-4:18, 5:1-12:51. Some feel that wrong behavior is punished. Pharaoh enslaved the Jews, and plagues were brought down against all the people in Egypt including those not responsible for Pharaoh’s actions. What punishment is worthy of his actions? Is God being just towards all the people because of Pharaoh’s actions. ** 4. **** Provide guided practice**: The plagues in this story come from various cultural symbols unique to the Egyptian people of this time. Aaron and Moses prove that these events were more than just magic tricks of the royal court predicted by them. ** 5. **** Provide independent practice**: What plagues would alter events in today’s current events. Brainstorm a list of current world problems. Write a list of three plagues that would change the decisions of major leaders controlling these events. ** 6. **** Close the lesson**: Share the events. How is Pharaoh made to justify his mistreatment of the Jews and his final release of their bondage? How can we convince people today to stop their mistreatment of others? **Moses reasons with God in defense of the Jewish people** In the Book of Exodus, the Hebrews built a golden calf while waiting for Moses to come down from Mt. Sinai. God was so furious at them for resorting to idol worship, that He threatened to wipe them out completely. However, Moses intervened and convinced God to relent. The rabbis provided a number of explanations of how he did it. //  Why does your anger burn hot against Your people whom you brought out from the land of Egypt? (Ex. 32:11) // Why did Moses have to mention here the Exodus from Egypt? Merely to remind God "Lord of the Universe! From where did You take them? From Egypt, of course, where everyone worshipped animals!" Moses said to God, "Lord of the Universe! You ignored the whole world and chose Egypt, the land where the people worship lambs, as the place where Your children would be in servitude. Naturally, they learned from the Egyptians and so came to make the golden calf." That is why Moses stressed the land of Egypt, as if to say, "Consider where You brought them from!" Our rabbis taught: When Moses went up on high, he saw God sitting and writing the word //slow to anger// //(Num. 14:18).// Moses asked God, "Does this mean that You are slow to anger to the good people?" and God replied, "Even to the wicked." Moses was astonished, "Let the wicked perish!" he said. And God answered "The time will come when this special forbearance will be needed." When Israel sinned with the golden calf, God said to Moses, "Didn't you say to me that forbearance should be extended only towards the righteous?" In reply Moses said, "But didn't You promise that Your patience would be applied also to the wicked?" // adapted from Bialik and Ravnitzky, Sefer Ha-Aggadah, selected by Chaim Pearl  // Moses uses three tactics to defuse God’s anger. First, he takes a sociological approach, contending that the bad behavior of the Hebrews is a result of their environment, i.e. Egypt. Second, he blames God for placing the Hebrews in that environment in the first place and third, he insists that God lives up to his own promises. Not bad for a day’s work!
 * 3-22 Title: Getting the Jews out of Egypt **
 * (Humanist Readings in Jewish Folklore selected and edited by Bennett Muraskin) **