Shemos 4:13 with Rashi's commentary.
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But he said, "I beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send." |
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יג. וַיֹּאמֶר בִּי אֲדֹנָי שְׁלַח נָא בְּיַד תִּשְׁלָח: |
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with whom You would send: With whom You are accustomed to sending, and this is Aaron. Another explanation: With someone else, with whom You wish to send, for I am not destined to bring them into the land [of Israel] and to be their redeemer in the future. You have many messengers. |
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ביד תשלח: ביד מי שאתה רגיל לשלוח, והוא אהרן. דבר אחר ביד אחר שתרצה לשלוח, שאין סופי להכניסם לארץ ולהיות גואלם לעתיד, יש לך שלוחים הרבה: |
Moshe is the reluctant redeemer who in this passuk strives to have HaShem send someone else. Whom!? Rashi brings two opinions: Aaron and Moshiach. See the Lubavitcher Rebbe's Likutei Sichos volume 31 and 11, especially the latter where the avodah of the gematria Moshe + Echad = Moshiach is elaborated upon. The simple meaning of the text leads one to conclude he is asking for his brother or for Moshiach to replace him in this role.
An alternative answer that is "proven" using allusions by gematrias, tzirufim and other textural mathematical operations is that Moshe wishes that Hashem send Pinchas/Eliyahu, who is, of course, associated with a penultimate stage in the geula (See Yalkut Reuveni,Targum Yonason, Pirke D'Rebbe Eliezer, also here. The Maharal (Netzach Yisrael ca. Perek 54) interestingly points out that all redeemers in Jewish history came as a pair of Aleph and Mem... Aaron and Moshe, Esther and Mordechai, Eliyahu and Moshiach.
An interesting candidate for the who Moshe wanted Hashem to send in his stead is.... Rebbe Akiva (see Midrash Pliah, the CHIDA's Haggadah, Imre Pinchas (of Koritz), Pardes Yosef, Mishkan Betzalel [Rudinsky]), also here , and comment brought here which can be supported by the many connections between Moshe and R. Akiva, as for example in Menachos 29 where Moshe wonders why the Torah was not given via Rebbe Akiva.
Was Moshe just being humble or was he expressing a justified doubt about his qualifications for the role of the Redeemer? Was his speech impediment perhaps a physical expression of an imperfection, perhaps an inability to bridge physical and spiritual worlds? The Alter Rebbe (Torah Ohr 52b) discusses this in depth and concludes that Moshe wanted Hashem to choose someone who lived in both "worlds", deemed Tohu and Tikkun by the Arizal. Moshe, who lived wholley in Tohu, thought himself to be too transcendent to accomplish the task.
Yet another view is given by a contemporary commentary Likutei Mamarim Shvili Pinchas. He brings an elaborate expansion of a vort of the Chiddushei HaRim relating Moshe's apparently "stuttering" speech to his internal conflict on his position on the machlokes between Shammai and Hillel. Moshe being an acronym (roshei teivos) of "Moshe Shammai Hillel" contains the potential of both within himself. Moshe wanted the view of Shammai to prevail at that time so that al pi Arizal the final redemption would be realized ( since the views of Beis Shammai will be halacha after the Moschiach comes) and he did not want to settle just for the Exodus from Egypt which would be only a partail redemption, followed by four exiles.
Thus Moshe is asking HaShem to resolve his inner turmoil. However, HaShem tells Moshe that he is to go to redeem on His terms in accordance with the opinion of Hillel. Hashem's plan for Moshe was toactualize the views of Beis Hillel within Moshe.
We had seen that there are a number of candidates for who Moshe proposed as alternatives to himself. Oddly missing is Dovid. This candidate is mentioned in the collection of sources of Yalkut Moshiach and Geulah that בְּיַד in the verse is an abbreviation for (King) Dovid ben Yishai and that Moshe was requesting that David HaMelech should take his place and take the jews out of Egypt.
Further comments to follow.
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