My little Moishele!
Parshat Shemot and the riddle of the naming of our greatest hero
The second book of the Torah, Shemot (“Names”), contains some remarkably compact narrative. The book starts with the story of the migration of the Israelites to Egypt under the protection of Joseph, the powerful vizier, and their eventual enslavement following the death of that first generation. It happens quickly in a series of decrees culminating in an order to kill all male Hebrew babies. It’s all told in just 12 sentences (excluding the 4 spent on naming Jacob’s children).