The narrative of the Exodus is quite possibly the most well known Bible story after Adam and Eve in the Garden and Noah’s Ark. Whether you’re a fan of the Charlton Heston version or you learned it at your Passover Seder, chances are you’re familiar with iconic moments such as the Splitting of the Sea, the Burning Bush, or when Moses got swallowed by a giant snake up to his waist leaving a certain part of his anatomy hanging out of the serpent’s mouth.

Not so familiar with that last one? Well, it’s in there (mostly).

Right after Moses speaks to Hashem at the Burning Bush, he takes his wife and kids, head to Egypt, then the following happens…

When [Moses] was in the inn along the way, Hashem confronted Moses and sought to kill him. Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it down at his feet saying, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me.” He then withdrew from Moses. Then she said, “A bridegroom of blood because of circumcision.” (Shemos 4:24-26)

The Midrash elucidates the details which make it even more bizarre. (Nedarim 31b, Shabbos Rabbah 5,8) An angel was sent in the form of a large snake. Out of nowhere the snake swallows up Moses from his head until the place of his bris milah. Then it spits him out only to swallow him again from his feet to the same part of his anatomy. We can see why this scene might have been cut from Prince of Egypt.

Why would Hashem try to kill Moses immediately after sending him off to free the Israelites from slavery? Why would Hashem choose such a weird method of execution? And why would Zipporah come to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to circumcise (aka bris milah) her son?

The commentaries tell us that Moses needed to perform bris milah on his newborn son, but because he had to travel, it was safer for him to delay it. However, once he arrived in Egypt, he shouldn’t have delayed any further.

What’s relevant to us, I think, is Zipporah’s role in the story. She witnesses this terrifying attack on her husband and what does she do? Call for help? No. Pray to Hashem? No. She notices the truly bizarre thing (Moses’ anatomy) and thinks, “Maybe this is connected to the bris milah which we haven’t done yet.” And sure enough, that’s the solution.

This was, by no means, a pragmatic or rational conclusion to arrive at. I don’t think anyone else in her place would have thought to cut her son’s foreskin in such a situation. But there is a spiritual logic to it.

My mother, during the pandemic, suddenly felt the overwhelming need to pack up and move from Dallas to Los Angeles (where her kids and grandkids live.) She can only describe her mindset as supernatural. Something implored her. We have all had moments where for whatever reason, we’ve made decisions that were out of character or rationality. Sometimes our gut gives us a feeling about a person or a business deal and low and behold it turns out, we avoided disaster. Sometimes it is a bizarre coincidence. You were about to call your friend only to see your friend is calling you right as you press send on your phone.

Judaism believes that the world is connected in ways we can’t possibly conceive. If you help a person in your neighborhood, someone across the world may receive aid (indirectly) simply because you put that good will into the world. One of the answers as to why bad things happen to good people is because we’re all connected, so someone may receive misfortune because of something a neighbor did.

Physical reality operates by the rules of a physical system. But existence has deeper spiritual levels that impact the physical. To address solutions on that level we have to not only consider what we can do that is practical, but what is right, and if Hashem is truly Echad (One) then what is He telling me at this moment. What role does he want me to take, what personal character trait does he want me to improve?

This past week, Southern California experienced the biggest and most expensive wild fire in its recorded history. Is this a matter about urban planning in a brush filled area during increasing drought? Yes. Is it about mismanagement of government, probably. So if you don’t live in Los Angeles how much is it worth considering beyond a climate change concern? Well this is an event that put the whole world on notice. Not to mention that major brush fires are burning as we are reading the Torah portion about a burning bush. You can dismiss that coincidence if you like, but then also consider that yesterday (1/15/25) a ceasefire deal was brokered between Israel and Hamas. The announcement that the hostages will be released came just as the weekly Torah reading has Moses demanding “let my people go.” If that doesn’t suggest things are connected, I don’t know what will.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about superstition or looking for messages and signs. In fact, we’re forbidden from making decisions based on omens. But that is vastly different than the understanding that we are all connected, there’s more going on than what any of us can plainly see, and Hashem is always talking to us, guiding us to reach our greater selves. And sometimes that hint is a perplexing, bizarre message that will only make sense to us.