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Shemot 5784: Moshe’s Moral Development

This week, we begin the book of Shemot and are introduced to Moshe. Yet, by the time Moshe takes up the mantle of leadership, he’s already in his later years, and his developmental years are practically skipped over.

Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy joins us this week to examine those developmental years with three stories; Moshe’s smiting of the Egyptian slavemaster, his stepping in during a conflict among his own people, and his protection of the Midianite women and their flocks. Exploring these three stories, we gain insight into Moshe’s moral growth, his relationship with his own people, and his sense of justice for all.

Credits: Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy and Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield – Pardes Faculty

Meesh Hammer-Kossoy

Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy is Director of the Year Program and Rosh Beit Midrash at Pardes, where she has taught since 1999. Originally from Washington, D.C., Meesh is a Pardes alumna herself, attending the Year Program in 1991-1992. Meesh holds degrees from Brandeis University and New York University, and received Orthodox ordination from Beit Midrash Har’el in 2015.

Meesh previously taught at NYU, Drisha, and Midreshet Lindenbaum. She has received multiple fellowships, including from ATID, the Memorial Foundation, and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. Despite having written her doctoral dissertation about criminal punishment in the Talmudic period, Meesh is known by her husband and three children as a lover of mercy and kindness.