In Shmot, the first half of "The Prince of Egypt" happens. Sandra Bullock plays Miriam and Batman Forever plays Moses. Helen Mirren and Danny Glover were also in it. Jeff Goldblum is not dead. A number of things happen in the parsha, but the key turning point is when Moses sees the burning bush and God demands that he return to Egypt to freed the Jewish people. Moses is reluctant at first to meet God's demand, saying that his lisp and overall shyness make him a bad person to lead his people out of slavery, but God rejects Moses's excuses.
The burning bush scene features two key actors, Moses and God. God makes a demand of Moses, and Moses responds with excuses. "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharoah, and tht I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" "I am not a man of words... For I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue."
As we discussed at Seminar, our friends, peers and movement make requests and demands of us and often we respond with reasonable excuses. Moses had a lisp -- public speaking was not simple for him, so he was naturally reluctant to take center stage in challenging Pharoah on behalf of God and the Jewish people. What led Moses to overcome his reservations about the challenge god gave him? How can we learn from his ability to overcome his insecurities and disabilities? God's trust and ecouragement (agressively delivered) and his family's support give him the strength to return to Egypt to save the Jews. We as movement members cannot just demand from one another, we need to trust each other and provide each other with the support we need to do the things that we may be afraid of doing.