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The Children of Israel multiply in Egypt. Threatened
by their growing numbers, Pharaoh enslaves them and
orders the Hebrew midwives, Shifrah and Puah, to kill
all male babies at birth. When they do not comply, he
commands his people to cast the Hebrew babies into the
Nile.
A child is born to Jocheved, the daughter of Levi,
and her husband, Amram, and placed in a basket on the
river, while the baby's sister, Miriam, stands watch
from afar. Pharaoh's daughter discovers the boy, raises
him as her son, and names him Moses. As a young
man, Moses leaves the palace and discovers the hardship
of his brethren. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew
and kills the Egyptian.
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The
next day he sees two Jews
fighting; when he admonishes
them, they reveal his deed of
the previous day, and Moses is
forced to flee to Midian. There
he rescues Jethro's daughters,
marries one of them - Zipporah -
and becomes a shepherd of his
father-in-law's flocks.
G-d appears
to Moses in a burning bush at
the foot of Mount Sinai and
instructs him to go to Pharaoh
and demand: "Let My people go,
so that they may serve Me."
Moses' brother, Aaron, is
appointed to serve as his
spokesman. In Egypt, Moses and
Aaron assemble the elders of
Israel to tell them that the
time of their redemption has
come. The people believe; but
Pharaoh refuses to let them go,
and even intensifies the
suffering of Israel.
Moses
returns to G-d to protest: "Why
have You done evil to this
people?" G-d promises that the
redemption is close at hand.
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