Moshe initially approached Pharoah and asked that the Jewish people be released from bondage for a three-day religious festival in the desert. Pharoah denied the request and, instead, harshly increased the work demands on the Jews. The Jewish overseers, crushed by the new rules, yell at Moshe. Moshe complains to God: “Why have you made things worse for your people?” (Exodus, 5: 1-23) God says: “Go back, tell the Jewish people that I will save them and tell Pharorah to release them or I’ll afflict his nation with plagues.” Moshe tries to talk with the Jewish people but they are exasperated and won’t listen. Moshe says to God: “Behold, the children of Israel haven’t listened to me; so how will Pharoah listen to me? And (besides), I have a speech impediment!” (6:12).
The last clause of Moshe’s argument is very puzzling, because he had already raised this objection to God earlier (4:10) and God explicitly addressed this concern, telling Moshe that since He created the gift of speech, He can grant Moshe relief from his disability (4:11-12). So why did Moshe raise the same concern again?
In his book Redeeming Relevance In the Book of Exodus: Explorations in Text and Meaning, Rabbi Francis Nataf suggests that Moshe’s reiterated objection reflects his extreme humility. Despite God’s reassurances, he just could not believe that he was capable of serving as God’s agent in freeing the Jews from bondage. As Rabbi Nataf puts it: “On some level, he felt that he was a speech impedient.” Moshe may have feared that no human messenger would be well suited to accurately and movingly convey God’s will in the world. But he was certain that he was not up to the task and even God couldn't convince him that he was fit for the assignment.
As Rabbi Nataf points out, it was precisely that level of sincere, deep humility that made Moshe the ideal candidate for the job. Because Moshe was so very humble, God's messages could be related clearly without any possible distortion from the ego of the messenger.
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