Shemot - 2024

Chevre, this week’s parsha is Shemot (שְׁמוֹת). We are introduced to Moshe this week and the Jewish people are enslaved in Egypt. Moshe is chosen by G-d to lead the Jewish people and Moshe states “who am I to take out the Jewish people?”. Moshe says he doesn’t speak well and he asks why the Jewish people will believe him. All of these seem to me to be like Imposter Syndrome. I had this when I started at AWS and I have seen it in others. I hope I was able to help them as much as I was helped when I first started. What is interesting is that we don’t really see Moshe not speak well going forward. So was this him being modest? Did G-d fix his speak problem? Or did he speak well when motivated enough? I know for my public speaking journey, I’ve had better and worse “performances” and have learned from them. I’ve also had internal training to improve. One of these days I’ll get around to Toast Masters or something similar. All in all, maybe this is first recorded case of Imposter Syndrome. And if Moshe could get over it with all his burdens and pressures, I’m sure we all can too. Shabbat Shalom.