3×40=120

This observation draws attention to a recurring pattern in Moshe's life, with Chazal identifying it elsewhere as well

According to an opinion in the midrash rabbah (shemos 2:11) Moshe was 40 years old when he left the palace to see how his brothers were doing. 

Upon saving an israelite slave that was being brutalized he was taken aback upon realizing that some of his own people were intent on turning him in to the authorities as well as finally understanding why it is that they were still enslaved and not yet worthy of redemption (rashi to ibid 2:14 from various midrashim). 

Ultimately he needed to flee, spending the next 40 years in midyan as a fugitive. 

At the age of 80, after the folks that had it out for him no longer posed a threat, he was instructed to return to Egypt and free the people. He proceeded to do just that, spending the last 40 years of his life shepherding the people through the wilderness and bringing them to the doorstep of the promised land. 

He died there at the age of 120, tragically barred from entering. 

One can view his life as comprised of three segments of 40 years each. 

At the end of the first period he went out to attempt to protect his brothers and potentially liberate them only to be given a rude awakening that they were most definitely not yet ready for that. 

The next 40 years can be viewed as the Israelites rehabilitation period, ending with no more would-be informers amongst the people, presumably speaking to a newly acquired spirit of unity and solidarity. That in turn unlocked the geulah from mitzrayim with the next forty spent traveling to the land of milk and honey. 

There is another 120 unit period in Moshe's life that is also broken up into segments of 40 units each namely the 120 days from kabalas hatorah through yom kipur. 

There too the first segment ended in an attempt at giving klal yisroel the luchos, ultimately aborted, due to their unworthiness. 

The next 40 days can also be viewed as rehabilitatory in nature, with the Israelites purging themselves of the sinners and Moshe engaging in prayerful supplication, ending with HaShem acquiescing to dwell amongst them, as the yoshev hakeruvim, with a new pair of luchos beneath His presence, albeit only after Moshe spent an additional 40 days on the mount.

This time, too, it finally met with success. 

Chazal located other instances of this pattern of 3*40, see the following sifri (devarim 34:7)

ומשה בן מאה ועשרים שנה – זה אחד מארבעה שמתו בן מאה ועשרים, ואלו הם: משה, והלל הזקן, ורבן יוחנן בן זכאי, ורבי עקיבא. משה היה במצרים ארבעים שנה ובמדין ארבעים שנה ופירנס את ישראל ארבעים שנה. הלל הזקן עלה מבבל בן ארבעים שנה ושימש חכמים ארבעים שנה ופרנס את ישראל ארבעים שנה. רבן יוחנן בן זכאי עסק בפרגמטיא ארבעים שנה ושימש חכמים ארבעים שנה ופירנס ישראל ארבעים שנה. רבי עקיבא למד תורה ארבעים שנה ופירנס את ישראל ארבעים שנה

I dont know if there's a deeper significance and nexus to all this but I think that at the very least it is quite interesting

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sukkos: Pesach in the fall

This piece attempts to uncover an entirely new way of looking at the significance of Sukkos in what essentially amounts to a paradigm shift about the chag Vayikra 23:42-43 בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כׇּל הָאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשְׁבוּ בַּסֻּכֹּת. לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי י"י אֱלֹהֵיכֶם. There is no other biblical record of our forefathers ever having stayed in booths, certainly not immediately after the exodus. The rishonim (ad loc) quote a disagreement (bavli sukkah 11b) between R Eliezer and R Akiva as to the identity of the pasuk's obscure referent: כי בסכות הושבתי – איזו סכות היו, ר' אליעזר אומר ענני כבוד היו, ר' עקיבא אומר, סכות ממש then saying that it works out acc to R Eliezer but acc to R Akiva what exactly are we celebrating?; see there for various solutions. The rishonim have in common an understanding that the holiday is somehow related to hitherto un...
Read more

The Miracle Gap: Pesach Without Krias Yam Suf

The Torah doesn't provide a date for the splitting of the sea.  Chazal (e.g., Seder Olam Rabbah 5 ), however, place krias yam suf on the last day of Pesach (cited by Rashi to Shemos 14:5 ).  Seforno ( Vayikrah 23:36 , Devarim 16:8 ) sees the song that Israel engaged in together in praise of HaShem for that event as what imbued shevii shel pesach with the status of a Yom Tov.  People tend to view Pesach as getting started with the Exodus on the 15th (the catalyst for the first day being a YT) and culminating seven days later with krias yam suf, when the Egyptians were fully removed from the picture, thus completing Israel's salvation from the Egyptians.  However, in Rambam's telling, Pesach seems to be exclusively a celebration of the miracles that happened in Egypt and the Exodus, but nothing thereafter, significantly altering Pesach's character. In MT ( Chametz uMatzah, 7:1-2 ), Rambam is clear that the mitzvah of retelling the Exodus account is limited to the mirac...
Read more

How does Teshuvah work?

This piece attempts to explain the mechanics of Teshuvah in two distinct ways, each corresponding to different conceptions of the purpose of punishment Yoma 86a correlates the efficacy of Teshuvah to atone with the severity of the sin committed: עָבַר עַל עֲשֵׂה וְשָׁב אֵינוֹ זָז מִשָּׁם עַד שֶׁמּוֹחֲלִין לוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר {ירמיהו ג':י"ד,כ"ב} שׁוּבוּ בָּנִים שׁוֹבָבִים עָבַר עַל לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה וְעָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה תְּשׁוּבָה תּוֹלָה וְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר {ויקרא ט"ז:ל'} כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם עָבַר עַל כָּרֵיתוֹת וּמִיתוֹת בֵּית דִּין וְעָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה תְּשׁוּבָה וְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים תּוֹלִין וְיִסּוּרִין מְמָרְקִין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר {תהלים פ"ט:ל"ג} וּפָקַדְתִּי בְשֵׁבֶט פִּשְׁעָם וּבִנְגָעִים עֲוֹנָם אֲבָל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ חִילּוּל הַשֵּׁם בְּיָדוֹ אֵין לוֹ כֹּחַ בִּתְשׁוּבָה לִתְלוֹת וְלֹא בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים לְכַפֵּר וְלֹא בְּיִסּוּרִין לְמָרֵק אֶלָּא כּוּלָּן תּוֹלִין וּמִיתָה מְמָרֶקֶת שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר {ישעיהו ...
Read more