ויוסף היה במצרים. Rashi comments on Exodus 1,5, that this statement is to testify to the righteousness of Joseph who had tended his father's flock, and who was the same Joseph after he had become viceroy in Egypt. This teaches us to cleave to G–d with all our heart even when destitute and humiliated. Also, when one achieves great stature, one should not become arrogant but remain humble and use one's greatness to perform additional מצות.

וימררו. I have already explained that the purpose of the torture was to refine their character.

ויאמר לרשע. Even raising one's hand without actually striking makes one a wicked person.

ויקם משה ויושיען. A person should stand up for the weak and disadvantaged.

ומשה היה רועה את הצאן. The shepherd displays kindness towards his flock in ensuring they do not eat what is not their master's, by enforcing his will with the staff. Similarly, G–d tends Israel and by the legislation in the Torah He sees to it that we stay on the right path.

Exodus 3,5, tells Moses to remove both his sandals, whereas in Joshua 5,15, we find the latter commanded to remove only one of his sandals. Why? There are three differences in the two stories. A) Moses is asked to remove "your sandals," i.e. plural. B) Here we read that the earth Moses stands on is holy, i.e. אדמת קודש. In the book of Joshua the word "soil," אדמה is missing. C) In the book of Joshua, it is reported that Joshua complied, i.e. ויעש כן, he did so. This comment is missing in the case of Moses.

A person has two kinds of skin that serve as clothing/protection for man. One is the skin/leather of animals, i.e. shoes. The other is his own skin. We find in Job, 10,11, עור ובשר תלבישני, "You have dressed me with skin and flesh." The latter is the material part of man that he shares with the animal kingdom. Man whose physical origin was אדמה i.e. "holy soil" should have been garbed in כתנות אור, the word אור spelled with the letter א. The fact that this word was spelled with the letter ע instead, represented the demotion of man. He was now clothed in skin and flesh being compared to the animals since he had sinned. Moses ascended to a level where his face reflected אור as had been intended for all of mankind (compare Exodus 34,29 et al, כי קרן עור פניו). The word קרן אור suggests that the word for skin should have been spelled with the letter א in the first place. He gave off rays of light. He had been predisposed for such stature from the day he had been born, to wit his mother's comment at his birth "she saw that he was good" (Exodus 2,2). Our sages comment that this was in response to the whole house having been filled with light (Sotah 12). One of the superior qualities of Moses' prophecy was that he received communication from G–d without his body undergoing any kind of weakening, as we have explained elsewhere. This was a level Joshua had not attained. If Joshua stood on ground described as holy, then the ground Moses stood on must be viewed as the holiest of holy. This is why Moses had to take additional steps to sanctify himself.

This is why G–d had hinted to him that he had to divest himself of two kinds of shoes, i.e. the animal skin, and afterwards the עור בשר, i.e. he had to refine the raw material he had been made of. This latter stage was something Joshua was unable to achieve. This is what is meant by the אדמת קודש in our portion. It is said of Joshua therefore, that "he did so" i.e. he achieved the best level he was capable of achieving, meaning he shed the animal skin only. Since what Moses did was not a physical activity, the word ויעש, he did, would not have been appropriate. Another reason that this expression would not have been in place when applied to Moses is that the word ויעש denotes an activity which is final, which is the completion of something. Moses had only just begun this process of refining his personality, a process which was not complete till after he had received the tablets from G–d. Only then do we read that his face emitted rays of light.

The above is to teach us that when in a holy place we must take steps to insure our own sanctity.

We also see that Moses was very humble, saying "who am I that I should go to Pharaoh." He had preferred that this privilege be accorded to his older brother Aaron (Exodus 3,11). How much humility must the likes of us practice when even a great man such as Moses wanted to defer to his brother!

ויאמר ה' אליו מה זה בידך. G–d said: "what is this in your hand?" (Exodus 4,2). Moses was punished with צרעת for having said that Israel would not believe him, even though his motives in saying so had been pure, i.e. he had wondered how he could overcome that lack of belief. This teaches how careful one has to be not to impugn the honour of Israel.

Complete your daily assignments as every day!" (Exodus 5,13). We learn that even here, when making bricks, no allowance was made for any shortfall ever. When someone has wasted time instead of serving the Lord, he cannot make up for it by saying he will henceforth serve G–d by day and by night. He should have done so in the first place. Waste is something that cannot be compensated for.

ויכו שוטרי בני ישראל. The overseers of the children of Israel were beaten" (Exodus 5,14). This teaches the degree to which Jewish leaders must risk their well being on behalf of the people whom they represent.