Leap of Faith

Parshas Beshalach

Posted on January 27, 2021 (5781) By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky | Series: Drasha| Level: Beginner

 

A defining moment of Jewish faith takes place on the shores of the Yam Suf, the Reed Sea, as the fleeing, fledgling nation is cornered into a quick and fateful decision. Trapped between raging waters and a raging Egyptian army, the nation had but few choices to make. Some froze in fright. Others wanted to run back to Egypt straight into the hands of their former tormentors.

 

Others just prayed. Still others wanted to wage war against the former taskmasters. But one group, led by Nachshon ben Aminadav forged ahead. Replacing fear with faith, he plunged into the sea. Only then did the sea split and the Jews cross. The Egyptians pursued. The waters returned, and the enemy was left bobbing in a sea of futility, totally vanquished under the turbulent waters. In defining that moment of faith, the Torah tells us,” Israel saw the great hand that Hashem inflicted upon Egypt; and the people revered Hashem, and they had faith in Hashem and in Moses, His servant” (Exodus 14:31). The strange connection between faith in Hashem and Moshe His servant, needs clarification. What is the minor role of the servant in relationship to the great role of faith in the Almighty?

 

After hearing a fiery speech about the meaning of faith, a disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter approached him and asked, “Rebbe, are you telling me that if I have perfect faith in Hashem, He will provide me with all my needs?”

 

Rabbi Salanter affirmed. “Yes, my son,” he smiled. “If one has perfect faith in the Almighty, He will provide for him.” The man made a quick riposte. “Good, if that is the case I need no longer work. I will sit and study Torah and rely solely on my faith, and the 20,000 rubles that I’ll need to survive will come to me in full as if it were manna from Heaven!” The man went home and began to study Torah. But after one week when the money did not appear he returned to the Rabbi to complain. “I have the faith you claimed to need, and so far, no money has arrived!”

 

Rabbi Yisrael was pensive. “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “I will offer you 8,000 rubles cash today if you would commit yourself to give me the 20,000 rubles that you are sure will come to you because of your faith.” The man jumped from his chair. “8,000 rubles! Sure! I’ll take it.” Rabbi Yisrael Salanter smiled, “who in his right mind would give up 20,000 rubles for a mere 8,000 rubles? Only someone with does not have perfect faith that he will receive 20,000 rubles! If one is positive that he is about to receive 20,000 rules, and is absolutely confident that it is coming, he would not, in his right mind, give it up for a mere 8,000! Obviously, you have more faith in my 8,000 rubles then in Hashem’s 20,000!”

 

The Torah tells us that the nation feared G-d, and it believed in Moshe, His servant. Notice that the first and foremost belief is in the Almighty. That immortal faith is the springboard for faith in all the mortal messengers, who are only vehicles of His command.

Normally, more or less, man believes in man much faster than he believes in G-d. On a hot tip, people throw thousands at the market. Ominous predictions of economic forecasters send us into panic. On a doctor’s dire prognosis, we react with despair. We forget that the source of faith is in the Almighty. Only then can we believe in his messengers.

 

Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz, z”l, the Mashgiach of the Mirrer Yeshiva explains that the Jews at the sea reached the highest level of faith. Their following of Moshe was not in any sense due to his charisma or prior leadership. It was due to a total subjugation to a faith in an immortal Hashem. Only then did they follow the lead of a Moshe. That is the faith of those who take the leap. It is a faith they would not trade or deal for any offer in the world.

 

Dedicated by Michael & Rikki Charnowitz in memory of Ephraim Spinner Liluy Nishmas Ephraim Yitzchok ben R’ Avraham — 17 Shevat

Guaranteed Results!

Parshas Beshalach

Posted on January 14, 2011 (5771) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah| Level: Beginner

 

HASHEM said to Moshe, “Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey! And you lift up your staff and stretch out your arm over the sea and split it and the Children of Israel shall come into the midst of the sea on the dry land…” (Shemos 14:15-16)

 

It happened that when Moshe would raise his hand Israel was stronger, and when he lowered his hand Amalek was stronger. (Shemos 17:11)

 

Was it Moshe’s hand that won the battle or lost the battle? Rather {the Torah teaches you}: As long as Israel looked heavenward and subjected their heart to their Father in Heaven, they would prevail; but when they did not, they would fall. (Rosh HaShana 29A)

 

It looks like there’s a mixed message in these two accounts. On the one hand by the sea, Moshe is told, in other words, “It’s not a time for prayer, it’s a time for action!” In this war versus Amalek we are told the battle is not in Moshe’s hand or in the activity of the Children of Israel but rather in the direction of the eyes and hearts of Israel. So, which it it? Is it praying or is it doing that wins the day?

 

A man was forced by economic circumstances to emigrate to France. He was looking to reestablish himself in business so he approached Baron Rothschild and requested a loan of 500 Francs. Baron Rothschild answered him, “The policy of House of Rothschild is not to grant a loan without a guarantor!” The same fellow returned awhile later and begged more urgently for a loan to start his business and feed his family. The Baron gave the same standard answer, “The policy of the House of Rothschild is not to grant a loan without a guarantor!” Weeks passed by and the fellow was approaching starvation. He pleaded his case to the Baron again only to receive the same answer.

 

Soon afterward the same man came back to the Baron Rothschild with a paper in his hand. This time he told the Baron that he had a guarantor. The Baron unfolded the request document and scanned the page in search of the identity of the one backing the loan and there in bold print was scripted the name of the “The Almighty!” Without hesitation the Baron granted him a six month loan of 500 hundred Francs.

 

Six months later the man returned to the office of the Baron Rothschild and with great pride presented him with the sum of 500 Francs in repayment of the loan. The Baron refused to accept the money and when the man insisted the Baron Rothschild told him, “You do not have to repay this loan. The guarantor has repaid the loan many times over!”

 

What’s more crucial praying or doing? The answer is, “Both!” Doing with an attachment to G-d yields a far superior result than doing alone. Prayer alone is deficient when there is action to be taken. The combination is more powerful than weight of the sea or the ferocity of a mortal enemy. King Solomon had said in Mishlei (21:31) The horse is readied, for the day of war but salvation is HASHEM’s! Whether in business or military ops or any of life’s many emergencies only one strategy can offer us guaranteed results! 

 

DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.

 

A Family

Parshas Bo

Posted on January 7, 2022 (5782) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah| Level: Beginner

 

Speak to the entire community of Israel, saying, “On the tenth of this month, let each one take a lamb for each parental home, a lamb for each household. (Shemos 12:3)

And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Yaakov, each man and his household came. (Shemos 1:1)

 

The Mitzvah of Chanuka is: A candle for each man and his household! (Shabbos 21B)

 

In his Haggadah, Rav Hirsch ztl. notes that the Jewish People were organized as a household unit when they entered the exile and they were also configured as households at the time of the exodus just as we find ourselves on Pesach ever since- not in a stadium but rather at home!

 

On Chanukah too, we rally around the Menorah as a household. The survival of the Jewish People and all civilization, as well, is dependent on the welfare of the family!

 

About the importance of the home as a primary survival unit he writes: “To inherit a home and to build a home – this encompasses a Jew’s ethical vocation on earth. Is it not the sine qua non for the hopes and perfection of all nations? If only this great Magna Carta were consulted wherever education and culture, peace and salvation of men and mankind are discussed. For the fate of men, their success or failure, is decided neither in the chambers of rulers nor on the battlefield. It is not decided in business concerns, in colleges and institutions of arts and sciences or in houses of worship. It is sealed only in one place, in the parental home…

 

There exists no substitute for the home, and if one is looking elsewhere for the source of peace and prosperity, he is searching in vain. All of a nations politics and diplomacy, its theories of national economy and institutions for mass education, its trade and industry, its schools and community centers – none of these will save the people from extinction if they let the parental home becomes a parody. Are children born for the sake of the state’s false concern instead of the warm love of parents? Does the census show ever-growing numbers of children without parents and parents without children? Does the nation’s high society make a mockery of morality and modesty? If so, then all the palaces it is building are founded on quicksand.”

 

Many years ago, now, my oldest son was just returning from learning in Israel. He was ripe and ready for Shiduchim (search for a wife) and we had a stack of resumes of wonderful prospects. My wife and I kept shuffling the papers and as we did we found ourselves getting more confused. This is obviously an important life decision. Every resume, which is admittedly a woefully deficient and two-dimensional representation of a complete person, looked interesting and inviting for different reasons. We could not figure out what was really important. Head of GO, valedictorian, wealthy father, a famous family name, beauty, a good job, a brilliant academic career, which factor or combinations of factors should be attracting our attention.

 

We decided to call our Rebbe. At that time, he had married off 13 of his 14 children and shortly afterwards the 14th as well. He learns 60 Daf of Gemora every day for more than 50 years and we were thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, he might have an extra insight or some real-life experience to help us navigate this confusing process. So, one evening we secluded ourselves in a quiet room and made the phone call. He was in Florida at the time convalescing from a shoulder injury. He picked up the phone and greeted me enthusiastically and I told him that I am here with my wife listening and we are trying to figure out what to look for in a Shidduch.

 

My wife sat poised with her pen ready to start writing every word he would utter.

 

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation and he said the following, “A family! A girl comes from a family!

 

Look for a family!” My wife was just beginning to transcribe and then he said something very surprising. He said, “Good night!” and the call ended. I was about to ask if there is anything else or what about a family, but the call was over. My wife asked, “Did we fumble the call?” I told her, “I don’t think so! He said ‘Good night!’”

 

We sat there in stunned silence. All he said was, “Look for a family!” Then it dawned on us that if that’s all he mentioned, then that must be the most important factor. A girl comes from a family! A boy comes from a family! Together they will build a new family. Therefore, the most important thing must be a family!

 

Understanding Irrational Behavior

Parshas Bo

Posted on January 9, 2019 (5779) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

At the beginning of this week’s Torah reading Moshe is commanded by G-d to come to Pharaoh.

 

The commentators of the Bible all deal with the strange verb used in this commandment. What does “bo” mean here – to come to Pharaoh? Should not a different verb such as approach or visit Pharaoh have been used? Since Hebrew is a very exact language, and as I have often mentioned, the opinion of the great Rabbi Elijah of Vilna is that there are no synonyms in the Torah. So, this word “bo” must carry with it a special significance, a nuanced insight that the Torah wishes to communicate to those who read and study its written word.

 

Among the many interpretations regarding this use of the word “bo,” I find it fascinating that many commentators say that the word does not really mean ‘to come,’ but means ‘to come into.’ Moshe is instructed to come into the psyche of Pharaoh, who has been afflicted with many plagues and yet remains stubborn and unyielding regarding freeing the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt. By understanding the psychology of Pharaoh, they will realize that Pharaoh’s behavior is illogical, unrealistic and self-destructive.

 

Pharaoh himself is vaguely aware that this is the case and every so often he offers to compromise with Moshe and grant some sort of temporary relief to the Jews from their bondage. Yet, at the end of the matter, Pharaoh remains obstinate and unwilling not only to free the Jews but unwilling to save himself and his nation from destruction.

 

By delving deeply into the psyche of Pharaoh, coming into him so to speak, Moshe realizes clearly that Pharaoh is no longer an independent agent given to make free and wise choices.

 

Rather, he is now being controlled directly by heaven and it is heaven that has hardened his heart with hatred of the Jews, so that he can no longer even choose to save himself, as any rational human being would do.

 

Apparently, both in wickedness and goodness, when one has crossed the ultimate line, one’s powers to exercise wise choices become diminished and even disappear. The rabbis commented that both love and hate cause people to behave irrationally and out of character for self-preservation and personal honor.

 

When that point is reached, it becomes apparent then that heavenly guidance has entered the picture and governs even the ultimate freedom of choice ordinarily granted to human beings.

 

This is one of the important lessons that Moshe will learn from his encounter with Pharaoh. It helps explain the behavior of tyrants and megalomaniacs who seem determined to burn their house down while still inside. It also helps explain why righteous people are capable of extraordinary acts of goodness and kindness even at the expense of all rational understanding.

 

By coming into Pharaoh, by understanding him and by realizing how unhinged he really is, Moshe concludes that there is no point in his negotiating with him further. The Lord has hardened his heart, and the Lord will be the sole agent for the redemption of the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage.

 

Shabbat shalom
Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

YES Limits

Parshas Vaera

Posted on February 4, 2004 (5764) By Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Series: Lifeline | Level: Beginner

 

“G-d said to Moshe, ‘Come to Pharaoh and speak to him: “So says HaShem, G-d of the Hebrews: Send out My people, that they may serve Me.”‘” [9:1]

 

In this week’s reading, we find one of the most famous of Biblical quotations: “Let my people go!”

 

But in actuality, it is one of the most infamous of half-quotes. It is a distortion of the truth — for the message G-d told Moshe to deliver to Pharoah was “Let my people go — that they may serve Me!”

 

The Western world’s image of freedom is based upon our “unalienable right” to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” — especially the latter. Self-governance, US-style democracy, is the ideal. We seek as few boundaries upon individual behavior as possible. Or as Madison Ave. presents it, we want “No Limits.”

 

Most of us realize that “total freedom” is impossible — it leads to anarchy and benefits no one.

 

If we legislate no limits on personal behavior, it is impossible for us to prevent this behavior from interfering with the liberty and pursuit of happiness of others.

 

So, in fact, limits are necessary. But are they merely a necessary evil, or are they a positive good?

 

A distant relative, I am told, decided to raise her son by allowing him to discover his own boundaries — meaning to say, she laid down no rules. Since I do not know the situation personally I do not know details, such as whether there was so much as a “suggested” bedtime.

 

What I do know is that this lasted no more than five years. Finally this mother realized that while overly harsh rules can hamper a loving relationship, some rules are in fact necessary.

 

This is something which I observed time and time again when I was a yeshiva student and joined many different families for their Shabbos meals. It could hardly have been more obvious that the happiest children were not found in families with no rules, no limits, no guidelines. On the contrary, the happiest children were most likely to be found in families where the guidelines were clear, unmistakable, and fairly applied.

 

But, we say, we are different from children! We are adults, and capable of making our own decisions. We know what is right, and what is wrong.

 

Do we? Is there anyone who can say he or she really knows how the world works, and what is good for us? Or is it not clear to us that guidelines would help us as well — if we only knew who we could trust?

 

That is why we have the Torah. Judaism recognizes that no person knows everything that the world has to offer — but the Creator of the world certainly does!

 

So, it is not simply “let my people go” but “that they may serve me” — that they have no human master, but rather the guidance of a loving father. And this, in truth, is the greatest freedom of all!

 

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yaakov Menken

 

Faith and Patience

Parshas Vaera

Posted on December 25, 2013 (5774) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

The Lord, so to speak, bemoans to Moshe the lack of faith exhibited by him and the Jewish people during the moments of crisis in their encounter with Pharaoh and their Egyptian taskmasters. G-d points out that the previous generations of the founders of the Jewish people never wavered in their faith and belief that G-d’s covenant would be fulfilled, no matter how harsh the circumstances of their lives were.

 

And now when the process of redemption from Egyptian slavery is already underway, whenever there is a hitch or a delay or an apparent reversal, the complaint immediately arises against G-d and against Moshe as well. Now the Torah itself clearly makes allowances for this behavior due to the bone- crushing physical work imposed on the Jewish slaves by their Egyptian taskmasters.

 

It is difficult to be optimistic when one’s back is being whipped. Nevertheless, the Lord’s reproof of Moshe and of Israel is recorded for us in strong terms in the opening verses of this week’s Torah reading. G-d, so to speak, is pointing out to Moshe the existence of a generational disconnect. The previous generations were strong in belief and faith and possessed patience and fortitude in the face of all difficulties.

 

Moshe’s generation and in fact many Jewish generations throughout history demand action and that action must be immediate. Their faith is conditioned upon seeing and experiencing immediate results and the changed society and world that they desire. Otherwise, they are prepared to abandon ship. That is what the prophet means when he chides Israel by saying that “your goodness and faith resemble the clouds of the morning that soon burn off when the sun rises. ”

 

Faith to be effective has to also be long-lasting. Since mortality limits our vision and naturally makes us impatient it is often difficult for us to see the big picture and witness the unfolding of a long-range historical process. Our generation, unlike those of our predecessors – even our immediate predecessors – has rightly been dubbed the “now generation.” Instant gratification is not only demanded but is expected and when it does not happen our faith is sorely tested, if not even diminished.

 

Patience and faith is the essence of G-d’s message to Moshe. Part of Moshe’s leadership task will now be to instill this sense of patience and long-lasting faith within the psyche and soul of the Jewish people. This daunting task will take forty years of constant challenges and withering experiences before it will see results and accomplishments. At the end of the forty year period – forty years after the Exodus from Egypt – Moshe will proclaim that the Jewish people have finally attained an understanding heart and an appreciation of the historical journey upon which the Lord has sent them.

 

Both patience and faith are difficult traits to acquire and they remain very fragile even after they have been acquired. But in all areas of human life – marriage, children, professional occupations, business and commerce, government and politics, diplomacy and conflict – patience and faith are the necessary tools to achieve success. That is the message that G-d communicates to Moshe and to Israel in all of its generations and circumstances in this week’s parsha.

 

Shabat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

Burning Interests

Parshas Shemos

Posted on January 15, 2025 (5785) By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky | Series: Drasha| Level: Beginner

 

In Jewish history, there is a hardly an object more expounded upon than the burning bush. Its symbolism is analyzed, its significance expounded upon, and its impact is noted for generations. This week, rather than discuss the actual burning bush and its meaning, I’d like to view the event from a totally different approach — Moshe’s.

 

The Torah tells us in Exodus 3:1- 4 that Moshe was shepherding the sheep of Yisro, his father-in-law, when, “an angel of G-d appeared to him in a blaze of fire from amidst the bush. Moshe saw the event and behold, the bush was burning in fire and yet the bush was not consumed. Moshe said, ‘I will turn from my course and see the marvelous sight — why does the bush not burn?’ Hashem saw that Moshe turned from his path to see the sight and He called out to him from amidst the bush and said, ‘Moshe Moshe… ‘” The conversation ultimately leads to our exodus from Egypt.

 

However, the entire narrative, from the moment that Moshe notices the burning bush until Hashem speaks to him from its midst, seems overstated. After Moshe sees the amazing sight, why does the Torah mention that Moshe says “I will go look at the amazing sight?”

 

Further, why does the Torah preface Hashem’s charge to Moshe with the words, ” Hashem saw that Moshe turned from his path to see the sight, and He called out to him from amidst the bush?” It seems that only after Hashem openly acknowledges Moshe’s interest in the spectacle does he call out, “Moshe, Moshe,” thus beginning the process of redemption.

 

The Torah, which never uses needless words, could have simply stated, ” Moshe saw that the bush was burning and yet the bush was not consumed. Moshe turned to marvelous sight, and Hashem called out to him from amidst the bush and said, ‘Moshe Moshe… ‘”

 

The Midrash Tanchuma expounds upon the verse, “Moshe turned from his path to see the sight.” There is an argument whether he took three steps or just craned his neck. The Midrash continues. Hashem said, “you pained yourself to look, I swear you are worthy that I reveal myself to you.”

 

The Medrash was definitely bothered by the extra wording regarding Moshe’s decision to look and Hashem’s open commendation of that decision. But it is still very difficult to understand. Moshe sees a spectacle of miraculous proportions and looks. Why is that such a meritorious act? Doesn’t everyone run to a fire? Aren’t there hoards that gather to witness amazing events?

 

In the early 1920’s, Silas Hardoon, a Sephardic Jewish millionaire, made his fortune living in China. Childless, he began to give his money away to Chinese charities. One night his father appeared in a dream and implored him to do something for his own people. Silas shrugged it off. After all, there were hardly any of his people in China. But the dreams persisted, and Silas decided to act. The next day he spoke to Chacham Ibraham, a Sephardic Rabbi who led the tiny Chinese Jewish community. The Chacham’s advice sounded stranger than the dreams. He told Silas to build a beautiful synagogue in the center of Shanghai. It should contain more than 400 seats, a kitchen, and a dining room. Mr. Hardoon followed the charge to the letter.

 

He named the shul “Bais Aharon” in memory of his father. A few years later Mr. Hardoon died leaving barely a minyan to enjoy a magnificent edifice, leaving a community to question the necessity of the tremendous undertaking.

 

In 1940, Japanese counsel to Lithuania Sempo Sugihara issued thousands of visas for Kovno Jews to take refuge in Curaçao via Japan. Included in that group was the Mirrer Yeshiva. They arrived in Kobe but were transported to Shanghai where they remained for the entire war.

 

The Mirrer Yeshiva had a perfect home with a kitchen, study hall and dining room — Bais Aharon! The building had exactly enough seats to house all the students for five solid years of Torah study during the ravages of World War II. The dream of decades earlier combined with action became a thriving reality.

 

Moshe our Teacher knew from the moment he spotted that bush that something very extraordinary was occurring. He had two choices: approach the spectacle or walk on. If he nears the bush he knew he would face an experience that would alter his life forever. Hashem knew that Moshe had this very difficult conflict. His approach would require commitment and self sacrifice. He took three steps that changed the course of history. Hashem understood the very difficult decision Moshe had made and declared that such fortitude is worthy of the redeemer of my children.

 

In many aspects of our lives we encounter situations that may commit us to change. It may be a new charity we decide to let through our doors, or a new patient we decide to see, or even a new worthy cause we decide to entertain. They all require us to take three steps and look. If we walk away, we may not just be ignoring a burning issue. We may be ignoring another burning bush.

 

Leadership Qualities

Parshas Shemos

Posted on January 15, 2025 (5785) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

 

Moses, the chosen messenger of the Master of the Universe, came riding out of the desert into the fabled kingdom of Egypt. With nothing more than the staff in his hand and his brother Aaron at his side, he strode into the royal palace, confronted Pharaoh and demanded, “Let my people go!”

 

Thus began the spectacular story of the Exodus. Time and again, Moses confronted the belligerent Pharaoh, and after each refusal, he visited a shattering new plague onto Egypt until it was beaten into submission, and the enslaved Jewish people were finally free. As for Moses, he has come down to us as the greatest leader of all time, the man who single-handedly took on the might of the entire Egyptian kingdom and prevailed.

 

But let us stop and think for a moment. Wherein exactly lay the greatness of Moses in his mission to Egypt? Every step he took, every word he spoke, every move he made was choreographed by Hashem. Hashem told him exactly when and where to go, exactly what to say, exactly what to do. All Moses had to do was follow his instructions faithfully. He had no personal input into any aspect of his spectacular performance. Why then is Moses considered such a towering figure in the history of the Exodus?

 

The commentators explain that the one critical element that would determine the success or failure of his mission was entirely in Moses’s control. “I want you to know,” Hashem said to him, “that you are going on the condition that you perform my wonders in front of Pharaoh without fearing him.” Without fearing him. This was the key.

 

As Hashem’s chosen messenger, Moses enjoyed full divine protection, and he knew full well that Pharaoh could not harm him. But it is one thing to know this intellectually and quite another to feel it in one’s heart. According to the Midrash, Pharaoh’s throne was surrounded by snarling lions and fierce warriors, and Pharaoh himself was an exceedingly intimidating tyrant.

 

No matter how sure Moses was that he would come to no harm, could he enter such a scenario without a twinge of trepidation in his heart? And yet, if he had exhibited the slightest tremor in his voice, the slightest flutter of his heart, the slightest blink of his eye, he would have compromised his entire mission. Hashem had sent Moses to demonstrate His absolute mastery over Pharaoh, to show that Pharaoh was utterly nothing, putty in the hands of Heaven.

 

Therefore, had Moses felt any fear, he would have acknowledged Pharaoh as an adversary, albeit an infinitely weaker one, and thereby doomed his mission to failure.

Here then lay the greatness of Moses. He saw clearly that there is no power in the world other than Hashem, that Pharaoh in contraposition to G-d was a total nonentity, unworthy of even the slightest smidgen of fear. Therefore, when Moses walked fearlessly into Pharaoh’s palace, everyone, Egyptian and Jew alike, knew that Hashem was in absolute control.

 

A great general, who was in the process of mounting an invasion of a neighboring country, called a meeting of his most trusted advisors. “Gentlemen, I have a problem,” the general began. “I had hoped to win fame and glory for our armies during this campaign by thoroughly trouncing the enemy. But wherever my armies appear, the enemy flees. We have still had no opportunity to engage them in battle and destroy them. How can we get the enemy to stand and fight?”

 

“We take hostages,” said one advisor. “That will force them to fight.”

 

“We plan ambushes,” said another. “We cut off their escape routes.”

 

Other advisers suggested yet other ruses to force the enemy to fight.

 

“You are all wrong,” said one old advisor. “If the enemy flees whenever your armies appear, what greater glory can there be?”

 

In our own lives, we often face trials and challenges that strike fear into our hearts. Whether the threat is to our health, financial security, family life or anything else, the effect can be frightening and, indeed, devastating. But if we can find the strength to look at the world in the broader perspective, if we recognize that we are all messengers of Heaven doing his bidding here on the face of the earth, we will discover that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. As long as we connect ourselves to the infinite reality of the Creator, all our worries pale into insignificance.

 

 Text Copyright © 2009 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

 

True Leadership

Parshas Shemos

Posted on June 7, 2002 (5762) By Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Series: Lifeline | Level: Beginner

 

“And G-d said to him, ‘what is in your hand?’ And he said, ‘a staff.’ And He said, ‘cast it to the ground,’ and he cast it to the ground and it became a snake, and Moshe ran away from it.” [4:2-3]

 

The Medrash tells us the following story (Shemos Rabba 3): A Roman matron said to Rebbe Yossi, “my god is greater than your G-d.” He asked her why. So she explained, “at the moment that your G-d revealed Himself to Moshe in the bush, Moshe covered his face [but did not move]. But when he saw the snake, which is my god, immediately ‘Moshe ran away from it!'”

 

Rebbe Yossi replied that she did not understand. “When our G-d was revealed in the bush, there was no place to run. Where would he run — to the heavens, the sea, or to dry land? What does it say concerning our G-d? ‘Behold, I fill the heavens and the earth…’ With the snake, which is your god, if a person merely runs two or three steps away he can escape and save himself, and this is why it says ‘Moshe ran away from it.'”

 

Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Hertzberg zt”l sees within this conversation a message about leadership.

 

The Roman matron’s god was the snake, because that was the type of leadership to which she was accustomed. Her leader was a snake then. Snakes will strike without cause or benefit, and we still find leaders of this variety today: dictators, who punish their people without cause or personal benefit, but only in order to demonstrate how powerful they are.

 

He also points out that those who spread gossip are like snakes, because their only “benefit” is malicious — the sense of superiority which they get from putting down others. The dictator and gossip work together: the power of the dictator depends upon the gossip that people tell about one another, even that ministers tell. No one dares make a misstep, and thus the dictator rules from fear.

 

Our teacher Moshe ran away from “leadership” of this nature. He wanted no part of it, for it runs completely contrary to the kindness and generosity of our forebears, the kindness demanded of us by the Torah. The Jewish path towards leadership is built upon humility, mercy and righteousness, not the methods of a snake. The Jewish path is indicated only a few verses later, when G-d says, “in order that they will believe that the G-d of their forebears appeared to you, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, the G-d of Jacob.” [4:5]

 

Jewish leaders should inspire people to recognize and have faith in the G-d of our forebears, by demonstrating an entirely different — and sanctified — style of leadership. The Jewish leader may use his staff, but only out of concern for his land and his people, not for personal reasons, and certainly not out of malice.

 

This lesson applies to all of us: when we behave with kindness, consideration, and love for others, we inspire respect for ourselves, for our people, and for our G-d.

 

Good Shabbos