A Series of Ups and Downs
t orah.org/torah-portion/rabbiwein-5767-shemos/
Posted on January 3, 2018 (5778)
By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level:
B eginner
The second book of the Torah, Shemot begins with the Jewish
people at a high level of accomplishment and integration within Egyptian
society. But from this lofty perch of security and success in Egyptian society
they are soon toppled. The situation changes dramatically for them and they go
from being accepted and even respected to the position of
abject and cruel slavery. And this slavery situation is not
temporary, for it will last for centuries. Eventually the Jewish people, though
not certainly all of the Jews, or even a majority of them, are freed from Egyptian
bondage by Divine intervention and are forged
into a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
This wild roller coaster ride from dizzying heights to
terrible lows and then the climb up again, is a startling example of G-d’s
plan, so to speak, for Israel throughout all of its ages and times. The Jewish
world is seldom on an even keel. It has always been a series of ups and downs
for us, many times even in one lifetime and generation. The past century is
undoubtedly an excellent example of this pattern in Jewish history. Fortunate
is the person who lives in the up times. But even that person has no guarantee
that those good times are permanent and long lasting. The only thing certain in
Jewish life is uncertainty. And even though we would wish for greater stability
in these matters, we have to accept this Divine mandate of change and
uncertainty.
Moshe’s appearance in the parsha is another example of this
roller coaster, up and down situation of Jewish life. Moshe begins life as an
infant thrown into the crocodile infested waters of the Nile River. He then is
miraculously delivered from that fate of certain death and is raised as a
prince in the house of the Pharaoh no less. He forfeits his high position out
of loyalty and compassion to his Jewish brothers. A hunted man, he escapes
Egypt and comes to Midian, there to marry and become a shepherd tending the
flocks of his father-in-law.
Apparently, there is no natural way that he
can see to reclaim his role as a prince and leader. But at the incident of the
burning bush the Lord plucks him away from his sheep flocks and sends him on
his giant mission to redeem and educate the Jewish people, and through them of
all of humankind.
Moshe rises to the highest level of human leadership and of
spiritual attainment. He becomes the
measuring rod – the symbol represented by his staff – of all future Jewish
leadership and spirituality. But Moshe, like Israel itself, first had to be
plunged into the depths of persecution and poverty before being raised to
greatness. Why the Lord does things this way is naturally an unanswerable
question. Suffice it for us to realize that this is our historical pattern,
both in our national and personal lives. Let us hope that we will yet witness
the ultimate high and full redemption of Israel and the vindication of Moshe’s
great vision.
Shabat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein Rabbi Berel Wein- Jewish historian, author and
international lecturer offers a complete selection of CDs, audio tapes, video
tapes, DVDs, and books on Jewish history at www.rabbiwein.com
Text Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Berel Wein and T orah.org
Posted on
January 4, 2021 (5781) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: L egacy
| Level: B 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 T orah.org.
Rabbi Reich is on the faculty of t he Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education Center.
Posted on
January 4, 2021 (5781) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: L egacy
| Level: B 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 T orah.org.
Rabbi Reich is on the faculty of t he Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education Center.
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