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