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Driven to Givin’
The Torah tells the
story of Moshe’s rise to prophecy, and to leadership over the Jewish
people. Although raised in the house of the mighty Pharoah, Moshe left
the palace to observe first-hand the suffering of the Jewish slaves.
Ultimately, Moshe’s empathy and defense of his Jewish brethren forced him
to flee from Pharoah and Egypt, and to settle in Midian.
What gave Moshe the
audacity to leave the House of Pharoah in the first place? Pharoah
himself was responsible for the bondage of the Jewish people, yet he was
effectively Moshe’s step-grandfather, as well. A boy raised in Pharoah’s
own house was somehow driven to betray the policies and attitudes of his
upbringing, and experience and empathize with the enslavement of his
kinsmen.
It seems Moshe was
moved to pursue an irrational, even unsafe course of action, by his
intense longing to give to others. Many people find satisfaction in
helping friends and neighbors, volunteering their time for community
projects, and devoting time, effort, and money to charitable causes. But
Moshe’s dedication to others was extraordinary, leading him to rebel
against his upbringing, the dominant culture, and the government policies
of the father of the woman who saved and raised him. He lay all personal
needs and comforts aside, to reach out for the sake of others.
Before G-d
appointed Moshe as His prophet to serve the Jewish people, we read of the
iconic story of the burning bush. This appears to be a test for Moshe, to
see if he possesses the qualities needed to be the prophet and leader of
the Jewish people. An angel of G-d appeared in a thornbush as a blazing
fire, and Moshe, who had been shepherding his flock, said to himself, ‘I
will turn aside to look at this amazing sight. Why is this bush not
consumed?” The verse then continues, “And G-d saw he turned to look and
called to him, ‘Moshe, Moshe’…” and G-d then proceeded to ordain Moshe as
His prophet. (See Shemos 3)
How, though, was
this a challenging test? Did Moshe’s curiosity about a burning bush
somehow qualify him as G-d’s prophet?
In reality, this
was not a test. Rather, the curiosity Moshe displayed hinted to his
innate passion to go off course to investigate the suffering of others.
The thornbush that continuously burned, but was not consumed, was
symbolic of the ongoing suffering of his Jewish kinsmen, and regarding
both, Moshe “turned aside to see.”
Moshe’s total
empathy towards others, symbolized in his attention even to a burning
thornbush, is what made him the ideal and unparalleled leader of the
Jewish nation. (Based on Sefer Daas Torah, Rabbi Yeruchem Levovitz zt”l)
Feel free to share
your thoughts and comments.
Good Shabbos!
Rabbi Mordechai Dixler
Program Director, Project Genesis – Torah.org
Moses and His Uncircumcised Son
See it at JewishAnswers.org
Question: Why
was G-d trying to kill Moses (Exodus 4:24-26) on his return to Egypt with
his wife and son? Was it due to him not circumcising his son yet?
Answer: Moses was in a bit of a
quandary – his new born son was due to have his circumcision on the same
day that G-d commanded Moses to return to Egypt – There were 3 options:
a) Moses could have
circumcised his son and left for Egypt immediately – but traveling within
3 days of the circumcision would be dangerous for the baby’s health
b) He could have
performed the circumcision and then waited for 3 days until the baby was
out of danger, but that would delay carrying out G-d’s command to return
to Egypt.
c) He could begin
traveling, thus fulfilling G-d’s command and then perform the
circumcision at an inn along the way.
Moses’ choice of
the 3rd option seems to be a reasonable compromise and its hard to
understand how that choice would warrant a death sentence. Thus the
Midrash tells us that the real reason for G-d’s anger was that when Moses
arrived at an inn, he first involved himself getting settled in, rather
than immediately performing the circumcision.
Yours sincerely,
Ari Lobel
What Every Parent Must Know – What Every Child
Should Hear
By Rabbi Avrohom Alter
See it at TorahMedia.com
Listen to Rabbi
Avrohom Alter, of the Migdal Torah Yeshiva in Lakewood, NJ speak on this
practical topic.
Listen
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