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Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest leader in all our
history - & we have had some truly great leaders!
He amazingly transformed us from a downtrodden,
depressed group of slaves into an Am Kadosh that
merited receiving the Torah. But what made him so great?
Moshe had many outstanding qualities. He was
genteel, of royal bearing, having been raised in
the kings palace. He was brave, standing up to (&
then killing) the evil taskmaster. He was kind,
tending his sheep with love; & of course, he was super-brilliant.
But the Torah chooses one attribute that stands
above all the others: he was the humblest person
who ever lived. That feature, more than any
other, qualified Moshe to lead us. We see this
admirable mida in action when Moshe begs & pleads
not to be appointed the savior of Am Yisrael.
Rather than egotistically pursuing power & glory,
as so many of our so-called leaders tend to do,
Moshe instead tries desperately to defer the title upon someone else.
But does Moshe try too hard to convince Hashem
that he is not the right man for the job? It
would seem so! Note the pasuk (4:13) when, after
arguing unsuccessfully with G-d, Moshe finally
proclaims, "Shlach na byad tishlach;" please, my
Lord, send whoever you want to!
At first glance, it seems that Moshe was throwing
up his hands & saying, OK, Hashem, You win, do
whatever You want. But hang on; why does Moshe
say please?! That doesn't see to fit here!
So Chazal explain that Moshe was saying something
completely different, apropos to his lack of
conceit. Moshe the greatest of all prophets
foresaw that while he would indeed redeem us from
Egypt, this would be but one step in our
checkered history. Yes, we would conquer Israel &
build the Bet HaMikdash, but then wed lose it
all. Wed then return, but be exiled yet again. So
Moshe petitions Hashem: Please, please, don't
send me, the temporary redeemer; send instead the
true Goel, the final redeemer! Let Bnei Yisrael
go straight to the Geula Shlema & avoid all the
horrible heartache & suffering along the way.
But Hashem turns down Moshe's benevolent request.
For Jewish history is not linear, G-d tells him;
it does not go in one straight, smooth path
direct from slavery to salvation. It rather
undulates throughout history, with innumerable
ups & downs, with the highest highs & the lowest
lows. Moshe will not accomplish everything he
hoped for, but he will provide us with an
invaluable piece of the puzzle. He has his own
unique task to perform, & the rest of history
must then play out as G-d sees it.
This roller-coaster ride were on, 4000 years &
counting, has now taken a deep & drastic dive.
Were certainly at a low point, with daily doses
of trauma & tragedy, worse than anything most of
us have ever faced. But be assured: what goes
down must come up, & we will rise again to days
of happy news, good tidings & miraculous
delivery. B'ezrat Hashem, this is the final
plunge before we see that final Goel that Moshe assured us is coming.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part II
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
Parashat Hashavua Happiness for the Right Reasons
[With painful longing, we share these divrei Torah from our co-Rosh Kollel for close to 40 years, Harav Moshe Ehrenreich zt”l.]
Israel and the Nations A Few Minutes & Many Innovative Ideas on Antisemitism & What to do About It
As we approach the High Holidays, this short lecture (18 minutes) deals with the unfortunate situation of how Israel and the Jewish People stand against antisemitism, analyzing its cause according to Rav Kook, and how to deal with the issue pragmatically & via our prayers.
Ha'azinu PURSUIT is PERFECTION
p. Ha'azinu, Shabbat Shuva
Rav Kook deals with the question of the seemingly hopeless nature of Tshuva. For G-d Himself knows that He created us with free will, which inevitably means we will sometimes make mistakes and choose wrong. This can easily be frustrating, freezing us into inaction and ye'ush (loss of hope). If one sins even once, does he chalila have no choice but suicide?! Moreover, our Godly conscience demands justice, righteousness and perfection, but we all know this is impossible, so what's the solution? Rav Kook's innovative thinking, strongly based on chazal (our sages), offers an inciteful and important aspect to this topic, especially this time of year!
Sukkot Bug-Free Sukkah: Essential Halachic and Practical Schach Guide
How to inspect, clean, and store bamboo mats and palm branches to protect your mitzvah and holiday meals.
