One can learn a lot about the pulse of the people in a time period and place through advertisements. Some of you might remember a commercial; it was a radio spot with an actor impersonating the late George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees baseball team. Steinbrenner, who was famously known as the ‘boss’ would hire and fire his employees frequently citing that they did not live up to his standard of excellence. In a memorable funny moment broadcast at a television press conference, where he was to hire for the fifth time Billy Martin as manager of the Yankees, he staged an argument with Martin where in his bossy tone, fired him yet again. Martin retorted back ‘you can’t fire me George, you haven’t hired me yet.’ The spot commercial has an actor impersonating Steinbrenner saying ‘If I win the lotto, I would purchase a team and hire the best employees: then I would fire them.’ This is to imply the proceeds won by playing the lotto would enable the winner to hire and fire at will. This gives him a certain ‘kife’ (pleasure) just like bossy George had.
In this week’s Parsha, we find an odd command by G-d upon Moshe, where the parsha starts (Shmot: 6:2) ‘G-d spoke to Moshe saying I am G-d’. Rav Henoch Leibowitz zt”l quotes the Da’at Zekanim, and says the statement seems to imply that even though I told you that I made you a G-d over Pharaoh, that you will own him, that you will run circles around him, I am still your G-d, remember that.
There are many incidents where Moshe humanized and humbled Pharaoh. An example, many early mornings Pharaoh would go to the Nile to relieve himself where Moshe would surprise him. This was humiliating because Pharaoh made himself out to be a G-d and G-ds don’t relieve themselves. This is strange and surprising; why would you think that if G-d makes Moshe a G-d over Pharaoh, he would forget that G-d rules over him? On the contrary, the fact that G-d empowered him to successfully make Pharaoh beg Moshe to stop the plagues and run in pajamas (sleeping gear) in the middle of the night to try to find him, would make Moshe realize even more G-d’s greatness and strength. After all, the plagues itself were miracles which led to Pharaoh’s cries to Moshe. Furthermore, G-d had proclaimed ‘In all my house, Moshe is the most loyal.’ So why would G-d be concerned about Moshe?
Rav Henoch teaches us an important lesson about human nature. Even though Moshe has the right intention when dealing with Pharaoh, the fact that I have a subordinate that is eating out of my hands, forces my nature to feel a ‘holier than thou’ attitude and say “I don’t have to listen to G-d”. Man sometimes falls under a trap where he believes something intellectually but he doesn’t feel the same in his heart. This is because the intellect and the heart are worlds apart. Moshe believed full strength in G-d, but now his position in life has been transformed from a shepherd to a leader of the chosen people, who now will have the king of a superpower at his knees, and a person’s actions influence his character. One might think one does not have to have his guard up because he’s doing G-d’s will. Here it was vital that the Moshe-Pharaoh relation be played out in this format for the sake of the redemption. However, that is when one is most susceptible to sin for it might infuse haughtiness as result of power.
If G-d was concerned about Moshe who was known to be the most humble person that ever lived, what can we say about ourselves when faced with dealing with subordinates at work? The Steinbrenner commercial is a reflection of our desires and wishes. Isn’t that what G-d is trying to avoid with Moshe? It’s definitely a test.
Rav Henoch is not concerned with us taking advantage of subordinates; we’re above that. Perhaps what he wants to bring out is the concern of feeling superior and therefore not being able to perform the commandment of fearing G-d in the proper way. |
Tag Archive for Parshat Va’eira
It’s Fun To Be The Boss
The Importance of Water
We start in this week’s parsha and finish next week with a magnificent arsenal of plagues. The Egyptians’ first punishment was that all the water will turn to blood. But why start this illustrious lineup of showing G-d’s power with turning water into blood? Why did the water have to fall victim to be the lead off hitter?
We learn the main target was the Nile River, which the Egyptians misused for their idol worship. It was a source of bracha; the Nile would overflow and provide them with irrigation. Furthermore, the blood represented the blood they spilled for their actions, degradation, torture, and murder of the Israelites. The water was taken away from them because it’s a source of life. Water is very special and it was chosen, first, to teach the Egyptians a lesson. If you disregard the source of life, the source will be taken from you.
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan z’l teaches us how important water is. He begins by saying, in order for the world to exist; both liquid and solid are needed. Water’s characteristic is such that it involves change; it never stays in one place. Solid, on the other hand, is the opposite; it involves no change, dead state. If the world would exist with just solids, there would be no movement at all in the world. However, if there were only liquids, although there is the capability of change, it would not be able to hold any shape or form and there would exist instability. Therefore, solids need liquid and liquid needs solid in order for life to progress. In the world we live in, there is a constant change but it still retains its identity; a person constantly changes whether physically and spiritually and yet remains the same person. This is because of the co-existence of solid and liquid. Man needs water; without it you are like dust in the ground and that’s where you shall return. No water is mentioned in death because water represents change; change is life; change is development; development is fulfilling G-d’s purpose.
G-d has given us certain tools in this world through the Torah so we can elevate and progress ourselves. One of those tools is “mikvah”. When a person immerses himself in a mikvah, in the spiritual sense, his status changes; it’s a form of renewal, a rebirth because that’s the spiritual concept of water. Aharon and sons would immerse themselves in a mikvah not because they were impure, but to change their status to a higher level, so their prayers go through. This is the reason why we go to a mikvah before Yom Kippur. It’s the same with women; they change their status when they enter the mikvah. G-d warms up to them because of the power of the water. Their prayers are heard now because of their changed higher status.
Now we see the powerful tool G-d has given us – water.
The Bracha of a Tzadic
We find in the beginning of the Parsha that G-d was angry at Moshe for complaining that Pharaoh imposed harsh rules on the Jews because of Moshe’s demand to “let my people go”. He complained to G-d “You sent me and the Israelites now have to find their own straw”.
Why indeed did G-d send Moshe if it only made things worse? Even more odd is G-d’s response after Moshe describes the cruelty of Pharaoh. We find at the end of last week’s Parsha, Shemot, that G-d responded “now I will show Pharaoh”. Why was it that after Moshe’s return did G-d respond with such a vengeance?
There is a Gemara that describes a puzzling incident in which a man who was the town digger of wells, which was vital to the existence of the town, was informed that his daughter fell into one of the wells he had dug.
The news quickly traveled to the leading Rabbi of the generation, Rav Chanina, who happened to live in that town. Rav Chaninna said “nothing will happen to the girl, for a man who does such tremendous chessed will not have a tragedy occur in the same place the goodness occurs” (i.e. the well). A little while later, the girl was saved unharmed.
The Gemara continues: “a while after that incident, another similar occurrence happened to the same man. His son fell into a well which he had dug. However, this time the result was tragic. The boy died”.
The Gemarah immediately asks ” What about the merit of the father digging the well? Didn’t Rav Chanina proclaim that nothing bad will happen to this man since from his act the town is being sustained?”
The Sages answer that Rav Chanina was not alive anymore and so he was not able to make that proclamation again. It seems like the only way the EMET, the true goodness justice will prevail is if a Talmid Chacham gives the Bracha to “seal the deal”.
Hey! What about justice?!
There are a lot of MALACHIM and MEKATREGIM (bad angels) that intercept the good deeds that protect us in this world. (Olam habah is a different story, it’s an Olam Ha’emet and one gets what he deserves). Rav Chanina had already passed away and could not proclaim and defend justice and preserve the kindness of the man and save his boy.
When Moshe came back and complained to G-d about Pharaoh’s wickedness, G-d responded, AHH!! Now I will act.!!! Since Moshe was a great person, a Tzadic, his word carried weight.
When one gets married or when other good things happen to him or perhaps even not such good occurrences happen, he should get a bracha from a Tzadic, because no matter how righteous your actions are, a Tzadic can carry it out and fulfill it unharmed with his bracha.
Patience is a Virtue
Obviously, the answer is that it’s important to have patience. However, like many traits, one has to work diligently to obtain it. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter proclaims that it’s extremely difficult and would take much longer time to correct a bad trait than it would for one to become Shomer Mitzvot- observant of Kashrut and Shabbat.
A Rabbi took over a pulpit position in one of the New York communities. One of his congregants kept his store open on Shabbat. The Rabbi approached him and tried to reason that he should close up shop arguing that there is no bracha from proceeds obtained on Shabbat. The congregant complained “it’s my busiest day”. After a few months, the Rabbi convinced the congregant that the bracha will come through the other days of the week. Finally, the congregant acquiesced. “Have Faith!!” the Rabbi smiled and said. Months passed by, and on every Friday the congregant would call and complain to the Rabbi that “I’m losing money!! I shouldn’t have listened to you”. Until, one day, the congregant received a huge order that made up for all those closed Saturdays. He approached the Rabbi and said “see Rabbi, you’ve got to have faith”.
In many instances in TANACH we see to what extent patience can be had.
One such incident involves Elisha the profit’s right hand man, Gechazi. Over time, he had become a rasha, a wicked person. Gechazi is on a short list of unfortunate Jews who lost their World to Come. Elisha cursed him and his three sons with leprosy.
Gechazi and his sons were banished from the Jewish congregation, and being that they were lepers, they had to live on the outskirts of town and could not live among the civilization. Shortly after, a massive famine fell upon the Jews. It was at red alert level where, unfortunately, dying of hunger was inevitable. The four men decided that they had nothing to lose but to walk the long distance to the enemy camp and try their luck obtaining food. Gechazi and his sons reasoned that they were as good as dead if they remained where they were.
To their surprise, they found the camp deserted. It seemed like the enemy was taken by surprise and rushed out on seconds’ notice. Gechazi, after indulging in the excess food, decided to return and inform the King of Israel of the unbelievable discovery.
The Sages comment on the puzzling turn of events which brought life saving relief to the Jews.
The enemy camp heard loud noises, noises seeming extremely nearby. They were afraid that the Israelites were right on their door step. Unarmed and unprepared, they escaped with just their boots on.
Where did the noise come from?
G-d runs the world in a very systematic fashion!
There is a fascinating incident about the famous commentator on the Chumash, the Abarbanel. He was one of the biggest Rabbis of his time. He was also, surprisingly, the finance minister of one of the super power countries of the time, Spain.
In his introduction to one of his books which he wrote later in his life, he says that he regrets ever taking public office. He felt that he could have spent his time learning and teaching Torah. “The reason I stayed in office was to pass legislation to make Jews comfortable while learning Torah and even that didn’t happen”. Well, his wish indeed did happen! It happened 500 years later, though. Abarbanel was the finance minister who was responsible for financing Christopher Columbus’s voyage to America. The Jews and Torah prospered in the United States. Every time a Jew opens up an Artscroll Gemara in Central Park, Abarbanel gets his percentage of the learning!