After an
initial burst of Moshe's positive message,
Bnei Yisrael are bitterly disappointed with
the results. Paroh increases their workload.
making their lives even more miserable.
Hashem thus delivers via Moshe a second
inspirational message of hope, memory, and
redemption; For good measure, He invokes
five classical languages of redemption -
terms that have been immortalized in the
five cups we pour [and the four that we
drink] at our Pesach seder. Moshe delivers
Hashem's words. B'nei Yisrael however remain
unmoved:
Moshe spoke
[these words] to the B'nei Yisrael, but they
would not listen to Moshe because of
kotzer ruach-distress and avodah
kasha-hard labor.
[6:9]
Simply put,
they could not hear the message. Their
kotzer ruach/avodah kasha [heretofore
known as KR/AK] prevents them from being
effective listeners. What is KR/AK? Rashi
and Ramban define:
Rashi -
If someone is in a distressed state he is
short of breath and he cannot draw long
breaths.
Ramban -
not because they did not believe in Hashem
and Moshe, they did not pay attention to his
words like one whose soul is short because
of his extreme toil and does not want to
live for another moment in his pain.
Hashem then
commands Moshe to focus on Paroh [6:11]:
Command him to let Bnei Yisrael go.
Moshe balks, offering apparently impeccable
logic in his rebuttal:
Moshe spoke
before Ad-noy, saying, "Behold the B'nei
Yisrael have not listened to me, how then
will Paroh listen to me - I whose lips are
covered. [i.e. a speech impediment]
First, we
note that the second piece [about the speech
impediment] seems extraneous. Beyond that,
Moshe's logic appears airtight: If Bnei
Yisrael won't listen, then surely Paroh will
reject what I have to say. Indeed Rashi
comments:
This is one
of the ten a fortiori [kal-v'chomer]
inferences in the Torah.
Stop! Probe
Moshe's comparison a bit deeper and try to
discover a major crack in Moshe's logic -
one that deeply bothers most of our
commentaries here[1]
Consider:
Aren't the audiences so different?
Bnei Yisrael suffer from kotzer ruach/avodah
kasha syndrome, a shortness of spirit
and difficult labor - which in turn creates
an inability to think straight. Paroh, who
is in total control [and is probably not
overworked], is absent that condition. Is he
not [ironically] better suited to hear
Moshe's message?
Da'as
Zekeinim quoting Ri MiLisbon, rejects the
premise: shortness of spirit
is a motivator to accept redemptive words.
The shorter the spirit, the more receptive
one ought to be to accept a message of hope!
For the Ri, the text reads that Bnei
Yisrael did not listen to Moshe even
though they had KR/AK.
Most implicitly reject this approach. A
classic Stephen Covey word-illustration,
based on Koheles and Abe Lincoln, may
explain why[2].
[Suppose
you were to come upon someone in the woods
working feverishly to saw down a tree.]
What are doing?" you ask.- "Can't you see?"
comes the exhausted reply. "I am cutting
down this tree."
"You look exhausted. How long have you been
at it?" - "Over five hours now," he returns,
"and I am beat! This is hard work."
"Well, why don't you take a break for a few
minutes, and while you're sitting down,
sharpen that saw?" you inquire with concern.
"I'm sure that it would go easier." - "I
don't have time for that," the man says.
"I'm too busy sawing down this tree."
Shortness of
spirit is not about expedience; it is an
illogical state - a place where one's
emotional, physical and mental resources are
simply spent. One who suffers from KR/AK can
not integrate what he needs to hear. Thus
Rashi comments on our verse
But they
would not listen to Moshe. -
[Meaning:] they did not accept [his] words
of comfort.
Our question
restored; we present a few approaches:
1.
Rabbeinu
Tam, R. Ovadia MiBartenura:
Moshe misunderstood the source of Bnei
Yisrael's rejection - he attributed
their response to his speech impediment, not
their KR/AK; under these false
premises, he correctly reasoned: If my
underwhelming oratory cannot penetrate Bnei
Yisrael, who are naturally inclined to
accept my redemptive message, then I have no
chance to influence a Paroh who has every
reason to want to reject me[3].
2.
Chasam Sofer: Difficult labor means
idolatry[4].
Paroh who deifies himself suffers from KR/AK
even more than Bnei Yisrael.
3a.
Sfas Emes /Ohr HaChaim: In spite of
Bnei Yisrael's KR/AK, they have rooted
faith. At his core, Paroh is not a
believer. The challenge of convincing a
cynical, heretical Paroh [of message he does
not want to hear] is still far greater than
influencing a short - spirited Bnei Yisrael.
3b Ibn
Ezra: Bnei Yisroel are subjects and
belong to Moshe's nation. Paroh is a king
[who doesn't readily take orders] of a
different nationality. The challenge of
convincing an arrogant, foreigner is still
far greater than influencing a short -
spirited Bnei Yisrael.
4.
Sfas Emes: If the leader of the
nation does not have the backing of its
people, no matter what the reason, he
surely cannot convince an adversary. Bnei
Yisrael's rejection of Moshe undermines his
standing with Paroh.
A fifth
solution, a Ralbag-based offering, radically
differs from these. Ralbag upends the
question with a surprising reframe. Until
now we have been assuming, [Rashi-like, but
with the implicit backing of all the
commentaries], that KR/AK is a Bnei
Yisrael thing. Ralbag argues that the
kotzer ruach was Moshe's.
With a bit
of license[5],
the logic runs as follows: Moshe had
difficulty convincing Bnei Yisrael because
his spirit was dampened - especially
after Bnei Yisrael's increased workload - a
direct corollary of Moshe's first attempt.
In his second presentation to Bnei
Yisrael, Moshe is now without the requisite
confidence.
Moshe's
kal v'chomer is now pristine. His words,
an exercise in self-castigation. In effect,
Moshe is saying
Hashem, I
delivered your message of hope and
inspiration to Bnei Yisrael - who ostensibly
should have bought it. They however were
able to pierce my veil of self doubt -
created by my previous failure; If they saw
my doubt, then what chance do I stand with
a Paroh?
Leadership
requires a sense of peace and belief in the
mission - and one's self. Where we doubt
ourselves, we will certainly be unable to
impact others. Further, to learn and grow
from that failure is a critical aspect of
greatness.
[6]
Immediately
after Moshe's pronouncement, the Torah
relates a cryptic verse - one that most
commentaries grapple with:
Ad-noy [then] spoke to
Moshe and Aharon, commanding them to B'nei
Yisrael and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring
out the B'nei Yisrael from the land of
Egypt.
We are
confused here. Is this a new command?
What was the command? Does Hashem really
need to command [Moshe to command] Bnei
Yisrael to leave Mitzrayim?
With our
notion, it all comes together: Hashem is
commanding them; in
other words Hashem is telling Moshe [and
Aharon] regarding their mission to Paroh
and B'nei Yisrael:
You can do
it! Believe in yourself and the rest
will follow.
From
hesitant, halting leader to a Moshe who
takes on the Korachs, Amaleks and Parohs of
the world - Moshe's remarkable
transformation begins with a sense of
personal belief.
Once Moshe
can redeem himself, he can liberate the Klal
Yisrael.
Good Shabbos
- Asher Brander
[1]
Cf. Kli Yakar, Ohr Hachaim, Chizkuni,
Da'as Zekeinim, Rashbam among others
[2]
Koheles, 10:10 speaks of the one
whose iron is blunt and does not
sharpen the edge. A Famous Lincoln
quote goes something like this If I
had eight hours to cut down a tree,
I'd spend the first four hours
sharpening my saw
..
[3]
Many go with the misunderstanding
approach [cf. Kli Yakar, Chizkuni,
Da'as Zekeinim in 1st
approach, Ramban [v'yitachein
..] Chizkuni teaches that the
following verse [6:13]
vayitzaveim el Bnei Yisrael
.. was precisely to inform Moshe
that their rejection of Moshe's
words was not reflective of a
shortcoming in the messenger.
[4]
Avodah kasha = avodah zarah
[5]
Ralbag is a bit ambiguous, hence our
guarded terminology. He says that
Moshe had kotzer ruach from being
isolated - he thus did not properly
formulate the message to Bnei Yisrae;
with regard to avodah kasha, his
comments are ambiguous - he speaks
about Paroh's increasing the
workload - but it is unclear if that
is why Bnei Yisrael did not listen
or why Moshe may have lost
confidence
[6]
A classic Rav Hutner letter [128]
illustrates this idea: The wisest of
all men [King Shlomo] said [Mishlei
24:16], "The tzaddik will fall seven
times and will rise." The unlearned
think that this means, "Even though
a tzaddik falls seven times, he will
rise." The wise know well that the
meaning is: "Because a tzaddik falls
seven times, he will rise."
