Torah MiTzion stands in the forefront of the battle for the future of the Jewish people in the Diaspora, offering religious-Zionist Torah scholarship to Jewish communities throughout the world and strengthening the bond between the Jewish people in the Diaspora and in Israel via the study of Torah.
Rabbi Moshe Aberman is former Rosh Kollel Torah MiTzion in Chicago (1997 - 1999) and currently a Torah advisor to the Shlichim
As we move from the book of Beraishit (Genesis) to the book of Shemot (Exodus) we note an important change. While Beraishit focused on individuals the book of Shemot deals with a "people", a nation. Individuals, who fail or go off on the wrong path, can and are, mostly, ignored. All the great persons of Parashat Beraishit disappear as if swallowed by the waters of the Great Flood. The descendants of Yishmael are not related to and the "Alufim", Great leaders, of Edom play no part in the continued story of the Torah.
A nation is a collective. It includes the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, the good and the not so good. Parashat Shemot opens with a reiteration of what was previously said in Parashat Vayigash, "These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each coming with his household". These few individuals multiply and soon we read "And he (the king) said to his people, Look, the Israelite people (nation) are much too numerous for us".
This shift from individuals to a nation may be a subliminal part of the debate between Moshe and God. When God appears to Moshe in the burning bush he says, " I have marked well the plight of My people in Egypt and have heeded their outcry… Come, therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt". God heeds to the outcry of the people – nation and calls upon Moshe to lead those people out of Egypt.
Moshe, meanwhile, is an individualist who grew up detached from "the nation". He grew up in Pharaoh's home but was not truly part of the royalty. He was detached from his brethren; after going out to see the plight of his brothers Moshe is shocked to see the evil side of the nation and chooses to detach himself from them. Moshe fled to Midyan where he lived in complete detachment from the Jewish people. From Moshe's perspective, only the good deserve to be redeemed, why include the wicked? His perspective is the perspective of individual merits. He cannot understand a reality of including the bad with the good, and sees no value in redeeming the wicked.
God in turn puts Moshe through two experiences. In the first, his staff turns in to a serpent, returning to be a staff when Moshe grabs hold of it. In the second, his hand becomes incrusted with snowy scales of leprosy. When he returns his hand to his bosom, it returns to its normal form.
It seems God responds to Moshe's reservations on two levels. First, he indicates to Moshe that in his negation of the people he too sinned. God equates Moshe to the snake who slithers away from any contention. He is also inflicted with Leprosy indicating Gods distaste of Moshe's words and characterization of the Jewish People. On the other hand, God also teaches Moshe a lesson of National leadership.
When his staff turns into a snake Moshe is told do not run away from it, face the snake take hold of it and make it a useful staff. Recognize that every person has good in him. Every one has some unique abilities that can serve others. A leader's strength is in redirecting behavior, turning a snake into a staff. Similarly, when his hand turns scaly he is told to embrace it to his bosom and heal it. Learn to show love to the national lepers and heel them.
God teaches Moshe that when dealing with a nation one must accept that all persons are a part of the nation. One must not reject and turn away from the difficult members of the nation. On the contrary, the strength of the nation is in its unity. The message Moshe receives is - take hold of them and embrace them, until they are healed. Help them become productive positive members of society.
Moshe struggles but internalizes this message so well that, after the sin of the Golden Calf, he turns the tables on God. Moshe rejects the idea of a restart of the nation from beginning with him, demanding God forgive those who sinned. God accepts Moshe's plea, forgives the nation, and commands them "let them (all of them) make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them".
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