Rabbi Claudio Jodorkovsky
Asociación Israelita Montefiore - Bogotá
Asociación Israelita Montefiore - Bogotá
If there’s something clear in the chapters of the Torah we are reading now, it is that the task entrusted to Moshe Rabbeinu by God, liberating the people of Israel from slavery, was anything but simple. On the one hand, he had to convince the stubborn and haughty Pharaoh to free his slaves, so that the children of Israel could leave the land of Egypt. And on the other hand, he also had to convince the Hebrews themselves both of God’s power and of the importance of fighting and gaining their own sense of freedom, a mission undoubtedly more difficult to achieve than the mere physical liberation under Pharaoh’s yoke.
Moses, as we know, despite all the troubles, finally succeeds in his task, and that is why we Jews consider him our most important leader throughout history. Despite his not being a charismatic man, or eloquent in speech, as is shown in our Parashah (Ex. 6:12), Moses stood out for his personal qualities, which were the ones that made him become a true model to the future leaders of our people. And precisely because of this, I think it worthwhile to stop and ask ourselves: What characteristics did Moses have, which God easily identified, and which allowed him to be chosen for such a difficult mission? Why, before even putting his leadership capacity to test, God chose this man, none other than one of the princes of Egypt, to fulfill the mission of liberating his people?
The truth is that the Torah does not say much about Moses’ youth, and neither does it explain the reasons which God used in making His choice. But if we study thoroughly the chapters of the Torah that correspond to the parashiot we are reading these weeks, perhaps we can discover some of God’s motivations when electing our leader.
If we pay attention to the text we will see that the Torah tells us about Moses, in just a few verses, three stories regarding his youth, prior to his being summoned by God to fulfill his mission:
1) The first one is when Moses, while still living in Pharaoh’s palace, discovers his true identity and rushes to defend a Hebrew slave that was being beaten by an Egyptian foreman. Before such act of injustice, our leader reacts so strongly that he ends up killing the Egyptian aggressor, apparently by accident.
2) The second story happens immediately after, when Moses, watching his brothers at their work, sees two Hebrews discussing and fighting among themselves. Moses intervenes this time in an attempt to make them see reason; however, these two men reproach him for his meddling and accuse him of being a murderer, referring to the previous story.
3) And last, on their way to Mydian after fleeing from Egypt, the Torah tells us how Moses protects Jethro’s daughters when they wanted to get water from the well and the shepherds drove them away. Moses gets involved, protects the women and, thanks to his help, the girls can take water to their house.
If we analyze these three stories of Moses’ youth, and try to find a common denominator, we’ll see that what stands out in the three stories is that our leader gets personally involved in quarrels unconnected to him, identifying and defending the weakest part in every case. It is through these three stories that the character of our teacher is revealed, as an inborn pursuer of justice, a man willing to fight against inequalities and willing to protect the helpless. And I believe this is much more obvious if we take into account that after the first two episodes, Moses receives a violent and crushing telling-off on the part of his own brothers, and even so, his principles and ideals continue intact, which clearly shows in the third story.
I have always liked to think that Moses’ choice was due to these two virtues taught by the Torah: on the one hand, his constant pursuit of justice, and on the other hand, his solid and immutable commitment to his own ideals, despite the difficult circumstances he had to face throughout his entire mission.
Thus, Moses leaves us a great lesson when we see, for instance, political and community leaders who, instead of raising awareness and caring for the weakest, always stand beside the powerful, devoting hardly any attention to those who need it most. These rulers, even when they may be considered “successful” by their followers, nevertheless show a great moral distance from the qualities that many leaders, despite their being “of a slow tongue” as Moses and lacking other alleged requirements for effective leadership, have widely proved that the true leader is the one who commits with God’s message and the wholehearted devotion to his fellow men.
Shabbat Shalom u’Meborah!
