SHEMOS 1994-2

In the Torah portion Shmos we learn how Moshe is selected to redeem the Jewish people from Egypt.  This indeed seems to be a strange choice.  It is true that Moshe gave up everything in order to save a Jew from being killed by an Egyptian overseer and it is true that Moshe Rabbeinu had a keen sense of justice.  He came to the aid of the daughters of Jethro when he was a stranger in a strange land.  Yet, it is hard to understand why Moshe was chosen to lead the Jewish people.  Other people also had been champions of the underdog and had not been chosen.  It is hard to understand why Moshe had been chosen because, after all, he had never endured one day in slavery.  He married a non-Jewish woman and lived in a non-Jewish society.  According to the Medrash, he even agreed to raise his first son, Gershon, as a pagan.  Why should it be that Moshe Rabbeinu should be chosen to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt?  After all, his brother, Aaron, had endured slavery.  His brother, Aaron, had, in spite of the slavery, maintained the Jewish traditions.  Why wasn't Aaron chosen to lead the Jewish people?  

Why, too, was it that the Jewish people believed Moshe? What would make them feel that Moshe was telling them the truth? We know that Moshe is the prototype of the Mashiach.  In fact, if we take the word Mashiach and the numerical value of the word Mashiach, which is 358, it comes up to Moshe plus Ehad, plus one.  If you add the word Ehad in Hebrew to the word Moshe the numerical value ends up to 358.  We know that Moshe had certain qualities which are necessary and which will be necessary in the Messianic era in order to bring complete redemption to the world.  But why is it that Moshe was chosen to lead the Jewish people and why was it that the Jewish people believed him?  
We know that when G-d spoke to Moshe in the burning bush He said, "See, I have seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt and their cries," and He says, "and I will go down to save him from the hand of Egypt and to bring him up from that land to a good land and a wide land, to a land flowing with milk and honey." The rabbis explain that the reason it says, "See, I saw," is because the Jewish people were suffering from two slaveries, spiritual slavery and physical slavery.  That is why it says G-d will go down and I will save him.  That is from the physical slavery, and I will up lift him from spiritual slavery and I will bring him to a good land, and the word Tov in Hebrew also refers to Torah, to spirituality, and Rechova, and also to wide land in the sense that it is filled with stuff which will allow the Jewish people to live an independent physical existence.  So when G-d spoke to Moshe He told Moshe that He expected Moshe to do two things: to redeem them physically and spiritually.  That is why Moshe Rabbeinu was to bring them to Mount Sinai in order to give them the Torah.  But, again, Moshe did not know why he was chosen and Moshe refused this mission originally, not just because he was a modest man, and we .know that Moshe was among the most modest of all men, but he said, "Who am I that I should go?  After all, how can I go save them? I have not suffered slavery.  I have not been part of Jewish history for at least 40 years and that I will bring up the sons of Israel from Egypt?"  The rabbis say that also Moshe Rabbeinu was not even sure that the Jewish people were worthy of being redeemed.  He said, first of all, I am not the person to do it, and, second of all, I am not sure that they should be redeemed.  After all, they fight among themselves, they do not have the correct unity in order for them to be brought out of Egypt, and they are not really a spiritual people now, so why do they even deserve freedom?  Of course, the rabbis say that this was, in a sense, true.  The Jewish people had sunk to the 49th level of Tumah, and if they would have sunk to one more level of uncleanliness they would not have been worthy of being redeemed, but the rabbis say they were redeemed because they had 4 characteristics and that is one of the principle reasons why the number 4 predominates at the seder on Pesach.  We have the 4 questions, the 4 sons, the 4 cups of wine, etc.  The reason the number 4 predominates is because there were 4 traits which the Jewish people had which caused them to be redeemable.   In the Medrash they differ about which exactly these 4 things are but in many they are 1n agreement.  They said that they did not change their names or their language or their dress.  They also helped one another and did not inform on one another, and they preserved their families.  They had a strong family structure.   In other words, because of the merit of these 4 things, that they had pride in their identity, that they helped one another, and that they had strong families, it is because of these qualities that the Jewish people were worthy of redemption.   Because they had these qualities they also had a dream and the dream was a spiritual dream.  They were not effecting it now.  They had sunk to the 49th level of Tumha but they still had potentiality to realize the Jewish dream even though right now they were not realizing their potentiality.  50 G‑d told Moshe Rabbeinu, "Yes, do not worry about the Jewish people because it is the slavery which has blinded them to their spiritual mission but they still have dreams and they are still a recognizable ethnic group .  Remember, I will remember you, ii that is what G-d said to the Jewish people.  Why did He say remember twice?  Because He is going to remember them and free them from physical slavery and also spiritual slavery.  But why was Moshe Rabbeinu chosen?  

Because Moshe Rabbeinu had Derek Eretz.  After G-d had chosen and told him that he should go redeem the Jewish people he went to Yisro and asked his permission to leave.  Why should he ask Yisro's permission to leave?  G-d had told him to go down to redeem the Jewish people from Egypt.  That was a command from G-d.  Why did he have to ask Yisro?  The answer is a person still has to have good manners, good interpersonal relationships.  A person has to treat people with dignity and respect.  A person has to have Derek Eretz.  The reason why Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt was because he had Derek Eretz.  He realized that as long as the Jewish people had these 4 qualities even though they were living far below their spiritual potential they still were worthy of redemption and they still could reach their potential if you would treat them with respect.   

We see it today, too.  There are many Jewish group and Jewish ideologies which seem far from Judaism but as long as the individual Jews in these groups are proud of their heritage, as long as they help one another and as long as they have strong families then they are worthy of redemption even though they are far from Jewish spirituality in many areas.  To the credit of American Jewry we must say that most American Jews are proud of their Jewish heritage and they do help their fellow Jews.  After all, one billion dollars was raised in two years to help Soviet Jews come out of Russia, and already more than a million Jews have come out.  Probably in another 4 or 5 years all the Jews in Russia possible will be brought out.  There are probably only about another million left in Russia and the Ukraine, etc.  The only problematical area in Jewish life in America is the family.  Up to now we had strong families, but, unfortunately, the family has weakened, but as long as the Jews have pride in their heritage and are willing to help each other and as long as they have strong families they are worthy of being redeemed.  We should always treat every Jewish group with Derek Eretz.  That was Moshe is greatness, not just that he had a strong sense of justice and was willing to put himself and his property on the line for it.  There are many people who have that, but these people also do not have the quality of Derek Eretz, of treating people with respect and dignity so they can reach their full potential.  That was Moshe is greatness.  That is why the leaders listened to them because he brought them a message of not just physical redemption but spiritual redemption but he did it with Derek Eretz.  He treated them with respect and dignity and they knew that this was a man who could help them reach their full potential.  This is the way we have to look at the total Jewish community, especially today in Israel where many times there are people who are saying very terrible things against our heritage but as long as these people are proud of much of the Jewish history and heritage and as long as these people are helping their fellow Jews and as long as they have strong families we should always treat them with Derek Eretz, with respect, because if we treat them with respect they will come back.  They will reach their full spiritual potential.  That is what Moshe Rabbeinu has taught us all.  That is what we all have to learn if we are to bring the Mashiach, bring that era in which redemption will occur for the total Jewish people and for the whole world.
I am reminded of the story they tell about a man who looked at his secretary and said, "Who told you that just because I tried to kiss you at the office party last month that you can neglect your work?"  She said, "What did you say?"  He said, "Who told you that just because I tried to kiss you at the office party last month that you can neglect your work?"  The secretary looked at him and said, "My lawyer."  We have to treat everybody with respect and dignity and if we do not treat everybody with respect and dignity we will never get our message across.  

We will debase our message and we will retard the redemption.  Moshe Rabbeinu was able to bring the redemption because he treated everyone with respect even his adversary, Pharaoh, he treated with respect, and, therefore, he was given a hearing.  Let's all hope and pray that every Jew will emulate Moshe and will treat all Jews with respect and dignity, and, therefore, because we are treating our fellow Jews with respect and dignity they will be open to the message of the redemption of the Torah so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day.
Amen.