Through Poverty and Wealth
Proverbs Chapter 30
פֶּן אֶשְׂבַּע, וְכִחַשְׁתִּי-- וְאָמַרְתִּי, מִי יְהוָה:
וּפֶן-אִוָּרֵשׁ וְגָנַבְתִּי; וְתָפַשְׂתִּי, שֵׁם אֱלֹהָי
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8-9 ...Give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with mine allotted bread;
Lest I be full, and deny, and say: 'Who is the LORD?'
Or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.
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The above quote came to mind as I read today's thought on SALT. Rabbi David Silverberg points out that of the three episodes that the Torah presents from Moshe's adult life before being chosen by G-d there are two distinct, extreme categories.
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The first two events - the defense of a Jew being beaten by an Egyptian, and the breaking up of a fight between two Jews - took place when Moshe was a young prince. He was living a charmed life, but chose to step away from the comforts of his palace. As a result of his brave behavior Moshe had to run for his life and give up everything physical that he had, except life itself. He starts his life again as a poor man, in a foreign land, with no family. Alone.
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Moshe arrived in a new town, looking to start a new life. You couldn't be blamed if you imagined that he wanted nothing more at that moment than to never be a hero again. And yet. He arrives at the well in the center of town, broke but not broken. Staring up at him from the well are he once again sees the oppressed and their oppressors. Without hesitation he defends the persecuted women at the well.
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Moshe was first privileged, then poor. These are two situations where a person often wants to be alone, from others, from G-d, from the right and the good. Moshe reached out and defended the destitute from within situations that would have caused most men to turn inward and think only of themselves.
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Moshe exhibited unusual empathy and compassion, when it was particularly difficult for him to do so, and thus showed G-d that he was the consummate leader. By not vying for the position, but quietly illustrating his own integrity, Moshe proved that he was the only man for the job of being the first leader of the Jewish People.
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 11:25 PM
2 Comments:
The VBM is a nice website. The perspective of Moshe acting when he's a prince v. man without a county is interesting. I like your thought: 'These are two situations where a person often wants to be alone, from others, from G-d, from the right and the good.' Too much to lose v. lost too much to care.
I was thinking simplistically about the three cases in which Moshe acts as: jew v. other, jew v. jew, and other v. other.
The VBM also has a Shemot parsha shiur by Rav Bick who talks about these episodes as Moshe the Jewish patriot, the ethical judge and then the rescuer of the weak - and why these were necessary elements to lead the Jewish people.
Nice. Thanks. Nechama Liebowitz noticed what you noticed and said that you see that Moshe cared about justice between ALL people. She also pointed out that he believed in justice so stringly that when he gets to Midyan he can't look the other way. I think she compared it to an old Western, in which the sheriff gets blown out of town for trying to enforce justice. He hangs ups the reigns of his horse outside the inn on the outskirts of town and sees a fight break out. What does he do..?
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