Category — Vaeirah

In 2005 I spent a year in Israel studying in the holy city of Jerusalem. As anyone who’s ever been in  Jerusalem knows firsthand, it is a wonderful experience. Be it the unique ‘Yerushalmi’ characters, or the beautiful scenery and mountains, the houses built with “Yerushalmi white stones”, or the trillions of synagogues on every corner… and of course the great holiness and spirituality found only in the capitol of our country. It was a memorable year no doubt.
What made it all the more memorable, and not necessarily in a good way, was the disengagement of Gush Katif that took place that August which affected everyone around the country.
Honestly, I didn’t decide to dig up old sob stories due to lack of current sob stories… rather it was that particular episode and its relevance to our Parshah that caused that painful episode in Jewish history to ring a bell.
Do you remember how all over the world debates were held, ‘if and how should we demonstrate’?
“Nah, it’s none of my business. I’m not the kinda guy!” cried the ’softy’. “It will damage my projects”, said Mr. busy. “It will ruin my image as a peace loving and understanding person”, explained Mr. Politician. “Oh, making demonstrations and holding signs are patented by the weirdoes, I will not make a fool of myself”,
shouted Mr. Proper.
It was at gush Katif more than any event in recent history, where the lives of so many were on the balance, that this ‘it’s just not my thing’ was so painfully visible by so many good people.
You know, many historians as do many of us, judge the Jews who lived in America during the holocaust. ‘They should have made more protests! They should’ve gone on hunger strikes! They should’ve stopped traffic on the major highways! And I can’t put away the thought (forgive me for saying this) that Heaven forbid were history to repeat itself, our reaction wouldn’t be any different.
Just a shrug of ‘What could I do anyway’ and back to business. Maybe even a tear.
Well let me introduce you to one of the ’sweetest guys’ in history, our founding Father
Abraham. Kabbalah affectionately calls him the ‘attribute of kindness’, oh such a nice peace loving guy. But…
When G-d decided to destroy Sodom and Amorah, suddenly Mr.-nice-guy-couldn’t-hurt-a-fly stood up
and started talking tough to his Beloved G-d. “How could you! This is unfair! Yes, they are sinners and horrible people, but for the sake of the few good people…”
And once his demonstration was over, he was back to Mr. Sweetie pie, welcoming guests and doing acts of kindness… and it was no contradiction at all. For he wasn’t being kind because he liked to; he was doing the right thing. And when the right thing meant to throw away the kindness, then he did it.
And when G-d told him to slaughter his son, he was willing to go all the way. And this is Mr. Softy!
At this moment in history, we don’t need softies; we need visionaries and fighters. No more sweet talk…

Alex is raving to a government official: “I love communism, I would give away everything for it! If I had a million rubles, I would give it all to the party! If I had a horse, I would donate it to the party! If I had a store, I would give all its income to the party!”

The official turns to him and says: “If you love the party so much, then I’m sure you’ll gladly give up the three chickens you have in your backyard, correct?”

Alex: “Umm… not really…”

Official: “What’s goin’ on? A million rubles and a store you would give away, but when I ask for three chickens you suddenly back off?!”

Alex responds: “But the chickens I actually have…”

***

I was reminded of this story while learning a fascinating thought from the Midrash on this week’s Torah Portion, Vaeira.

But first let’s rewind a bit to the end of last week’s portion, Shmos, where we read how Moses brought the Jews the good news that the time had come for the redemption. When they heard the tidings, the Torah tells us, the Jews “believed”.

Fast forward just a few verses to the beginning of Vaeira, where we read how Moses repeated to the Jews what G-d had told him – “…I will take you to Me for a nation, and I will be unto you a G-d…” Surprise! Suddenly the big believers “would not listen to him…”!

Hey, one second! Didn’t they just believe? Why did they suddenly clog their ears? Once a believer always a believer! Two hundred years you held on to the faith, and now, just because things got a bit worse, all is gone?

Ah! But the Midrash makes a powerful point. It’s like this:

The first time Moses came, he came like a politician full of promises, yet not asking for anything in return (besides the vote.) So they believed. True, it was admirable that after so long in exile they still had room for faith. And yet…

The second time he informed them that, once redeemed, they would be “taken as a nation” by G-d – which, in our language, translates into no more idol worship, no more freebee! Now this freedom had a price! Suddenly, believing wasn’t so convenient. As they say, zei mir gezunt… No thanks.

It’s easy to philosophize, to declare and affirm our beliefs. Yet those ideals must translate into actions; otherwise, they don’t account for much.

Say it, declare it, mean it and promote it.

And then do it. Whatever the cost.

They tell a joke about a fellow who came off the boat from Europe, looking for a job. He found out that they needed a Gabai (sexton) in the Shul. When he got there, he was informed that he would need to know how to read and write in order to fulfill his duties. Unfortunately, as he was illiterate, he was not accepted.
Swallowing his disappointment and pride, he went into the rag business. He started out with a little pushcart on the Lower East Side, and, little by little, he built up his business. Within a few years, with much Siyata DeShamaya (Heavenly Assistance) and wise investments, he became a millionaire.
He opened up a bank account, but still he couldn’t read or write. He would sign his name with an “X”.
Once, one of the tellers who knew this wealthy man was shocked to see him signing an “X”. The teller exclaimed, “If this is how successful you are without knowing how to read and write, imagine where you would be if you did know!”
The wealthy man responded, “If I knew how to read and write, then I would be the Gabai in a Shul.”
***
So would Moses win an election? Definitely not! I’m not talking about being elected for the presidency or some other top notch job; that is a given. But even winning election to the board of a downtrodden Shtibel with walls peeling and leaks dripping, reverberating with sounds of a comedic mix of English and Yiddish known as the Yinglish language – this too would be impossible.
Why am I so convinced? Well, Moses had it all wrong. First and foremost, he was very honest – a horrible trait to have in politics. Second of all, he was an ex-convict who sat in prison for ten years. Third, he was married to an immigrant. Fourth, he was 80 years old when he entered the political arena. And if all that weren’t enough, he was unknown to his people, having grown up in the palace and never really suffered with his brethren.
Oh, and to top it all off, Moses was a horrible speaker. At age three, his lips had been burnt and his speech was forever impaired. He stuttered terribly. Imagine a leader with no lengthy orations full of promises and visions of a better world (I promise to solve the crisis in Iraq and the Middle East…) and verbal attacks against his opponent.
I’m sure you’ll agree that, in modern times, Moses would be the ultimate schlimazel and remain unemployed for lack of ability to hold a proper position.
Yet this man is until today considered the greatest leader of all times! It was Moses who led two million people out of their slavery and sustained them for forty years in the desert.
It was Moses the stutterer – he and only he – to whom spoke G-d to face to face. Never before and never thereafter, has a human communicated so openly with his Creator. It was only through his convincing speech after the Sin of the Golden Calf that G-d was persuaded to rescind His decree to annihilate the Jewish people.
So here we have Moses, the greatest prophet of all time. And we have Moses, the worst orator of all time - an oxymoron?
Perhaps it is time we reconsidered our understanding of leadership and the qualities it demands. What defines a true leader?
The answer I’ll leave to you. It’s something we should think about.