27 Jan BESHALACH: THINKING BEYOND OURSELVES

In the beginning of Parashat
Beshalah, we are told that as
Beneh Yisrael left Egypt,
Moshe made a point of
bringing with him Yosef’s
remains. Many years earlier,
before Yosef died, he made his
brothers promise that they would bring his
remains with them out of Egypt, so he could
be buried in the Land of Israel. This promise
was fulfilled through Moshe Rabbenu, who
retrieved Yosef’s remains at the time of
Yetziat Mitzrayim.
The Gemara in Masechet Sotah (13a) applies
to Moshe Rabbenu the pasuk in the Book of
Mishleh (10:8), Chacham Lev Yikach Mitzvot
– “The wise-hearted takes mitzvot.” Whereas
the rest of the nation was busy collecting the
riches of the Egyptians to bring with them out
of Egypt, Moshe was preoccupied with the
mitzvah of tending to Yosef’s remains.
Many commentators ask the question of why
the Gemara speaks in such praise of Moshe
for retrieving Yosef’s remains. After all,
Hashem had explicitly commanded the people
before Yetziat Mitzrayim to take the
Egyptians’ belongings with them. Collecting
the spoils of Egypt was also a mitzvah. Why,
then, was Moshe deserving of special praise
for tending to the mitzvah of retrieving

Moshe’s remains – if all Beneh Yisrael were
also involved in a mitzvah?
To answer this question, let us take an honest
– and uncomfortable – look at something that
many of us are occasionally guilty of. And
that is – failing to sufficiently concern
ourselves with other people.
Why is it that sometimes, when we hear of
somebody going through a hard time, we just
forget about it, and go back to our own affairs?
Worse, why do we sometimes find ourselves
feeling a bit of satisfaction hearing about
other people’s struggles, especially if this is
somebody who always seemed to have the
“perfect” life (as if such a thing exists)? Why
is it sometimes so hard to feel genuine
empathy, and share in the pain or grief of
others?
The answer is not that we’re bad people, or
even that we’re selfish people. We all of
course understand the value of empathy and
concern for our fellow, of hesed, of lending a
helping hand, of extending beyond ourselves
to help people.
But doing so is a challenge for the simple
reason that we are, legitimately, busy and
stressed with our own needs and our own
concerns. We all have pressures, we all have
stress, we all have things that we’re worried

about, that we’re upset about, that are
weighing heavily on our minds. And so, it’s
hard for us to allocate some of our headspace
for the needs of the people around us.
This might explain the Gemara’s comment
about Moshe Rabbenu. The rest of the nation
was busy collecting the riches of Egypt, as
they were supposed to, but Moshe went
beyond that. He had the wisdom – Chacham
Lev – to at the same time look out for what
other people needed. Even amid the tumult
and hustle-and-bustle of Yetziat Mitzrayim,
his mind was thinking not only of himself, but
also of others, and about Am Yisrael generally.
A pasuk in Tehillim (114:3) – which is
included in the text of Hallel – describes,
Hayam Ra’ah Vayanos – “The sea saw and
fled.” Before the sea split for Beneh Yisrael to
cross, it “saw” something. The Midrash
comments that the sea “saw” Yosef’s bones. It
was in the merit of Moshe’s care and concern,
his ability to look beyond his own needs and
concerns, and to take in consideration the
greater good and the needs of the Jewish
People, that this great miracle occurred.
When we wake up in the morning and begin
our day, we are usually thinking about the
things we need to get done that day, or the
things that we are worried about. This is

perfectly legitimate – but imagine what our
lives would be like if we also asked ourselves
every morning, “What does Am Yisrael need
from me today? In what way can I make the
world better today? What can I do for other
people today? Where might I be needed
today?”
Perhaps there’s a friend or relative who could
use a friendly phone call or visit. Perhaps
there’s an organization or project that can use
some volunteer work, an extra pair of hands.
Perhaps it’s a single parent who can use a
favor, or an invitation.
Just imagine what our lives – and our
community and our nation – would look like
if we started our day asking ourselves these
questions.
Let us learn from the “wisdom” of Moshe
Rabbenu – and find the time, despite our busy
schedule, to look out for other people!