17 Jan PARSHAS VAERA: MOSHE’S ‘BAD’ CHOICE OF WORDS
The parsha begins with
G-d telling Moshe
Rabbeinu [our teacher], “I
am Hashem. I appeared to
the patriarchs with the
name Kel Shakai.
However the name
Hashem I did not make known to them” [Shemos
6:3]. The Medrash makes an interesting
comment: G-d bemoaned the loss of the
irreplaceable patriarchs. “Many times I revealed
myself to the patriarchs with these other — less
intimate — forms of my Name, but they never
questioned Me”.
“I promised Avraham the entire land of Israel,
yet when he could not find a place to bury his
wife Sarah until he paid a high price for a burial
cave, he never complained or questioned me.”
“I told Yitzchak to live in this land — for I
would give it to him and his descendants.
Yitzchak could not find the basic necessity of
water to drink with out hassling over wells with
the shepherds of Gerar. Yet he never complained
or questioned me.”
“I promised Yaakov the entire land. Yaakov was
unable to find a place to pitch his tent until he
bought a place from Chamor ben Shechem for
100 Kiseta. Yet Yaakov never questioned me.”
“But you have complaints. The situation
deteriorated after I sent you to Pharaoh, and you
are protesting and questioning if I know what I
am doing.”
We can argue, in Moshe’s defense, that there is
a simple difference. Moshe Rabbeinu, Heaven
Forbid, was not a malcontent. He was not a
complainer — he was a leader.
The patriarchs suffered personal setbacks and
disappointments. In such situations, a person is
not allowed to complain. A person must accept
the Judgment of G-d. Moshe, on the other hand,
was not saying, “It is tough for _me_”. Moshe is
the leader par excellence, the faithful shepherd.
Moshe’s complaint and argument is on behalf of
the _people_. Such a complaint is legitimate.
That is Moshe’s job. He is supposed to be the
advocate of the Jewish People.
What, then, is the nature of G-d’s objection
regarding Moshe’s behavior? After all, when
Moshe — following the sin of the Golden Calf
— said “erase me from your book”, G-d did not
object. When Moshe stood up for the nation
during the entire period of the wilderness, G-d
did not object. That was Moshe’s job. Here
however, according to the Medrash, G-d
objected. Why?
The answer is that Moshe Rabbeinu used a
poor choice of words here — “Why have
You done evil (haREOSA) to this
people… From the time I came to
Pharaoh … he (Pharaoh) worsened the
situation (heiRA) for this nation”
[Shemos 5:22-23]. Saying or implying
that G-d has been ‘Bad’ (RA) to the
people is inappropriate. That was G-d’s
objection.
G-d is telling Moshe that whatever G-d
does is for good. Whether we understand
it or not, ultimately, ALL that G-d does, He does
for the good that will come from it.
There are situations in life where trying to
understand how they can possibly be good is
extremely difficult — if not nearly impossible.
But that is a Jew’s responsibility. This is what
G-d is saying to Moshe. The patriarchs never
uttered the word ‘Bad’ (RA). It may have been
difficult. It may have been trying. There are
many adjectives that can be used regarding
situations brought about by Divine Providence,
but not ‘Bad’.
When the Patriarch Yaakov came to Pharaoh
and Pharaoh asked Yaakov’s age, Yaakov
responded “The days of my life have been …
few and bad were the years of my life…”
[Bereishis 47:9].
The Medrash says that at the moment
Yaakov uttered those words, G-d said to
him, “I saved you from Eisav and Lavan
and I returned to you Dena and Yosef —
and now you are complaining that your
years are few and bad? Your life will be
shortened by the number of words in
your statement.”
But the question must be asked —
wasn’t Yaakov right? True he was saved
and he had children returned to him. But
if not for the tzaros of Eisav there would
have been any need to be saved. True, he
was saved from Lavan — but who
needed twenty years of aggravation?
The answer is, again, that Yaakov’s life
may have been bitter — but it was not
bad. For each occurrence, there was
something positive that emerged. The
fight with Eisav developed the Jewish
People’s ability to deal with Eisav’s
descendants in future generations.
Yosef’s going down to Egypt eventually
paved the way for the salvation of the
nation. These were difficult, trying, and
even incomprehensible events — but
they were not _Bad_. _Bad_ was an
inappropriate word.
The Chofetz Chaim once gave a
parable. Sometimes we take a medicine
and it is terribly bitter. The medicine
cures the disease. What word do we use
to describe the medicine? Bitter — yes;
bad — no! There are instances in life
when our natural human reaction is to
say that an event is bad, is terrible. But a
Jew has the obligation to believe that
everything that G-d creates is ultimately
for the best. In the final analysis, it will work out
for the best.
And G-d (Elokim — the Attribute of Justice)
said to Moshe: “I am Hashem” (the Attribute of
Mercy) [Shemos 6:2]. Ultimately, we have to
believe that any troubles which, through our
limited perspective we have no way of
explaining, ultimately, somehow, do make
sense.
The paradigm of this concept is the Jewish
experience in Egypt. Our Rabbis tell us that
Moshe Rabbeinu wrote Megillos for the Jewish
People, which they used to read on the Shabbos.
Pharaoh tried to stop the Jews from reading
those Megillos [scrolls] on Shabbos [Shemos
5:9].
What were those Megillos? What was in
them?
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky suggests the
following. The Talmud [Babba Basra 14b] says
that Moshe Rabbeinu authored some of the
chapters of Tehillim [Psalms]. Those were the
scrolls that the Jews read in Egypt. One of the
chapters was “A Psalm to the Day of Shabbos”
[Tehillim Chapter 92]. However, if you examine
that chapter, you will find that Shabbos is not
mentioned at all. What is its connection to
Shabbos? Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky suggests
that the connection is that the Jewish people
read that chapter on Shabbos when they were in
Egypt.
Why did the Jewish people read that chapter
on Shabbos? Tehillim 92 contains the words
“when the wicked flourish like the grass, and all
the doers of iniquity blossom forth…” Those
words introduce the concept that “Bad things
happen to the Tzaddik (righteous); Good things
happen to the Rasha (wicked)”. This issue
understandably weighed heavily on the minds
of the Jews in Egypt. “What is happening? We
are righteous. The Egyptians are wicked. Why
are we the slaves? We don’t deserve this.”
Moshe Rabbeinu provided this Psalm, which
acknowledges the principle of the wicked
flourishing. Years later, it might have been
possible to begin to appreciate that the
experience of Egypt molded us into a special
nation. However, while in slavery, without the
benefit of time and hindsight, there was no way
for them to understand any rationale or
redeeming feature of the slavery experience.
Such experiences often must remain simply a
matter of faith. We need to maintain that faith,
and remember that ultimately we will
understand the good in everything.