17 Jan VAERA: LET’S STOP IDOLIZING
Sometimes we take
ourselves a little too seri-
ously, and feel a little – or
a lot – too proud of our-
selves. A person’s
wealth, good looks, so-
cial standing, profession-
al achievements, or even religious accom-
plishments have a way of making him feel
too important, too confident, and too great
An extreme example of this phenomenon
is told in Parashat Vaera.
Hashem instructed Moshe to go speak to
Pharaoh at the river early in the morning.
The Midrash explains that Pharaoh claimed
that he was a god, and so he made sure to
never be seen using the restroom. He would
arise early in the morning and go to the river
to perform his bodily functions. The Rabbis
also teach that Pharaoh claimed that he creat-
ed the Nile River. He saw himself as a god.
None of us go so far as to think we’re
gods, but we do sometimes tend to “idolize”
ourselves in some way. We feel a little too
proud about our achievements, our job, our
position, or how people look highly at us.
We fall into delusion about how accom-
plished we are, and, like Pharaoh, try to for-
get that we’re flawed, limited human beings.
Right after Hashem appeared to Moshe
Rabbenu at the burning bush and charged
him with the most important and distin-
guished mission ever – to lead Beneh Yisrael
out of Egypt, and bring them to Mount Sinai
where they would receive the Torah – some-
thing shocking happened. As Moshe lodged
in an inn along his journey to Egypt, Hashem
nearly killed him, because he had failed to
give his son a berit milah. Right when Moshe
accepted the most important job ever as-
signed to a human being, Hashem sent him a
message, essentially saying, “I don’t need
you. If necessary, I could get this done with-
out you.”
We should feel proud of our accomplish-
ments, but we must make sure not to feel too
proud. Even Moshe Rabbenu, the greatest
and most accomplished leader in history, was
not indispensable.
We need to stop idolizing ourselves – and
also stop idolizing other people.
Moshe, as great as he was, suffered from
a speech impediment. One commentator ex-
plains that Hashem specifically made Moshe
flawed so that people would not mistake
him for some kind of Hashemly creature. It
was critically important for them to remem-
ber that he was just human, that he wasn’t
perfect, that he was flawed.
When we idolize people – either our-
selves or other people — this is a deficiency in
our emunah, in our faith in Hashem, in our
belief that He exerts full control over every-
thing in the world.
We often tend to idolize certain figures– athletes, singers, actors, politicians, very
wealthy people, and even Rabbis. Certainly,
there are famous and accomplished people
who rightfully deserve our admiration and
respect. There are politicians who deserve
our support and our gratitude for the good
things they’ve done. But we must be very
wary of idolizing them, of raising them on
too high a pedestal, on depending on them
too much, and on investing in them too
much. Even great people – even Moshe Rab-
benu!! – are only human. The only perfect
being upon whom we should trust and rely in
Hashem.
Putting too much belief and trust in
people undermines our belief and trust in
Hashem. Let us stop idolizing ourselves and
other people, and always remember that only
Hashem is in full control of the world – and
that He is the only one we should ever
idolize.