PARSHAT VAERA Hang in there, Shabbat is coming! Moses learns a great deal about leadership in this weeks Parsha. God instructs him to tell the Israelites that I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because of the Egyptians...I am the Lord... I will free you from the labors of Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. And I will take you to be My people. That is one strong message that Moses is going to bring to his people. How could he not succeed in rallying them? We get the answer in the very next verse: But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage. In other words the people were too beaten down, too depressed, too overwhelmed to be moved by even the greatest message. You will be free soon is Moses message but they want to know how they will survive until tomorrow and why would freedom come now when it hasnt come in over 200 years? The people are simply not open to the message no matter how powerful or promising it is. Then Moses is told to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people go. He is going to speak in Gods name. But Pharaoh believes himself to be God so he is also not open to hearing Moses message. That is why God tells Moses that at the same time you speak to Pharaoh I will multiply My signs and marvels and deliver the Israelites from Egypt with extraordinary chastisements [i.e. the ten plagues - we know there are 10 since we saw the movie but neither Moses nor Pharaoh know that at this time]. God is telling Moses that Pharaoh will not listen to his words until they are backed up by the kind of actions that put Pharaoh in the mood to listen. Moses will have to lift up the peoples spirit before they can hear his message and bring down Pharaohs arrogance and self-assuredness before he will be open to Gods words from Moses and Aaron. Leaders can motivate with words but eventually they need to do something to create a listening mood in the people. Those who are unemployed today or fearful for their jobs cannot be moved anymore by articulate speeches. They want to know how they can pay their rent or mortgage and buy food. Westerners want to know that we are safe in our homelands and that terrorists are being pursued. Speeches about the Islamic world being mostly moderate and having no ill will towards us wont do the trick anymore. Assuredness that the Dolphins will be better prepared for the next game wont convince anyone to show up for the games at home (excuse the digression but this has been a really tough year for us season ticket holders). A leader has to prepare his/her people for the message - not just deliver it in words. When Pharaoh started to see that God was God and that he - Pharaoh - did not have the power to prevent the disaster that was overwhelming Egypt he became open to Moses words. When the people saw that something was actually happening which gave them a chance for freedom from bondage they jumped into action - sacrificed the Paschal lamb and put the blood on the doorpost as a sign of rebellion against Egypt. Leaders need to lay the groundwork necessary for the message they are about to deliver. If they want their words to move and motivate then they first need to create the atmosphere and conditions that allow their people to hear the message and see its possibilities. Israelis will make tremendous concessions to a Palestinian state when they see a real change in Palestinian attitude - i.e. the acceptance of Israels right to exist as a Jewish state - and Palestinians will understand the real hope of peace as the restrictions on their free movement and access to roads and transportation ease. Such actions will lay the groundwork for a real peace. Lacking those actions the words of the leaders of both the Israelis and the Palestinians will fall on deaf ears. Many believe that the problems facing our country, Israel and the world are more complex and difficult than ever. I dont think that is true. The world faced Nazism, Fascism and Communism which culminated in World Wars and Cold Wars that are behind us now. America faced the depression and the 18% interest rates of the 80s. Israel once had no peace treaty with a single Arab country and a strong Syria to its North and a powerful Egypt to its south. None of that is true today. The problems are great and serious. Radical Islam is out of control and needs to be controlled and defeated; Israel still has to solve the Palestinian issue and the two-state situation and America still has some pressing economic issues and racial tensions. But the only really fateful issue we have is the possibility of a nuclear Iran and we mustnt allow any other issue to take our eye off that ball. In the final analysis what seems to be different is that today we lack leaders who can inspire through word and action. We lack a Moses, a Martin Luther King, a Roosevelt, Truman or JFK. Most of us cant even name the heads of the European countries who are our allies because they simply dont make much of an impression. Polls have shown a lack of confidence in our own Presidents ability to deal with foreign policy. God understood that action was needed to move history forward and to free the people of Israel form Egypt. Moses became his most able and talented partner. Where is God going to find His new partner in leading the world towards greater stability, peace and prosperity? Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Ed Farber
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 19:58:17 +0000