(link to original page)

"Say to Aharon . . . take your staff . . . and let them become blood!"

"Say to Aharon" – Because the Nile protected Moshe when he was cast into it, its affliction by blood and frogs was not by the hands of Moshe, but by those of Aharon.

(Rashi, Shemot 7:19)

Everything which the Egyptians planned to do to Israel, the Holy One did to them. They thought the Israelites would be their water-carriers, therefore their rivers turned to blood. They thought the Israelites would carry their merchandise, therefore He afflicted them with frogs and it was consumed.

"I will harden . . ." – Since God desires repentance of sinners and not their death, as is written, "As I live – declares the Lord God – it is not my desire that the wicked shall die, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live." He said that He will multiply his omens and his miracles in order to influence the Egyptians to repent, by making known his greatness and his goodness through signs and miracles, as He said, "Just on account of this I have allowed you to withstand, to make you see my power." It was also His intention that Israel see and fear, as He said, "In order that I may put my signs among them . . . that you may recount". There is no question that without the hardening of his heart, Pharaoh would have expelled Israel – not because of change of heart or from submission to God, not because of remorse at having rebelled – even though he was aware of His greatness and goodness – but because of his inability to continue suffering the plagues, as expressed by his servants, "Do you not yet know that Egypt is lost?" This would not have constituted repentance at all, although should Pharaoh have decided to surrender to the Blessed God, to sincerely repent, nothing would have prevented him from doing so. God said "I will harden Pharaoh's heart" so that he be able to bear the plagues and not expel Israel because of fear of the plagues "Just on account of this I have allowed you to withstand, to make you see my power." As a result of the plagues they will recognize my greatness and my goodness, and they will return in complete repentance and in order. ". . . that you may recount" – that you, Israel, who witnesses their distress – tell your children, to teach them that God will do all this to a person in order to return him to Him; this will happen when man examines his actions when afflicted by misfortune. (Sforno, Shmot 7:3)

What are the qualities of leadership upon which followers depend, upon which they draw the strength to cope? From where does the leader derive his power, and how do the three bases of human management — leadership, awareness, and responsibility — crystallize in his personality? What is the role of the followers in consolidation of leadership, and what is their responsibility in creating the conditions which make leadership possible. How are ideas and need transformed into an impetus for unity, a common goal, a moving force?

"And God's messenger was seen by him in the flame of a fire out of the midst of a bush." Moshe, our teacher, appears as a common man, a shepherd, living a tranquil life, far from his people. He is of noble origin, grew up in the shadow of the royal court, but now follows his father-in-law's sheep. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, decides (for reasons as yet unrevealed) to take the shepherd and make of him the leader who will take the Children of Israel out of Egypt, to advance realization of God's promise of old regarding a great nation, the land of Israel, etc.

The Children of Israel are bent over, broken, and crushed under the Egyptian yoke, depressed under the yoke of an enslaver – "The Children of Israel groaned from the servitude." They do not rebel, but continue their life of suffering, devoid of ambition and practical plans for change.

A shepherd and his sheep, far from his people — a people without a shepherd, groaning under servitude.

In this week's parasha, we read of the great transformation; Moshe the shepherd becomes a leader. One cannot become a leader by command. Proclamation does not make one a leader. What is it that changes everything, that channels energies toward the proper direction, in the proportions and combinations which make it possible to change a simple Jew into the greatest of Jewish leaders, which replaces subjection and despair with a national dream which will be a source of spiritual strength for thousands of years to come? The spiritual connection between leader and his followers strengthens and supports the conduct of both parties.

Following the description of the suffering of the Children of Israel in Parashat Shemot, the Torah, in the current parasha, describes how God's will to deliver the Children of Israel is realized. "I have seen, yes, seen the affliction of my people . . . their cry I have heard . . . So I have come down to rescue it . . . to bring it up . . . to a land flowing with milk and honey." The midrash details the basic attributes of the chosen leader.

"Now Moshe was shepherding . . ." Midrash Rabba explains the process through which God chooses a leader:

"God does not bestow greatness upon a person until he has first examined him via a minor matter, and after that his appoints him to high station. Two of the world's greatest mortals were first examined in lesser affairs, and, only when proven to be faithful, were they elevated to eminence. He examined David with the sheep; he led them to pasture only in the wilderness, in order to prevent them from stealing (from private fields). Similarly, we read about Moshe ". . and he led the sheep to the wilderness," in order to avoid theft.

(Shemot Rabba 2:3)

After examining the personal qualities of the intended leader, the midrash adds:

". . . and how does he test him? Through the
tending of sheep. He tested David with the sheep, and found him to be
a good shepherd, as is written "and took him from the sheepfolds."
What is meant by "sheepfolds" ? It is as "And the
torrent from the heavens was held back" (Trans. note: The
Hebrew for 'sheepfold – michlaa – and for "was
held back" – va'yichl'oo – share the common root
אלכ). He would separate the large sheep from the
small, taking the smaller sheep out to pasture so that they feed on
the tender grass. Then he would take out the oldest sheep who would
eat the tougher grass. Finally he would take out the young adult
sheep, who would eat the toughest grass. Said the Holy One,
Blessed Be He: Whoever knows how to tend the sheep, each according to
its ability, let him come and lead my people . . . and so God tested
Moshe by means of the sheep. Our Sages said: He tended Yitro's sheep
in the desert. A kid escaped and he ran after it until he reached
shelter. Upon reaching shelter, a pool of water appeared, and the goat
stopped to drink. When Moshe arrived, he said" I was not aware that
you ran away from me because of thirst. You are tired." He carried him
on his shoulder. Said the Holy One: You are merciful in tending
mortals' sheep, so will you tend my sheep, Israel." (Shmot Rabba 2:2)

After identifying the personal
ethical basis, the midrash presents the leader's ability to
differentiate between the various levels among the sheep. His ability
to discern the individual and his needs within the community is the
basis for his achieving leadership. This is the capability which will
facilitate breaking down society's components into many notes and then
composing them into both an audible melody and an orchestra capable of
influencing and performing.

The Rambam, in his Guide for the Perplexed
(Book I, 54) draws a parallel between human leadership — which
is expressed through political order, teachings and laws — and
general divine supervi, which is expressed in the natural order of the
world.

Human leadership, or at least prophetic human
leadership, supplements divine rule in nature, and is, in a certain
sense, part of it. The Torah is part of the divine rule in that it
conforms with the goal of that rule and also because it was given by
the lawgiving prophet, whose leadership strength . . . is part of the
divine supervision in the world. This is to say: The lawgiving prophet
corresponds to the divine, and the Torah corresponds to nature.

Harvey, Zev, and Shwartz., Dov,
preface to Revealed and Hidden in Medieval Jewish Philosophy by
Nuriel, Avraham, Yerushalayim, 5760

What is embodied in this correlation? What
is the element which makes possible the connection between prophet and
God, between Torah and nature, between man and his leader? What is the
"information" which is transferred via that "connection"? Is this
connection one-directional or are the fertilization and the dependency
mutual — the role of "follower" being as important at that of the
"leader."

Divine providence ("hashgacha") is not
easily perceived, and there must a be a process which leads the nation
to awareness of its God. Moshe and the people are not yet ready for
this.

Moshe still considers himself to be "heavy of
mouth and heavy of tongue". He is worried, doubtful of his power
and his ability to cope with a nation of oppressed slaves. "Here,
(if) the Children of Israel do not hearken to me . .." repeats
Moshe after his attempt to refuse the assignment; he feels that the
people are not yet ready to be led. ". . . out of shortness of
spirit and out of hard servitude."

The Children of Israel's refusal to listen
to him weakened Moshe's resolution. A leader, said the "Sfat
Emet", derives his inspiration from the people. If the people does not
desire deliverance, in whose name is he demanding redemption? "I am
of foreskinned lips" – in such a situation I lack the
strength to express myself as I should.

The leader has two aspects, one
follower-oriented, the other mission-oriented. "How will Pharaoh
hearken to me? – and I am of foreskinned lips?"

The Chatam Sofer adds: Pharaoh argued with
Moshe and Aharon: "What is the meaning of "that I send" the
Children of Israel? First you have to want to
leave. Then, if I prevent you, wage war against me, as is the
way of all rebels and those winning their freedom. But you have not
expressed any desire to leave, so what logic is there to your demand
that I send?"

At this stage, when there is no providence and
leadership, i.e., the people – Man — still have no intellectual
awareness of God, and human prophetic leadership "stutters" (in a
double sense). There is no political order, no Torah and laws, and
there is no supplement to divine providence in nature. ". . . There is
no leader and shepherd whose potential for leadership . . . is part of
the divine providence." (Harvey and Schwartz, ibid.)

Now God desires to connect the
leadership with the nation, and he commands Moshe and
Aharon "to lead the Children of Israel gently, and to be patient with
them, and He commands them to honor Pharaoh, King of Egypt, in their
speech." (Rashi, Shmot 6:13). God illustrates for
Moshe the attribute which facilitates discussion and attention in relations between leaders. Patience and respect
place both sides – the followers, and leader with his mission —
on the same level.

Between Moshe and Yisrael stands Pharaoh. He is
a dominant leader, casting a heavy shadow on the relations which are
to be woven in the future between Moshe and Yisrael. Pharaoh's
leadership radiates its might and dims the light of Moshe's
personality in the eyes of the people; it blocks the tie between
leader and follower and hinders development of a leader-people mutual
awareness.

On one level, the Holy One acts to externalize the
leadership components of Moshe's personality and, on another level, to
dull Pharaoh's luster. The plagues visited upon Egypt are not
punishment and vengeance. They serve an important function in the
clouding of the image of Pharaoh – who compares himself to a
god, and in the building up of Moshe's leadership as part of his
struggle with himself, as he internalizes his standing as a leader
facing Pharaoh.

Moshe understands that it is not enough to
strengthen the leader in order for him to lead. The goal of human
leadership is to deal with the followers, with the Israelite
nation, which needs an "enlightened" leader to "connect"
with the goal. The "lit up" lights up, and the process is
repeated again and again until it is difficult to differentiate
between source and recipient . . all are one beam of light. This is a
process which will reach its climax as the Children of Israel receive
the Torah ". . . the skin of his face was radiating . . ."

In the set of leader-follower relations, an
abstract connection is constructed, a kind of mutual illumination,
through which the follower transfers his burden to the leader,
assigning him the attributes which he lacks, and sees in his leader's
image continuation of his – the follower's –personality's
needs. The tie is mutual, and the leader draws from the followers his
strength and authority.

Rambam's explication of the "Psalm of Plagues"
(Psalms 91), helps us decode the special, effective, and direct
communication between God and the leaders and people, between the
leadership and the people, between man and man. Nuriel maintains that
the Rambam's use of the specific word 'anaya' (providence) in
his explanation of the passage "A thousand may fall at your left
side, ten thousand at your right . . ." indicates that he means to
say that it is man's adherence to God which provides God's
providence. Man becomes one with the abundance of divine intelligence
– thus he is no longer corporeal, and thereby he is liberated
from all physical affliction." The Holy One, Blessed Be He, oversees
the universe though man's union with the abundance of divine
intelligence and his release from physical shackles; human
leadership – which is the continuation of the divine
providence – utilizes a similar connection which we have
termed radiation, through which one assigns his missing attributes to
the leader – assigns, and receives. God 'radiates' upon the
leadership and the nation, and creates a situation which facilitates
radiation and projection, one reinforcing and mutual, which makes
possible the creation of a new soul, "detached" from the
corpus, from the difficult day-to-day realities. This soul
provides the power to breach the psychological barriers, and creates a
spiritual condition of the soul connection between all
for the sake of a uniting and united goal.

Zvi Rubenstein is an architect.

" God spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, and charged
them to the Children of Israel. . ." – He said to them, know
you that they are the children of rebellious (parents) and they are a
nuisance, but despite this you must accept upon yourselves (the fact)
that they will curse you and stone you with rocks..

(Yalkut Shimoni, Bemidbar 11, 735)

Here we have a warning to all those who are
sent to be leaders of the Israelite nation — including those
motivated by their desire and inclinations – to be
psychologically constituted , capable of tolerating all the bother and
distress involved with leading the stubborn Jewish nation. If they are
not, they are not suited to this task.

(Leibowitz, Seven Years of
Discussions of the Weekly Parasha, p. 217)

1. On Hanukkah and the festival of Id El
   Fit'r, which ends the Fast of Ramadan, there took place a meeting
   between Jewish and Moslem religious leaders, under the aegis of the
   Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Bakshi-Doron, and the
   Inter-denominational Association in Israel. religious leaders stressed
   the religious significance of peace, and called upon the politicians
   to leave the resolution of religious issues to men of God, out of deep
   commitment to the value of peace in both Jewish and Moslem sources. We
   hope that "a little light" will disperse "much of the dark" and that
   these reof the rabbis and prominent Moslem religious leaders will
   deflect the dangerous nationalistic attacks from both sides.
2. On Shabbat, Parashat "Vayigash", a Shabbat Iyun of Netivot Shalom took place at the Guest House of Neve Ilan.

The Shabbat was devoted to examination of the
situation developing lately in Israel, and with the implications of
external changes on our mood, hopes, and apprehensions. Participants
had the opportunity to listen and to share with others feelings
deriving from the security and political situations in the
country. The lack of certainty arouses different emotional reactions
and – sometimes – disparate evaluations of the
realities.

Our colleague, Prof. Uriel Simon give an
enlightening lecture on "Yosef and His Brothers, a Story of Change."
Prof. Simon's main argument was that both Yosef and his brothers
underwent a process of change, and that it is only change and the
belief in the ability – of ours and of others – that makes
possible rapprochement between parties which previously hated each
other.

Our member, Dr. Menachem Klein, presented a
comprehensive, up-to-date survey of the various proposals which were
raised at the different stages of our contacts with the Palestinians
– particularly with respect to those subjects still awaiting
solution through negotiation.

This Shabbat enlightened us and helped us
comprehend the complexity of the problems on the agenda, providing
different perspectives. We are convinced that listening to different
sectors, to their distress and their aspirations, is a sine qua non
for understanding reality and for creating a dialogue which may
induce positive change of the current situation, – in the spirit of
"If I am not for myself – who will be? If I am only for myself,
what am I? If not now, then when?"

SHABBAT SHALOM!