When I was a boy, maybe 10 years young, I desperately wanted ownership of our family dog. I begged and pleaded with my father for the job. I was up for it, or so I thought.
Wanting to make this request into a learning moment, my father allowed me "ownership and full responsibility" and said to me as he handed over the leash, "Be wary what you wish for."
My ownership of the dog lasted 3 weeks. After forfeited allowances for dog food, being woken in the middle of the night and early morning to take the dog for walks and being responsible for food and grooming daily, I realized I wanted more than I could handle. While I rarely think of that story anymore, I often think about the lesson my father demonstrated for me and the words, 'be wary what you wish for' continue to echo in my ears.
We almost have a pre-disposition to WANT things. It is natural. Some are good and some are bad. However, there are times in life where we must be careful of what we wish for and the baggage that comes with the request. Two events, separated by thousands of years but almost identical in location and theme, highlight this lesson for me.
A short biblical history: The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. They were worked by the Pharaoh and paid inadequate wages. Moses negotiates their release and they flee through the river and into the dessert on a 40 year pilgrimage to the Promised Land. Shortly after their miraculous escape, surrounded by vistas that show no advance in their position, extreme heat, tired feet and crying babies, the Israelites complain. "Is this why we came out of slavery? It was better with the Pharaoh. At least then we ate and knew our destiny each day. Who is our real leader?"
Each time I read these complaints in the Torah, I think of my father's line - "be careful what you wish for."
Fast forward to 2011. The situation in Egypt is unfolding before our eyes. There is unrest by the population and President Hosni Mubarak has apparently hardened his heart and is not succumbing to the pressure of turning his dictatorship of Egypt into a democracy.
As this change develops, literally by the minute, I cannot help again but to think of my father's sagacious line, "be careful what you wish for."
Democracy is great. We reap its benefits in America and Israel. But, it can also be dangerous if not governed and implemented properly. Democracy in an unstable region and with radical partners is what led to the democratic and free election of Hamas terrorists in Gaza and a Hizbullah led government in Lebanon. While we should echo the shouts for Egyptian freedom, we should be wary of the dangers of unsupervised and unstructured democracy in a region that has been run by a theocratic dictator since way before I, and most of you, were born. Creating a structure of free elections and autonomous thoughts along with a free press takes time and careful planning to appreciate all of its rewards. Having a regime where radicalism and hatred takes over freely will service no one well in the future, least of all the very oppressed Egyptians that are in Tahrir square today.
I suppose, had Moses been the perfect CEO, his consultants would have advised him to have a 'sit-down' pre-Exodus with his group of Israelites and let them know it was not all going to be sunshine and roses on this journey to the land of Milk and Honey. There would be tough days ahead; challenges and tribulations, achievements and disappointments, complaints and satisfaction. Perhaps my dad should have said, "Be careful of what you wish for - or prepare for what you wish for - you never know how the challenge and responsibility is going to fit.
The past is prologue. The pyramids or Tahrir Square, the Pharaoh's throne or Mubarak's palace, Israelites or Egyptians, we all are hoping for a better tomorrow. What we need to remember is that tomorrow will not happen today, and we might have a few bumps getting there. Hopefully, the journey makes us realize that we are glad for what we wished for and the experience helped us build character and strengthened our moral fiber.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner
