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The End lies in the Beginning
This week we will read the Parsha of Shemos which begins the second Book of the Five Books of Moshe. The Book of Shemos takes us from the Yaakov's family's descent to Egypt through their slavery and torture and through their exodus from Egypt past their standing together at Mount Sinai and into their second year of freedom when they finally constructed the Mishkon (portable Temple).
The leader that led the people out of slavery to become the chosen people of HaShem was Moshe. Moshe's early beginnings are recounted in our Parsha. Among the many outstanding qualities of Moshe the one that I am most moved by is his exceptional humility. The more successful a person becomes, the harder it becomes to remain humble. Certainly when one transforms an entire people of 3,000,000 from absolute slaves to the paradigm of civilization, humility becomes hard to hold on to. And certainly when one is chosen to be the representative of the Creator Himself to deliver the Torah to His people, humility becomes even more hard to maintain. Nevertheless the Torah testifies that Moshe was exceedingly humble. (For the sake of full disclosure it must be noted that although we often associate humility with meekness this was not the case with Moshe. Quite the opposite was true. Moshe was strong and demanding. This is what made his humility so meaningful.)
Perhaps it was because of this remarkable quality that HaShem chose Moshe. The tremendous authority given to the one chosen by HaShem would be utterly intoxicating without a strong sense of humility.
We have on many occasions pointed out the notion that the qualities and faults of a person can very often be traced back to genesis of the person. Let us explore Moshe's earliest beginnings to find the source of Moshe's humility.
The Parsha tells us that Moshe's parents were Amram and Yocheved. When Amram and Yocheved were married several years and already had their two first children, Miriam and Aharon, Pharaoh ordered a decree. All male babies must be murdered at birth. In fact, this edict was carried and many children were killed. Amram, who was a leader of the people and many people followed his example, felt that it would be wrong to beget children only to be murdered. He and his wife, Yocheved, therefore agreed to divorce so as not to have any more children who would be murdered. Miriam, who was 5 years old at the time, begged her parents to reunite. Her argument was that while Pharaoh decreed that all boys be murdered, Amram's decree was that no children at all should be born; neither boys nor girls. She argued further that not only is Amram's abstinence preventing him from having more children but it is preventing the Jewish people from having more children. There were thousands of families who looked to Amram for guidance. Upon seeing their leader divorce his wife on grounds that the children would be killed, they too divorced their wives thereby causing the Jewish people a loss of perhaps hundreds of thousands of children.
After Miriam made her point, Amram reconsidered his decision and remarried Yocheved. With that change of attitude everyone who had followed Amram's position by divorcing their wives now followed the cue given by Amram and took their wives back.
We can be sure that before Amram divorced his wife he gave the matter very much consideration; after all he was a great man and a leader of his people. Nevertheless upon the argument posed by his little five year old daughter he reconsidered and actually conceded and changed his policy! There is probably no greater act of humility than to concede to the argument of a five year old and certainly when the one who is conceding is a world-class leader.
Hence, Amram's remarriage to Yocheved was a public statement to all; "I made a mistake and I am willing to do what needs to be done in spite of the fact that it makes me look fallible. My honor plays no role in my decisions; I must do what is right no matter the consequence."
The child born from such a union, from such a statement is a child that can be the one who will be HaShem's messenger to His people and to Pharaoh.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind
