Shemos
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken
"And G-d said to him, 'what is in your hand?' And he said, 'a staff.' And
He said, 'cast it to the ground,' and he cast it to the ground and it
became a snake, and Moshe ran away from it." [4:2-3]
The Medrash tells us the following story (Shemos Rabba 3): A Roman matron
said to Rebbe Yossi, "my god is greater than your G-d." He asked her why.
So she explained, "at the moment that your G-d revealed Himself to Moshe in
the bush, Moshe covered his face. But when he saw the snake, which is my
god, immediately 'Moshe ran away from it!'"
Rebbe Yossi replied that she didn't understand. "When our G-d was revealed
in the bush, there was no place to run. Where would he run? To the heavens,
the sea, or to the dry land. What does it say concerning our G-d? 'Behold,
I fill the heavens and the earth...' But with the snake, which is your god,
if a person merely runs two or three steps away he can escape and save
himself, and this is why it says 'Moshe ran away from it.'"
Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Hertzberg zt"l sees within this conversation a message
about leadership. The Roman matron said that her god was the snake, because
that was the type of leadership to which she was accustomed. Her leader was
a snake then, and we still find leaders of this variety today: dictators,
who punish their people without cause or personal benefit, but only in
order to demonstrate how powerful they are. They are like snakes, who will
strike without cause or benefit. Similarly, those who spread gossip are
like snakes, because the only "benefit" is malicious - the sense of
superiority which they get from putting down others. The dictator and
gossip work together: the power of the dictator depends upon the gossip
that people will tell about one another, even that ministers will tell
about one another. No one dares make a misstep, and thus the dictator rules
from fear.
Our teacher Moshe ran away from "leadership" of this nature. He wanted no
part of it, for it runs completely contrary to the kindness and generosity
of our forebears, the kindness demanded of us by the Torah. The Jewish path
towards leadership is built upon humility, mercy and righteousness, not the
methods of a snake. The Jewish path is indicated only a few verses later,
when G-d says, "in order that they will believe that the G-d of their
forebears appeared to you, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, the G-d of
Jacob." [4:5]
Jewish leaders should inspire people to recognize and have faith in the G-d
of our forebears, by demonstrating an entirely different - and sanctified -
style of leadership. The Jewish leader may use his staff, but only out of
concern for his land and his people, not for personal reasons, and
certainly not out of malice.
This lesson applies to all of us: when we behave with kindness,
consideration, and love for others, we inspire respect for ourselves, for
our people, and for our G-d.
Good Shabbos
