Parshas Vaera
Stubbornness
Many people are stubborn. Stubbornness, tenacity, purposefulness are all
ambivalent characteristics. They can be positive and constructive traits
under certain circumstances and they can be terribly destructive and
negative under others. Pharaoh has his heart hardened by God and refuses to
let the people of Israel leave Egyptian slavery. But God only gives Pharaoh
the courage of his convictions. Pharaoh sincerely does not wish to allow
the Jews to leave his bondage and he is prepared to be very stubborn about
it. Ordinarily, Pharaoh's stubbornness would hardly be tested. But with
plagues raining down on Egypt, Pharaoh is sorely tested. Even his advisers,
who had until now supported Pharaoh's stubbornness fully, finally are
brought to their knees by the blows falling upon Egypt. They tell
Pharaoh, "Do you not realize that Egypt is lost?"
But Pharaoh himself remains unconvinced. And his stubbornness affects Moshe
and the Jewish people. There is an apparent wavering of faith among the
Jews. Maybe they will never be redeemed. Perhaps Moses' promises are only
dreams that will never become actualized. Facing a stubborn and intractable
foe weakens one's resolve and saps the belief of triumph that is so
necessary for the achievement of victory. So Pharaoh looks like a winner
after all. But Pharaoh eventually will not only bend, he will break.
Stubbornness is not necessarily synonymous with martyrdom.
When Pharaoh himself faces the Angel of Death on the night of Pesach, he
relents and frees the Jewish people. But he will turn stubborn again when
he feels that the odds are in his favor. For he is not convinced of the
power or rectitude of Moshe's mission and of the God of Israel. He will
therefore pursue his stubborn course till its bitter and unnecessary end in
the deep waters of the Yam Suf. Pharaoh thus becomes the paradigm for all
those tyrants and megalomaniacs who have followed him throughout the
centuries. The past century especially has spawned this breed of cruel
stubbornness in earnest and in numbers. From the Kaiser to Hitler, from
Lenin and Stalin to Chairman Mao, from the Grand Mufti to Sadaam Hussein
and Yassir Arafat the imitators of Pharaoh are clear to see. Stubbornness
in the name of evil, in the cause of conquest and hatred of others, is a
very negative and dangerous trait. It destroys many innocent people but
eventually it destroys the stubborn person as well.
Evil is an infection of the soul. Unless it is fought and controlled it
will ravage the entire body. But you will say, "Is not the secret of Jewish
survival somehow rooted in our own stubbornness?" And the answer to that
must be "yes." But there is stubbornness and stubbornness. The stubbornness
of morality, of kindness, of Sinai and its basic commandments for our
civilization (one of which has become particularly public and pertinent in
our political and governmental lives) and of commitment to do the right and
the just, is an admirable quality. Thus, a truly sophisticated and
intelligent Jew is stubborn and flexible at the same time. In worldly
matters, in the marketplace, in the tactics of home and family and
education, flexibility is the watchword. "Do it my way or don't do it all,"
is a dangerous policy in everyday living. Openness to others and to new
ideas and situations guarantees greater success and accomplishment in the
world.
Parents who are flexible and not rigid in the management of their home will
usually see happier results from their children. But in matters of the
spirit and soul, in issues of ethics and morality, in the defense of the
code and traditions of Sinai, stubbornness and backbone are the traits
required for success. "But everyone is doing it," is the refrain that is
used to justify negative and costly conduct. One must have the strength to
say "not everyone, not me, not us, not our family, not the Jewish people."
The Jewish world is reeling from a lack of stubbornness regarding the vital
issues of the Jewish world - Torah, observance, the Land of Israel, Torah
education, family and Jewish grandchildren. It has too much flexibility
regarding these issues. It is far too stubborn regarding defending current
politically correct and slogan-prone issues. Pharaoh exemplifies the wrong
stubbornness. Moshe represents the correct stubbornness. We should
certainly attempt to be the followers of Moshe.
Shabat Shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
Text Copyright © 2004 Rabbi Berel Wein and
Torah.org.
