No Rest

Moses, the paragon of truth could not countenance the idea that his actions would be a “temporary fix.” It was so contrary to his nature and ideal. Therefore, Moses asked G-d to let a more consistent leader begin the process that will end in ultimate and permanent success.

Moses’ Arguments

When Moses was asked by G-d at the burning bush to serve as the liberator of the Jewish people, he demurred. Moses in his humility “argued” with G-d that he should not be the one to assume this responsibility. Either he was not worthy to be their leader, or that the Jewish people were not worthy of being redeemed, or that he does not know what to say to them, or that they would not listen to him, or that he stuttered.

G-d refuted all his arguments and promised him success in his mission.

But, even after all of this Moses came up with a new argument:

“Please, my Master, send the one that you usually send.”

Rashi, the principal Bible commentator explains that Moses meant to say to G-d, why send me; send my much more articulate brother Aaron to be Your official spokesman.

Alternatively, Rashi explains that Moses’ argument was, why send him; send the one that you will eventually send, i.e., Moshiach, the final leader and redeemer of the Jewish people. Moses argued, ‘why send me, who is not destined to take them into the Promised Land and be their redeemer in the future.’

In other words, Moses argued that there was no point in having him do a half-baked job of liberating them from Egypt, when, in the end, someone else will have to complete the task. Why not send someone who can do everything from a to z without any interruption.

Moses’ argument raises an obvious question. True, Moses had a prophetic premonition that he was not destined to be their final leader, but what is wrong for him to do the first crucial half of the liberating process? Certainly, Moses, the most humble person that ever lived, could not have been offended by the fact that he would not complete the job.

There are two intertwined ways of answering this question.

Moses and Truth

The first is to focus on Moses’ character. Among his other qualities, Moses is said to personify the attribute of truth. Our Sages tell us that the refrain “Moses is true and his teachings are true,” was uttered by his greatest critics in the aftermath of the Korach rebellion.

What is the definition of truth?

Truth is much more than stating the facts honestly, accurately and unembellished. According to the Talmudic definition of truth, it involves consistency. The Hebrew word for truth, which is emes, contains the first middle and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, suggesting that in order for something to be emes it must be consistent from the beginning through the middle to the end.

Moses, the paragon of truth, thus, could not countenance the idea that his actions would be a “temporary fix.” It was so contrary to his nature and ideal. Therefore, Moses asked G-d to let a more consistent leader begin the process that will end in ultimate and permanent success.

Leaders Demand Success

There is yet another approach to Moses’ hesitancy. Moses, by making this argument that there was no point in him beginning the process if he would not be able to complete it was what is expected of a true leader.

The difference between a leader and a follower is that the latter cares about the success of the task at hand without regard for all of the other steps and ramifications of that task.

The story is told of a delegation of some of the greatest rabbis in Russia who traveled to Petersburg to help change a harsh decree against the Jewish community but failed. When one the members of the delegation later visited Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson (the fifth leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement) in his hotel room, he found him crying. “Why are you crying,” he asked, “we did everything in our power to change the decree.”

To this the Rabbi Sholom Dovber replied: “But we did not succeed.”

Both rabbis were prepared to give their lives for the success of their mission. Both worked tirelessly for the needs of the Jewish community; yet only one of them could not be consoled, knowing that they had done all that could have been expected of them. How do we explain their different reactions to failure.

The answer lies in the difference between the way a dedicated person looks at his mission and the way the leader views it. The former sees the task at hand, and does everything humanly possible to succeed no less so than the leader. The difference lies in how they view their mission. The hallmark of a true leader is one who cannot rest and find comfort until he brings the process to fruition. His devotion and love to his people is so intense and emes that he cannot imagine failure. And if it happens that he does not succeed it evokes the most profound feelings of sadness to the point of tears.

We are All Now Leaders

Living on the threshold of the Messianic Age, we are all presently charged with the role of leadership. Our task now is not to achieve some preliminary positive result, no matter how important and commendable, but to bring about the end of the suffering in exile. This we can accomplish even by one Mitzvah that “pushes us over the top,” and we cannot rest until we succeed to bring about the final Redemption.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shmos by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.