The Spirit of a Nation

 The Jewish spirit.  We have been hearing a lot about it recently.  Jews supporting each other and protecting our land.  Jews rushing from all over the world into the war zone in Israel, putting their own lives in danger.  Jews who on October 7 went right into the thick of the terrorist attack to save others.  We have heard many stories of heroism and self-sacrifice that show the enduring Jewish spirit and show how we sacrifice to help one another. 

 

Friends of mine who lived here many years ago now live in Jerusalem.  They have a son Doron who is a police officer,a relatively safe job.  As a member of the police he is exempt from reserve army duty.  Nevertheless he joined his former army unit and put himself literally at the forefront of the war in an extremely dangerous position, providing cover for the medical teams who go into the battle zones to pull out wounded soldiers.  He sits unprotected atop an armored vehicle, making sure the medical personnel are protected.  His mother told me that he feels that Hashem created a bubble around him that protects him from enemy fire.

 

From the birth of our nation until today, Jews have made great sacrifices, and they are always truly inspiring to see.   In the Parsha this week we learn about the two Jewish midwives, Shifra and Puah, who were commanded personally by Pharaoh to kill all newborn Jewish boys.  Not only did they not kill them, they nurtured them and kept them healthy.  When Pharaoh challenged them, they gave an excuse that Jewish women give birth quickly before the midwife arrives.

 

Then we come to the story of Moshe.  If we look a little deeper into the commentaries, we see that Moshe was not just a step-child in Pharaoh's palace.  Pharaoh's daughter had adopted him, and he rapidly gained Pharaoh's affection.  Pharaoh made him his chief of staff, and Moshe ran the palace.  The first thing he did was visit his suffering brethren, and kill an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Jew to death.  The sacrifice was so great that he was actually sentenced to death, and escaped by an open miracle when the sword could not cut his neck.

 

Moshe’s challenge to Hashem at the end of the Parsha, when Pharaoh increased the pressure on the Jewish nation and Moshe complained that things were worse and not better, was in a way no less of a sacrifice.  To challenge Hashem like that was a spiritual sacrifice on behalf of the people.

 

Even Moshe’s initial refusal to go to Pharaoh when he encountered the burning bush, and his request that Hashem send someone else, is explained in the same vein by Chassidus.  There are many explanations about how Moshe could refuse Hashem, but Chassidus focuses on his words (Shemot 4:13) "I beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send."  Rashi says that the great prophet Moshe foresaw that he would not be the final redeemer of the Jewish people, and he was pleading with Hashem to send Moshiach, who would usher in the era of eternal peace, so that there would not be any more exiles.  In other words, Moshe was even prepared to argue with Hashem about a direct order, in order to protect the Jewish people.

Throughout our history, Jews have given of themselves for others.  We saw it in our own time (well that’s accurate for some of us) in the Soviet Union, in the concentration camps, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, especially among the immigrants to Israel, and we are seeing it now.

 

To paraphrase Moshe, "we beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send."  Enough suffering, enough sacrifice, it’s time for permanent and complete redemption.