"Why did Moshe sit on a rock," asks the Gemara (Taanis 11a), "Didn't he have a cushion on which to sit?"
The Gemara goes on to explain that when the Amalekites attacked the Jewish Nation and Moshe went to lead the Nation in prayer he wanted to feel suffering just as those fighting were suffering. For that reason he chose to sit on a rock and not on something more comfortable.
Who was under attack? Our Sages teach us that it was the people who had been regurgitated by the Clouds of Glory. These were the lowest of the low whose behavior was so repugnant that the clouds which protected the rest of the Nation wanted no part of them. They were exposed and vulnerable and the Amalekites attacked them.
Moshe was in no personal danger whatsoever. Yet, Moshe was not satisfied with feeling the pain of those under attack in his heart. Nor was prayer alone sufficient. He felt it was necessary to feel physical discomfort in order to truly empathize with the people under attack.
As I taught this Gemara this morning I found myself comparing this incident with the current political crisis in Israel about drafting Charedim. I wonder how many Charedim engage in behavior similar to that of Moshe. When soldiers are in the battlefield protecting them and find themselves in mortal danger, are those who are being protected engaging in even mild physical discomfort to feel some of the discomfort of the soldiers? Are they being dismissive of the soldiers as being irreligious or perceived to be less religious and not deserving of their full empathy?
I suspect that if the Charedi population had acted for the past half-century in the manner that Moshe acted, we would not be in the situation in which we find ourselves today.
The Gemara goes on to explain that when the Amalekites attacked the Jewish Nation and Moshe went to lead the Nation in prayer he wanted to feel suffering just as those fighting were suffering. For that reason he chose to sit on a rock and not on something more comfortable.
Who was under attack? Our Sages teach us that it was the people who had been regurgitated by the Clouds of Glory. These were the lowest of the low whose behavior was so repugnant that the clouds which protected the rest of the Nation wanted no part of them. They were exposed and vulnerable and the Amalekites attacked them.
Moshe was in no personal danger whatsoever. Yet, Moshe was not satisfied with feeling the pain of those under attack in his heart. Nor was prayer alone sufficient. He felt it was necessary to feel physical discomfort in order to truly empathize with the people under attack.
I suspect that if the Charedi population had acted for the past half-century in the manner that Moshe acted, we would not be in the situation in which we find ourselves today.
1 comment:
By not doing so Chayim, it seems that they were inadvertently creating a chilul Hashem. Hmm. Often, it's hard to see beyond our daled amos. I don't know if I would have had the awareness to do better had I been in their situation.
Post a Comment