(Sicha from 10 Shevat 5719)
Why Are You Crying Out to Me?
The Jews are trapped between the sea and the Egyptians. Moses arises to pray, and G-d answers him that now is not the time for prayer—“Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to move forward!” (Source 1). Questions: A. Why does G-d need to tell Moses what not do—to stop praying? B. What could be more effective than Moses’ holy prayer?
When a young family is asked to leave their warm, Chassidic community and travel to a city with no Jewish infrastructure and spread Torah there, they may believe it would be preferable to stay ensconced in their religious surroundings and focus on their spiritual growth. The lesson from this incident is that when it comes to saving a Jew, it’s not a time for prayer or spiritual growth, you must leave everything and save them.
There’s no ‘Someone Else’
Amalek declares war on the Jewish people. Moses tells Joshua to select men to fight back, and Moses goes to pray on a hilltop. When Moses raised his hand, the Jewish people prevailed, when he lowered it, the Amalekites prevailed. Eventually, Moses’ hands became heavy (Source 2). Rashi explains that this was a punishment for not drafting an army himself and instead tasking Joshua with the selection. The Zohar explains that Moses waged the spiritual front of the war (Source 3). If so, why was he punished?
The Rebbe explains that Moses was expected to know that when Jews are in danger, you need to take up arms and defend them.
With the Nation
Why was Moses’ punishment that his hands “became heavy?” It was measure for measure—he did not use his hands to defend the people.
This explains the depiction of Mashiach as an ill pauper wrapping his bandages (Sources 4-5). It reflects the idea that the Mashiach experiences the suffering of the Jewish people. A contemporary example is the suffering of the Rebbe Rayatz, which partially paralyzed him and affected his speech. This is along the lines of “He bore our illnesses,” and “I am with them in their distress.”
The takeaway is that to influence another Jew we must meet them at eye level, where they are at, even if that means leaving our comfort zone.
