This week’s Torah reading, Bo, begins with G-d sending Moshe to Pharaoh to ask him again to release the Jewish people. But rather than begin, “Go to Pharaoh,” G-d tells Moshe: “Come to Pharaoh,” i.e., come with Me.
The commentaries explain that Moshe hesitated before accepting the mission and agreed to go only after G-d promised that He would accompany him.
On a simple level, it is explained that Moshe was afraid and G-d’s promise to accompany him assuaged those fears.
On a deeper level, however, the unwillingness of Moshe to proceed on his own gives us a glimpse of the uniqueness of Moshe’s personality and the secret of his success as a leader.
Transcendent Power
Moshe did not want to face Pharaoh on his own, because then there would be a confrontation between two men: Moshe, representing human aspirations for good, and Pharaoh, who represents man’s tendency for evil and cruelty.
In such a one-on-one confrontation, Moshe did not know who would emerge victorious.
He wanted to approach Pharaoh with a power that transcends the human sphere and, therefore, he waited until G-d promised to accompany him.
True Leadership
This was not a one time event, but a motif that characterized Moshe’s approach at all times.
What made Moshe effective? His ability to put his own self aside and be no more than a medium to communicate G-d’s message. Whether speaking to Pharaoh or to the Jewish people, Moshe did not speak his own words. He spoke in G-d’s name, as our Sages’ say: “the Divine presence spoke from Moshe’s mouth.”
When the image of leadership that a person projects is based on his own individual power, it may be effective in motivating certain people. But for a person to inspire a people as a whole, he should harness himself to a power much greater than his individual self.
For in the long run, what is going to motivate other people is a mission that is transcendent in nature, one that gives them a goal above their individual selves. And the only way a leader can honestly impart such a mission to his people is when he has a similar sense of mission himself.
Acting as Moshe
That was Moshe’s unique ability. When the people complained to him, he told them: “... and we, what are we? Your complaints are not against us, but against G-d.”
He did not see himself personally as part of the picture at all. He had one goal: to communicate G-d’s message and motivate others to carry it out.
In our own lives, each one of us can be a Moshe in a certain sense, for we all have spheres of influence where others look up to us for guidance and direction. If what we give them is ourselves, then our message will have a limited scope. But if we can rise above ourselves and communicate G-dly truth, our message will have universal appeal.
Based on the teachings of the Rebbe, from Keeping in Touch, reprinted with permission from Sichos in English
