Our great teacher, Moshe Rabbeinu, when he spoke on our behalf to the Almighty after the sin of the eigel, begging forgiveness, he said as follows: You, Hashem, should rest Your Presence amongst us, because this is a stiff-necked nation, and You should forgive us therefore and take us as Your inheritance (Shemos 34:9).
Now, we have to understand what was being said there, “Forgive us because we are stiff-necked”?! What kind of a defense is that? Moshe Rabbeinu after all was the defender of the Jewish nation par excellence. And he was very wise too; he had a very good head and he could have advanced a number of arguments in defense of the nation.
We ourselves with our little heads could think of a number of arguments. And he, who was the great friend of the Jewish people and also a genius of mankind, he surely could have given a defense that would have provided vindication for the nation. And so if he proposed this reason – “because they are stiff-necked and stubborn” – then we have to listen to it and understand it.
Now, some say that Moshe Rabbeinu here was employing the word not in its common usage of ‘because’ but in the more unusual sense of ‘even though’: “Forgive us even though we’re stiff-necked.” But that’s not much of a defense however; and besides, if the plain translation is ‘because’ then that was surely included in Moshe Rabbeinu’s intent.
Stiff-neckedness! That’s the character trait that Moshe Rabbeinu chose to highlight in his defense of the people, the reason Hakadosh Baruch Hu should not forsake them. The fact that we are a stubborn nation was in the eyes of our great teacher the foremost recommendation for the Jewish nation.
Jews, Dogs, and Roosters
In Mesichta Beitzah (26b), the Gemara makes a statement: There are three strong ones, Yisroel is strong among the nations, the dog is strong among animals, and the chicken is strong among the birds.
Now we’re not talking here about physical strength because a lion or an elephant is stronger than a dog; and an eagle or an ostrich is stronger than a rooster. But the word used here for strength is not physical might, but boldness, strength of character, strength of fortitude.
You know, a dog doesn’t give his master any wool; you cannot shear his wool. He doesn’t supply any milk and he usually does not pull any vehicles. There may be some minor services here and there that he’ll do. This dog is a rat catcher, another dog helps in hunting. But they’re all minor things and we find plenty of breeds of dogs that don’t do anything at all.
Man’s Best Friend
But they have one commodity for which they are prized and that’s the commodity of loyalty: A dog is most loyal to its master. And he demonstrates it; he shows that he is fond of his master. And this stubborn loyalty is such a prized commodity that it is appreciated more than any other services that an animal renders.
A sheep clothes his master in wool; he gives him garments. But a sheep doesn’t come in and eat by the master’s table. The cow supplies milk and butter and cheese and yet she doesn’t walk into the dining room and perch on a chair next to her master. He’d beat her out into the stable.
But the dog, on the other hand, even though he doesn’t provide these more tangible services, is actually a comrade of the master. I’ve seen people who came to visit their children. So when they were saying farewell, they kissed their children’s dog goodbye. They picked it up and hugged it and kissed their children’s dog goodbye!
Now this isn’t in vain. You must say that there’s something that stirs their emotions. And there’s no question that it’s the loyalty of the dog – a very great character attribute. The dog is loyal to his master. A dog, once he gets a master, he’s loyal to his master. He’ll bite other people, he’ll bark at other people, but he comes up to his master and licks his feet and tries to make himself beloved by his master. And he remains that way till the end.
Dogged Perseverance
The story is told – a true story – of the dog that came daily to the train station to meet his master when he came home from the city. Every day at 5:00, the dog was there.
And one day, the train pulled in and the dog ran around sniffing all the trousers, but his master didn’t come. And he never came anymore. But the dog didn’t understand; he waited there. He didn’t leave the station; he was waiting for his master. He stood and stood there in the train yard, summer and winter. He ran around sniffing and searching. But no master.
And finally when he was old and he could barely totter, he met the last train and he dropped dead in the station. And so the station hand who had witnessed this story dug a grave for him near the tracks and put up a little monument to a loyal servant who never forgot.
Through Thick and Thin
And the comparison is therefore understandable: When you say Yisroel is strong among the nations, it means that the Jewish people are considered the most faithful of all nations. Through thick and thin we’re there; even after there commenced the period called hester ponim.
You know, up till the end of the first Beis Hamikdash it was giluy ponim – the Shechinah was open. But after the first destruction, everything changed and thenceforth, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, although He continued to conduct the affairs of His people and the affairs of the world, He remained concealed. He did no open miracles, no public miracles. He didn’t demonstrate His Presence as openly as in the days of old.
And the Jewish nation was driven from one land to another and they were subjected to every ordeal. But it makes no difference. We lived among every possible culture and nevertheless, the Torah which is observed in Brooklyn today is the same Torah that they accepted at Har Sinai.
