Much later, we find the more well-known verse, “and the man Moses was extremely humble, more than any man upon the face of the earth.”
We can really see how these two verses should be compared. Against his enemies, in the land of Egypt, he is described as extremely great. But when it comes to his relationship with his sister and brother, there, he is extremely humble. We can learn a very important moral lesson: within the family—with those who are closest to you—you should not be offended by anyone, with siblings, one needs to be very humble. But against Pharaoh, one needs to be “extremely great” and exercise confidence.
Self-Nullification: The Beginning of Moses’ Path
When there are such polar opposites in the psyche, it is difficult for them to be expressed simultaneously. Internally, they exist together but cannot be seen in a person’s behavior together. When Moses flees, as we will see, he is not forceful. When he is forceful against all difficulties, we do not see him fleeing. Regarding Moses’ life, self-nullification is normally exhibited first. There seems to be an exception in the story that we have dealt with in an article titled, “the First Steps of the Redeemer of Israel,” when, because of his solidarity with his enslaved brothers, he first exhibits his confidence and kills an Egyptian that was torturing one of the Hebrews and only then does he flee from Pharaoh. Often it happens that a person does something bold and then realizes what he’s done. He realizes he has done something crazy, comes down to reality, and if he is still sane wonders, ‘What have I done?!’ Not that Moses regretted his action, but he does flee.
The Burning Bush and Moses’ Confidence
After Moses flees from Pharaoh, he finds favor in God’s eyes. The Almighty wants to appoint him as the redeemer of the Jewish people—He is the first redeemer; he is the final redeemer—and He calls him to the desert. Moses argues with God for seven days: God wants to send him, and Moses refuses. Which side of Moses’ is refusing? It is his self-nullification, his insignificance. Finally, Moses says, “Please send he whom You will send.” This appointment is not at relevant to me, send Aaron, bring the Mashiach King, someone better, it doesn’t suit me. And God needs to compel him to accept the mission.
God performs a miracle for him. Take the staff and throw it on the ground and it will become a serpent. What does Moses do when his staff turns into a snake? He runs away! What does God need to tell him? To grab the snake. Not simple. Hold its tail. It’s very dangerous to hold a snake by the tail, if you hold the head, you can control it, but with a snake, it is most dangerous to hold its tail. What kind of exercise is God doing with Moses? God is an educator. Here Moses is like a child in a classroom, and the Holy, Blessed One is the teacher. The teacher wants to instill confidence in him.
God wants to reveal the energy of the letter shin in Moses’ name, the shin that we said represents his holy substance in his title “the man.” From the time he goes to Egypt and begins to perform miracles against Pharaoh, he needs to face great fear. All the elders that accompany him, eventually avoid entering Pharaoh’s palace. Moses too wants to flee, from fear. But God tells him “Come”, “Come with Me, I am with you, be strong, have confidence.” God continues to give Moses more and more confidence, entrusting the success of the redemption in his hands. From the moment that Moses is successful in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, in Giving the Torah at Mt. Sinai, at leading the people through the wilderness, he no longer exhibits his proclivity to flee. It is only in the story where his older brothers suddenly turn on him that he reveals how extremely humble he is, more than any man which was upon the face of the earth. It is not a superficial trait; it is completely authentic.
Releasing the Traumas of Early Childhood: From Paranoia to Active Confidence
How do I know that Moses always tended to flee? The first thing that happened to him in his life was that his mother hid him away. This surely registered in his subconscious: “I had to be hidden first for three months, and then placed inside a basket.” He is essentially a fugitive. Fleeing, which is nullification as well as fear, is inherently within him. Why did they hide him and put him in the river? Out of fear. This made an impression deeply rooted in his subconscious. What happens with a baby is recorded for life. However, it is written that “God seeks he who is pursued.”
Because Moses is pursued, he is a fugitive from infancy, God seeks him and wants to appoint him as the redeemer; turn him from fleeing to being a king.
Moses could have developed paranoia following three months of hiding and then being thrown into the river. But he develops into the archetype of an individual who exhibits self-control and is entrusted with freeing the entire Jewish people from there paranoia caused by the Egyptians, which reaches its climax at the Splitting of the Red Sea. The splitting of the Red Sea is a symbol of the psychological healing of the persecution complex. God appoints Moses to lead the people because he wants him to be an exemplar for the transformation required in life.
People carry difficult events from when they were in their mother’s womb, from when they were born, when they nursed, and sometimes even from previous incarnations. One might think that there is no way to break free from their influence. But the Torah is meant to give strength to completely break free from them, to turn everything around. And Moses provides the most important example.
(from a shiur given on the 28th of Av, 5778)
