Photo Credit: Jewish Press
(Parsha Va’era)
When G-d gave Moshe the mission to go to Pharaoh and demand to let His people go, He warned Moshe that it would not happen overnight. “Ve’ani yada’ati ki lo yitein eschem melech mitzraim lahaloch velo beyad chazaka” – “I know in advance,” says G-d to Moshe, “that the Egyptian king will not allow you to leave unless he is forced to do so.” “Veshalchti es yodi vehikeisi es Mitzraim bechol nifle’osei asher e’eseh bekirbo ve’acharei kein yeshalach eschem” – “I will then display My power and demolish Egypt through all the miraculous deeds that I will perform in their land. Then Pharaoh will let you leave” Shemos 3:19-20).
So Moshe knew that his mission would not meet with immediate success. Why then did he complain to G-d and say “Lama hareiosa le’am hazeh, lama zeh shelachtani? Ume’az basi el Pharaoh ledaber bishmecha, herah la’am hazeh, ve’hatzel lo hitzalta es amecha” (“O’ L-rd, why do You mistreat Your people? Why did you send me. As soon as I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he made things worse for these people. You have done nothing to save your people” (5:22-23)).
Moshe was not complaining that it was taking a long time to release his people. He was complaining that rather than alleviating their plight, conditions were getting worse. His first meeting with Pharaoh resulted in the edict that forced the Jews to find their own straw with which to make bricks and still produce the same quota as before.
How often in ancient and contemporary Jewish history have we seen things become desperate before they improved? And yet we persevered and survived. And with this perseverance, our faith in G-d as our ultimate savior survived too.
What Moshe lost sight of was the promise that G-d gave to Avraham, “Ger yeheye zaracha be’eretz lo lahem, ve’avadum ve’inu osam arba me’os shana vegam es hagoy ahser ya’avodu dan anochi, ve’achere kein yetze’u be’rechush gadol – Know that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs for 400 years. They will be enslaved and oppressed but I will finally bring judgment against the nation who enslaves them and they will then leave with great wealth.