A Quick Thought -- Shemos

At the end of Parashas Shemos, Moshe and Aharon leave Pharaoh’s palace after conveying Hashem’s demand that the Jewish Nation be allowed to leave Egypt for three days to serve Him.

In response, Pharaoh announced that the Jews were to be subjugated even more severely.

Jewish guards – those who bore the brunt of the terrible new decree  -- appealed to Paharoh, but he was insistent about his new decree. As they left the palace, they met Moshe and Aharon and assailed them for having gone to Pharaoh and inciting him to make life even more difficult.

Moshe then turns to Hashem with a complaint, which is discussed by Chazal and many meforshim. This is what the Torah says:

Vayashav Moshe el Hashem, vayomar: Ado- noi, lamah harei’osa la’am hazeh, lamah zeh shelachtani? U’meiaz baasi el Pharaoh l’dabeir bishmecha heira la’am hazeh, v’hatzeil lo hitzalta es amecha.
Vayomer Hashem: Attah sir’eh es asher e’eseh l’Pharaoh; ki v’yad chazakah yishalcheim….

Moshe returned to Hashem and said: My Master, why did you treat this nation badly; why did you send me? And since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he treated this nation even worse, yet You have not saved Your Nation.

And Hashem said: Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong arm he will send them forth… (Shemos 5:22-6:1).

Let us understand: Moshe was not now asking Hashem about the treatment of the Jews until now. He discovered the reason for that earlier (see Rashi to 2:15), and his prophecy from Hashem showed that there was a plan in place to redeem them.

His current plaint was apparently based on the new decrees. Why then doe he reiterate “lamah hareiosah, why did you treat this nation badly…” and then “Umei’az baasi…heira la’am hazeh, And since I came…he treated this nation even worse?”

Additionally, Moshe’s second sentence seemingly explains the first. Why then does he say “Umei’az, And since…” rather than simply “Me’iaz, Since”?

Thirdly, why in the second sentence does Moshe mention the nation twice, a differently yet: first he says “ha’am hazeh, this nation,” and then he says “amecha, Your nation”?

One way to understand Moshe’s statement, and Hashem’s response, is that Moshe was saying two distinct things here, each in an attempt to invoke Hashem’s commitment to quickly redeem the nation:

First: Why did you treat the nation badly? Why did you send me?

He invokes the pain of Klal Yisrael – and explains that he is speaking up because he had a role here (see Rashi). Hashem does not respond.

So Moshe goes on to his second sentence:

And, besides for that, since I came to Pharaoh speaking in Your Name, he has treated this nation more badly – i.e., there is one Chillul Hashem in that the Jews see that after their G-d sent a message to Pharaoh they are being persecuted more severely – and, additionally, You have not saved Your Nation – i.e., there is a second Chillul Hashem as the Egyptians feel that you sent a messenger but are unable to save Your Nation.

That is an argument that achieved the result Moshe desired: Hashem assures him: Attah sireh, Now you will see how I will redeem them, the process will begin forthwith.

Similarly, we find that when the Jews sinned with the eigel and the meraglim, Moshe effectively invoked the likelihood of Chillul Hashem to save the Jews from decimation (Devarim 9:28, Bamidbar 14:17).

In the same way, Dovid Hamelech begins Tehillim 115 with Lo lanu, Hashem, lo lanu, ki lishimcha tein kavod…Not for our sake Hashem, not for our sake, but give honor to Your Name. We implore Hashem to help Klal Yisrael not because of our own merits, but for the sake of Kevod Shamayim.

If we live our lives in a way that brings honor to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, we show that His Honor is important to us. We can then ask Him to answer our supplications for His Nation for His sake. That is how Moshe and Dovid lived, and that is why their tefillos  effected results.

May we all be zocheh to live such lives and to atah sireh, to imminently see berachos and yeshuos for all of Klal Yisrael, and the geulah sheleimah – the ultimate manifestation of kevod Shamayim – bimheirah b’yameinu.

Gut Shabbos.