The Battle Field Vs Negotiating Table Mentality

In our Parsha, G-d showed himself to Moshe at the burning bush and chose him to be the leader of the Jewish people. He would be the one to galvanize and inspire them with the message of redemption and he would be the one to confront Pharaoh demanding that he free the Jews from their slavery.

But G-d’s choosing of Moshe as the leader is puzzling. Ahron (Moshe’s older brother) seemed to be a much better and more natural choice for many reasons.

1.       He was the older of the two and in Jewish law this would’ve given him the “rights” (so to speak) to the “throne”.

2.        Ahron was already considered the leader of the Jews. On the verse: “but he (Moshe) said, "I beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send", Rashi comments: “With whom You are accustomed to sending, and this is Aaron.” It is evident from here that up to this point Ahron had been acting as G-d’s messenger; why not just continue with Ahron?

3.        Ahron already had the respect and trust of the people. He was already tried and tested and would’ve had a much easier time persuading the Jews to buy into the redemption concept. Why send Moshe – a stranger - amid the concern that the people wouldn’t accept him or believe him? (Moshe had to perform three miracles to gain their trust).

4.        Moshe was a terrible speaker and communicator. “Moses said to the Lord, "I beseech You, O Lord. I am not a man of words, neither from yesterday nor from the day before yesterday, nor from the time You have spoken to Your servant, for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue." Ahron on the other hand had no such problems and in fact had to be Moshe’s spokesman, “And he (Ahron) will speak for you to the people, and it will be that he will be your speaker, and you will be his leader.” Now if Ahron is going to be doing the talking anyways why not just make him the leader?

When one examines the text of our Parsha (Shmos) and compares it that of the following Parshiyos, a subtle but powerful difference emerges. In the end of our Parsha (after Moshe's return to Egypt), he and Ahron always appear side by side. Throughout their conversations with the Jews and even in their confronting of Pharaoh, it is always Moshe and Ahron working together as a team and the language used is always “they spoke” etc. We don’t find even once, Moshe being mentioned by himself or doing anything by himself. However in the following Parshiyos, Ahron is basically dropped from the narrative and the focus shifts almost entirely to Moshe. All of a sudden he is taking complete charge, he is the one speaking to G-d, he is the one speaking to Pharaoh and he is the one speaking to the Jews.

What changed? Why did they go from being almost equal - working side by side, to Moshe emerging as the clear leader and the one true voice of redemption?

Perhaps the answer lies in the closing verses of the Parsha: “They (the Jews) met Moses and Aaron standing before them when they came out from Pharaoh's presence. And they said to them, "May the Lord look upon you and judge, for you have brought us into foul odor in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to place a sword into their hand[s] to kill us. So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people."

Something fascinating happens here. Moshe and Ahron (together) confront Pharaoh and the result is a bad one. Instead of freeing them, Pharaoh only intensifies the slavery. The Jews then confront Moshe and Ahron (together) and proceed to slam them for only making things worse. What happens next?  “Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord! Why have You harmed this people”? Moshe went back and “challenged” G-d; demanding that He do something to save the people. This is the first time since the beginning of the mission that Moshe is mentioned alone. Only he went back to “fight” with G-d; Ahron was nowhere to be found.

It is from this point onward that Moshe emerges as the central figure in the story of the exodus and as the one clear true leader. Moshe displayed here the willingness to fight for his people and for the redemption and this is what separated him from his older brother.

It wasn’t about who cared more. Ahron cared about the Jews just as much as Moshe did; but it was the differences in their temperaments and personalities that drew them apart.  Ahron was known as a man of peace: “a lover of peace and a seeker of peace”. He wasn’t a fighter; he always looked for a peaceful solution and preferred to resolve conflict at the negotiating table rather than on the battle field. Moshe on the other hand was an uncompromising, tough and relentless leader; he wasn’t afraid of a fight and wouldn’t back down under any circumstances.   

One need not look any further than our Parsha for an example: “Now it came to pass in those days that Moses grew up and went out to his brothers and looked at their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man of his brothers. He turned this way and that way, and he saw that there was no man; so he struck the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. He went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were quarreling, and he said to the wicked one, "Why are you going to strike your friend?"

Yes, that is correct. Moshe, on the first day of his going out to his brothers, sees a cruel and perverted Egyptian beating an innocent and helpless Jew. His reaction is decisive and strong; he kills him. On day two, he sees two Jews fighting. What does he do? He gets in their faces and rebukes them harshly.

This clearly wasn’t the first time a Jew had been beaten. This had been going on for tens of years and no other Jewish leader (including Ahron) had ever stood up and fought back. Obviously one can’t really blame them. They were slaves and felt powerless; they knew that no good would come from fighting the Egyptian task masters and tried instead to find more peaceful solutions. But that wasn’t Moshe. He wouldn’t stand by and watch a Jew get beaten; he stood up and fought back.

This perhaps is why G-d chose Moshe over Ahron to be the leader. Drastic times call for drastic measures. G-d knew that to get the job done He needed a fighter. The situation was dire and the peace loving, well intention-ed diplomat – Ahron, wasn't going to get it done. He needed someone bold, who wouldn’t hesitate to confront Pharaoh, his fellow Jews or even G-d Himself when necessary. So he chose Moshe.

This perhaps is the deeper meaning behind Moshe's saying: "I beseech You, O Lord. I am not a man of words... for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue." Moshe was arguing that G-d ought to send a man of words, a communicator who would talk first and act second. But G-d said no! It needed to be Moshe; the decisive and pragmatic man of action. G-d wasn’t looking for a flowery speaker who would wax poetic when faced with a challenge and who preferred to negotiate compromises rather than take a stand. G-d was looking for someone with a fighting spirit  and in this there was non better than Moshe.
It was precisely the fact that Moshe wasn't a man of words that made him the desirable leader.

In reality, both character traits are necessary. This is why Moshe and Ahron worked as team and Ahron was indeed the spokesman; but even so the leader was Moshe and it was his voice, his vision and his mentality that ultimately got the job done and brought about the redemption.

We need to be inspired by Moshe’s courage, determination and boldness. While it is always preferable to engage others in a peaceful and loving manner, there will be times in our life when we will be faced with the kind of challenge or enemy that will call for an unwavering and uncompromising response . We have to be prepared to defend our values and fight for our freedom fearlessly and decisively. In the end it is the spirit of Moshe that triumphs and it is his vision that will see us through our exile until we will finally be redeemed.