I have always found the study of biblical personalities interesting and spiritually uplifting. We can learn so much from every one of our Torah leaders - their strengths, their attitude for life, their dedication to K’lall Yisrael, and their deep faith and Emunah in Hashem that continually guided them in all of their life's pursuits.
When studied carefully, their way of life becomes our role model to follow in our own personal lives.
I intuitively, choose as my emulating force, the true Manheeg of Yisrael, Moshe Rabeinu.
Though his personality and his way of life from beginning to end is perplexing and even dialectical, however, his essence of life is so magnificent that any questions we may have about his actions falls away very quickly and his life becomes even more glorified in our eyes.
Moshe’s life pulls on our spiritual strings in a very dynamic way leading us down the primrose path of greater אמונה and בטחון.
I remember the story of a boy flying a kite on a very cloudy and misty day. A man passing by stopped to watch him, but because of the mist could not see the kite. He asked the youngster. ”How do you know the kite is still attached to the string?” To which the boy replied, “I may not be able to see the kite, but I can still feel its pull".
Indeed, in many aspects of our religious life we may not be able to see the person or the object or the idea, but in some very mysterious and miraculous way we can, still, feel the pull on our spiritual lives.
This is so true when we speak of our relationship to G-D. I sense it applies, as well, to the impact that all of the biblical personalities have on our way of life.
Let us look at the early stages in the life of Moshe, especially when Hashem meets him at the Burning Bush, and tells him ואשלחך אל פרעה, “I will send you to Pharaoh and to take my people out of bondage.” Upon hearing these words of instruction, Moshe replies מי אנכי כי אלך אל פרעה, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”
מי אנכי, are crucial words uttered by Moshe, the designated leader of the Jewish people and I begin to sense and wonder, “Was Moshe going through an "identity crisis"? In my quest to understand Moshe's response “Who am I?”, We then begin to realize that the result of the tyranny and the oppression in Egypt brought about a loss of identity by the Jewish Slaves. Slavery takes away a person's individuality. He loses all semblance of human dignity and, more so, human identity. The people cry out, מי אנכי,“Who am I really?” Moshe saw the anguish and the affliction of the people and he witnessed the madness of the tyranny that the Jews were experiencing. After seeing this degradation, he no longer was an איש מצרי he now added on a new identity - he was now an עברי.
Moshe realized that man cannot survive unless he is able to reaffirm his humanity and this can only be accomplished when he regains his self identity. Moshe, at this point in his life, saw that the Jew was denied his hierarchy. Moshe's aim in life was to return them back to their ancestors and to once again, identify them with Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah. The task may have seemed way above his capabilities and for that reason he said מי אנכי,
“ I am not equipped for this great task” To assure him that he was worthy of this job Hashem assures him that he will always be successful כי אהיה עמך, “for I will always be with you.”
That was the answer for Moshe's quest of מי אנכי and for any Jew that may have an identity crisis. As long as we take Hashem with us wherever we find ourselves, we will always know that we are worthy of success at any task that He sets before us and for any road we take. With this attitude we will succeed and we will never experience an identity crisis as a Jew.
This is our answer for our life's journey. “Walk with G-D and success is ours.”
This idea has greater meaning for me as our family commemorates the Yarzeit of our beloved mother and grandmother and great-grandmother ריבה בת יחיאל ונעכה, Rae Mehlman.
Her life was very meaningful, as a devoted daughter, a beloved wife to our Father Ernest, and an adored mother and grandmother and great-grandmother. Our mother never experienced an identity crisis , she always acted as our אשת חיל, a true woman of valor, whose life was completely devoted to her family and extended herself to others with much גמילת חסדים, and who brought into our home four Yeshiva Bachurim who needed a Yiddishe home environment. This was our mother whose love and caring I miss very much, and who left us a magnificent legacy that continues to inspire our family on a daily basis.
May her memory be a Blessing to her family and K’lall Yisrael.
Remember well, our quest for an answer to מי אנכי can be realized in a positive way when Hashem graces our midst.
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