Levels of Sensitivity

So, as we know, one of the purposes of Torah telling stories is to teach us lessons about how to act in the world, especially between man and man. That is ultimately the way to achieve G-dliness and cleave to Hashem.

One of the many examples is in this week's parsha, once Moshe warns Pharaoh about the upcoming plague of arbeh (locusts). The verse then immediately says: "And he (Moshe) turned and left Pharaoh's presence." The word "turned" seems superfluous. The Midrash Rabah therefore explains that Moshe realized that the servants of Pharaoh were turning to each other showing signs of belief in Moshe's words. Moshe then left the room in order to let them figure out how to do teshuva (to return to G-d). We see that Moshe understood if he stayed in there any longer, they would've been too embarrassed to exclaim in response to Pharaoh: "How long will this be a snare for us?! Send out the people so that they may serve Hashem, etc..."

This is a very profound lesson for us. Whenever we try to rebuke another person, to reawaken somebody to truth, we gotta be really sensitive to his surroundings. Giving your friend advice in front of others may lead him to denying your advice because of feeling threatened by embarrassment. If you're not careful, you might push the person even further away. Better to wait for a good opportunity when the person can be honest with you and himself. Then you can pass the message from your heart to his. So let's give each other the right space to do teshuva in healthy and delightful ways, being truly in the image of G-d. Good Shabbos! Good Chodesh!

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Eliyahu Berkowitz

Eliyahu Berkowitz is a former student of the Bat Ayin Yeshiva. He and his wife, singer and songwriter Devorah Gila, live with their 3 children in Bat Ayin.

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