Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
- 28,003
- 9,610
- 910
The Torah sometimes says something of fundamental importance in what seems like a minor and incidental comment. There is a fine example of this near the beginning of today’s parsha.
Last week, we read of how Moses was sent by God to lead the Israelites to freedom, and how his initial efforts met with failure. Not only did Pharaoh not agree to let the people go; he made the working conditions of the Israelites even worse. They had to make the same number of bricks as before but now they had to gather their own straw. The people complained to Pharaoh, then they complained to Moses, then Moses complained to God. “Why have you brought trouble to this people? Why did you send me?”
At the beginning of this week’s parsha God tells Moses that he will indeed bring the Israelites to freedom, and tells him to announce this to the people. Then we read this:
So Moses told this to the Israelites but they did not listen to him, because their spirit was broken and because the labour was harsh. (Ex. 6:9)
The italicised phrase seems simple enough. The people did not listen to Moses because he had brought them messages from God before and they had done nothing to improve their situation. They were busy trying to survive day by day. They had no time for utopian promises that seemed to have no grounding in reality. Moses had failed to deliver in the past. They had no reason to think he would do so in the future. So far, so straightforward.
But there is something more subtle going on beneath the surface. When Moses first met God at the burning bush, God told him to lead, and Moses kept refusing on the grounds that the people would not listen to him. He was not a man of words. He was slow of speech and tongue. He was a man of “uncircumcised lips”. He lacked eloquence. He could not sway crowds. He was not an inspirational leader.
It turned out, though, that Moses was both right and wrong, right that they did not listen to him but wrong about why. It had nothing to do with his failures as a leader or a public speaker. In fact it had nothing to do with Moses at all. They did not listen “because their spirit was broken and because the labour was harsh.” In other words: if you want to improve people’s spiritual situation, first improve their physical situation. That is one of the most humanising aspects of Judaism.
Maimonides emphasises this in The Guide for the Perplexed.[1] The Torah, he says, has two aims: the well-being of the soul and well-being of the body. The well-being of the soul is something inward and spiritual, but the well-being of the body requires a strong society and economy, where there is the rule of law, division of labour and the promotion of trade. We have bodily well-being when all our physical needs are supplied, but none of us can do this on our own. We specialise and exchange. That is why we need a good, strong, just society.
Spiritual achievement, says Maimonides, is higher than material achievement, but we need to ensure the latter first, because “a person suffering from great hunger, thirst, heat or cold, cannot grasp an idea even if it is communicated by others, much less can he arrive at it by his own reasoning.” In other words, if we lack basic physical needs, there is no way we can reach spiritual heights. When people’s spirits are broken by harsh labour they cannot listen to a Moses. If you want to improve people’s spiritual situation, first improve their physical conditions.
Spirits in a Material World (Vaera 5776) - Rabbi Sacks
This is how far I made it before I thought, "Hey, this is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Then he referenced Maslow. I love reading Rabbi Sacks. He can take a sentence and draw out everything. He is very compassionate.
Last week, we read of how Moses was sent by God to lead the Israelites to freedom, and how his initial efforts met with failure. Not only did Pharaoh not agree to let the people go; he made the working conditions of the Israelites even worse. They had to make the same number of bricks as before but now they had to gather their own straw. The people complained to Pharaoh, then they complained to Moses, then Moses complained to God. “Why have you brought trouble to this people? Why did you send me?”
At the beginning of this week’s parsha God tells Moses that he will indeed bring the Israelites to freedom, and tells him to announce this to the people. Then we read this:
So Moses told this to the Israelites but they did not listen to him, because their spirit was broken and because the labour was harsh. (Ex. 6:9)
The italicised phrase seems simple enough. The people did not listen to Moses because he had brought them messages from God before and they had done nothing to improve their situation. They were busy trying to survive day by day. They had no time for utopian promises that seemed to have no grounding in reality. Moses had failed to deliver in the past. They had no reason to think he would do so in the future. So far, so straightforward.
But there is something more subtle going on beneath the surface. When Moses first met God at the burning bush, God told him to lead, and Moses kept refusing on the grounds that the people would not listen to him. He was not a man of words. He was slow of speech and tongue. He was a man of “uncircumcised lips”. He lacked eloquence. He could not sway crowds. He was not an inspirational leader.
It turned out, though, that Moses was both right and wrong, right that they did not listen to him but wrong about why. It had nothing to do with his failures as a leader or a public speaker. In fact it had nothing to do with Moses at all. They did not listen “because their spirit was broken and because the labour was harsh.” In other words: if you want to improve people’s spiritual situation, first improve their physical situation. That is one of the most humanising aspects of Judaism.
Maimonides emphasises this in The Guide for the Perplexed.[1] The Torah, he says, has two aims: the well-being of the soul and well-being of the body. The well-being of the soul is something inward and spiritual, but the well-being of the body requires a strong society and economy, where there is the rule of law, division of labour and the promotion of trade. We have bodily well-being when all our physical needs are supplied, but none of us can do this on our own. We specialise and exchange. That is why we need a good, strong, just society.
Spiritual achievement, says Maimonides, is higher than material achievement, but we need to ensure the latter first, because “a person suffering from great hunger, thirst, heat or cold, cannot grasp an idea even if it is communicated by others, much less can he arrive at it by his own reasoning.” In other words, if we lack basic physical needs, there is no way we can reach spiritual heights. When people’s spirits are broken by harsh labour they cannot listen to a Moses. If you want to improve people’s spiritual situation, first improve their physical conditions.
Spirits in a Material World (Vaera 5776) - Rabbi Sacks
This is how far I made it before I thought, "Hey, this is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Then he referenced Maslow. I love reading Rabbi Sacks. He can take a sentence and draw out everything. He is very compassionate.
