Va’eira 5771

In this week's parsha, G-d tells Moshe (Moses) to speak to B'nai Yisrael (the children of Israel), who are enslaved in Egypt. Moshe speaks to B'nai Yisrael, but they do not listen. Moshe asks G-d, "If B'nai Yisrael did not listen to me, then how will Pharoah listen to me?"

The Torah says that B'nai Yisrael do not listen due to "shortness of breath and hard labor." Why would these conditions keep B'nai Yisrael from listening?

Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis explains that people who are suffering and in pain cannot see past their misery to imagine the future, even if the promise of future salvation is delivered by a prophet.

The Satmar Rebbe has a different interpretation. He explains that "hard labor" does not refer to slave labor. Rather, "hard labor" refers to how hard it is for B'nai Yisrael to leave the idolatrous ways of Egypt.

When Moshe asks G-d how he can get B'nai Yisrael to change their ways and listen, G-d teaches Moshe how. The Torah says, "G-d commanded them [Moshe and his brother Aharon (Aaron)] about B'nai Yisrael."

The Midrash (explanation of the Torah) Shemos Rabbah, elaborates on what G-d commands Moshe and Aharon. "My children are often stubborn and recalcitrant. They are quick to anger and are troublesome. It is under these conditions that you should accept leadership over them." G-d instructs Moshe to be gentle and patient with B'nai Yisrael. Moshe should deliver his message without anger or frustration, but with compassion until B'nai Yisrael finally are ready to listen.

As parents, we all have been in situations in which our children wouldn't, or couldn't, listen to us: a four-year-old having a temper tantrum in the cereal aisle of the grocery store; a teenager arguing for permission to attend an unsupervised party. It is at these frustrating times that Moshe's experience can be helpful. We can be compassionate, trying to understand how our children feel, as irrational as those feelings may be. We can exercise self-control, responding calmly, speaking gently and never raising our voices. We can refrain from making long speeches or long-term promises that our children are not ready or willing to hear. Finally, we can be patient, knowing that eventually our children will listen and will understand.