Kahane
on the Parsha
Rabbi Meir Kahane- Parshat Bo
MOSES: FANATIC AND EXTREMIST
Nine plagues have descended upon
Egypt. Pharaoh, reeling under pressure from his noblemen and servants,
capitulates. He tells Moses: "Go, worship the L-rd; only let your flocks
and your herds stay behind" (Exodus 10:24).
Consider, dear Jew. After 210
years of slavery, the Hebrews have been told that they can leave! FREEDOM, AT
LAST! Pharaoh has capitulated! All he gives is one small condition, so unimportant
in view of the fact that he has agreed to Jewish freedom. Go, he has told the
Hebrews; all I ask is that you leave your flocks and your herds.
The Hebrew, bursting with joy and
anticipation, wait for the "official" acceptance by Moses, the sage and
stable leader, his agreement that will open the door to freedom. And Moses? He
replies: "You must also give into our hands sacrifices and burnt offerings
that we may offer them to the L-rd, our G-d. And our livestock, as well, will
go with us; there shall not be a hoof left behind" (Exodus 10:25-26).
Picture the Hebrews! Picture the
Jewish leaders of TODAY, had they been there! "Moses! Have you LOST YOUR
MIND??? We have been slaves for 210 years and now we can go free! Give him the
animals! Agree to his unimportant condition. Make the insignificant compromise
so that we can enjoy freedom and peace. Moses, what is this extremism and
fanaticism? Freedom now, peace now! Give him the flocks!"
But, no. Moses, the greatest of
Jewish leaders, refuses. There will be no compromise. There cannot be a
compromise, for we are not speaking here about mere "freedom." The
Jewish people is not a nation like all others with nationalistic strivings for
independence and freedom. The liberation of the Jew was not a nationalist
struggle for secular freedom. The entire breaking of the Egyptian yoke of
bondage was a RELIGIOUS struggle, the war of the L-rd, G-d of Israel, against
Pharaoh who mocked Him and refused to recognize Him as the one and only G-d.
From the first moment that Moses
came into the palace and told the Egyptian emperor, ruler over the mightiest of
all the empires of his time, "Thus says the L-rd, G-d of Israel: Let My
people go..." and Pharaoh replied, "Who is the L-rd that I should
obey His voice...? I know not the L-rd, and I will not let Israel go!"
(Exodus 5:2), the battle was joined. The battle against Chillul Hashem; the
battle against the arrogance of the nations who dare to proclaim, "I know
not the L-rd"; the battle for Kiddush Hashem, the recognition and acceptance
of the L-rd, G-d of Israel, as the one G-d, as the G-d of the universe.
Kiddush Hashem! That is what the
story of the Exodus is about! And Kiddush Hashem brooks NO COMPROMISE, NOT THE
SLIGHTEST!!! There MUST BE TOTAL SURRENDER, TOTAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE L-RD AND
HIS PEOPLE'S SOVEREIGNTY AND POWER.
There is more.
The tenth and final plague now
strikes Egypt. In every home, the firstborn dies; there is not a house in which
there is no dead. It is midnight but Pharaoh rushes through the streets and cries
out to Moses: "Rise up and leave from the midst of my people, both you and
the Children of Israel, and go serve the L-rd as you have said. Also take your
flocks and your herds, as you have said, AND BE GONE!" (Exodus 12:31-32).
AT LAST, TOTAL CAPITULATION! Unconditional surrender! But leave NOW,
immediately, in the middle of the night!
Dear Jew, surely the moment has
come. What could even the worst fanatic and extremist want after this
surrender?
Listen:
Moses says to Pharaoh: "Are
we then thieves that we should leave in the night? We will not leave except
with a mighty arm before the eyes of all of Egypt!" (Tanchuma, Bo 7).
Ah, the fanatic and
extremist...He lays down yet another rule of Kiddush Hashem. Sanctification and
the proclamation of G-d's omnipotence and sovereignty CANNOT BE A HIDDEN,
SILENT, DISCREET THING. It MUST be done OPENLY, with a proclamation before the
nations, with trumpets and drums. NO FEAR, NO ATTEMPT TO KEEP A LOW PROFILE, NO
EFFORT TO "AVOID ANTAGONIZING THE NATIONS." Openly, loudly, with a
public majesty that proclaims the majesty and kingship of the L-rd, G-d of
Israel, who is one!
If Moses were alive today and
were he to lay down these iron rules of Kiddush Hashem, what would the
gentilized Hebrews of Israel and the Hellenists of the Establishment in the
Exile say?
The lesson is clear: Their
gentilized thoughts are not those of the G-d of Israel. What to them is a
"fanatic" and "extremist," in Torah eyes and to authentic
Judaism is principle and the iron rule of Judaism. Those who believe in nothing
but themselves will always be "flexible"- except when their own
interests are threatened. Those who believe in nothing will always be ready to
"compromise," since they stand on no principle that is stable and untouchable.
Parshat Bo teaches us about the greatest of all Jewish concepts, Kiddush
Hashem, and the greatest of Jewish leaders, Moses- the fanatic and extremist.
The Jewish Press, 1988
Shabbat Shalom!
The Jewish Press, 1988
Shabbat Shalom!
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