Moshe’s Disrespect

This week we read פרשת וארא, that begins with an assurance from Hashem that He will keep His promise with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yakov. The Jewish people will be redeemed from Egypt in a most glorious manner.

The commentators point out that Moshe was reprimanded by Hashem for his protests and claims that things were worse after he first appeared before Pharoah.

The question asked was what Moshe did wrong. Wasn’t he supposed to plea on behalf of his people. Compare this with King David who asked Hashem, למה עזבתני, “Why have You forsaken me?” This protest was considered legitimate while Moshe’s was not.

Rabbi Twerski says that the key words in Moshe’s case were, למה הרעות, why have You made things worse? This was considered unacceptable to imply that anything Hashem does is bad. We are to believe that everything Hashem does is for the good.

It was okay for David to complain about his suffering. But it is out of line to call it evil. We are taught that just as we are to bless Hashem for the good, we are to also bless Him for bad. We are to always remember that the word, נגע, which means, “blemish,” is actually ענג, “a delight.”

We need to wait for things to play out for us to realize why we went through difficulties. It worked for the Jews in Egypt. First there was slavery, and it was followed by our glorious redemption.