Va'era: It Doesn't Matter What You Think

By Zachary Fish

I always find the exchanges between Moshe and Hashem in these Parshiyos so fascinating. They go back and forth—Moshe doubting his ability, and Hashem pushing him forward.

There’s one exchange in Parshas Va’era that confused me. In the 12th pasuk of the 6th perek, Moshe says to Hashem:

לא־שמעו אלי ואיך ישמעני פרעה ואני ערל שפתים

Even the Israelites have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me

In the next pasuk, I would expect Hashem to address Moshe’s concern. But instead, the pasuk says:

וידבר יהוה אל־משה ואל־אהרן ויצום אל־בני ישראל ואל־פרעה מלך מצרים להוציא את־בני־ישראל מארץ מצרים

Adonoy [then] spoke to Moshe and Aharon, commanding them regarding the B’nei Yisrael and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring out the B’nei Yisrael from the land of Egypt.

How is this an answer to Moshe’s question? Hashem seems to be talking right past him—just repeating the command to deal with Pharaoh and B’nei Yisrael.

Rashi explains that Hashem is telling Moshe to be patient with B’nei Yisrael, which helps a little, but it still doesn’t feel like a direct response. And then the pesukim just move on. So maybe I can offer a suggestion. Even if it’s not the explanation of the pesukim, it’s at least an idea they reminded me of.

I once heard something on a Meaningful People podcast (I think it was this one). They were interviewing a guest who had built an incredible, massive organization from scratch. The hosts asked her: How did you find the motivation to start? Did you ever think you’d succeed?

She answered (paraphrasing from memory): “I wasn’t focused on whether I had the ability to succeed. I was focused on whether this was something Hashem wanted to get done.” That idea really stuck with me. So often, we limit ourselves based on what we think we’re capable of. But we shouldn’t hold back from pursuing what we believe Hashem wants to get done—because if we do, we’re not limiting ourselves, we’re limiting Hashem. Because if something is Ratzon Hashem to happen in this world, it will happen—the only question is whether you embraced your role as the shaliach or let the opportunity pass to someone else. And maybe that’s exactly what Hashem is telling Moshe. He’s saying: It doesn’t matter whether you think you can do it or not. This is My command. This is what I want. And that’s all that matters.

May we never limit ourselves from doing what is right, even if it is hard.