{"id":367,"date":"2024-03-03T03:20:23","date_gmt":"2024-03-03T03:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/?p=367"},"modified":"2024-03-03T03:20:23","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T03:20:23","slug":"taking-a-step-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/03\/taking-a-step-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking a Step Back"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(This drasha was given at Shaarei Tefillah in Teaneck where I served as Summer Rabbi.  Parshat Pinchas 2015)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the difficulties I\u2019ve had in maintaining my reputation among my nieces as a hip cool uncle is that I\u2019m not always up to date with the latest princesses or movies.  This past month when I started hearing about the new Pixar film Inside Out, I decided it was time for me to expand my horizons and become a little more cultured.  No, I didn\u2019t go out and see the movie, but I read few articles to get the gist of what the movie was all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found the story of a young girl Riley going through a difficult transition.  Riley transitions from childhood into adolescence is compounded by the transition of her family moving across the country.  Emotion overcomes Riley, and the film personifies these emotions as its main characters: Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Anger.  The emotions struggle to balance themselves within Riley, all the while influencing Riley\u2019s feelings and behavior during these transitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this week\u2019s parsha we find a different type of difficult transition.  This transition is not merely evident from the story, but visible in the very text of the Torah itself and accentuated by Rashi\u2019s commentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parsha begins with the aftermath of Pinchas\u2019 heroic act against the Midianites, including the appointment of Pinchas as a Kohen and a command to kill the Midianites.  Surprisingly the Torah follows this with a somewhat awkward transition to a national census.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mark this transition, the Torah does something incredibly strange.  We generally refer to psukim by their chapter and verse in the Torah, but these breaks are not actually marked in the text.  The only breaks in the punctuationless Torah appear not at each verse, but at end of a longer section, almost like paragraphs.  Yet at this transition, the Torah has a mid-verse abrupt paragraph break in the middle of a pasuk, the only time we see this in the Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u05d5\u05d9\u05d4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d7\u05e8\u05d9 \u05d4\u05de\u05d2\u05e4\u05d4<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u05d5\u05d9\u05d0\u05de\u05e8 \u05d4\u2019 \u05d0\u05dc \u05de\u05e9\u05d4<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     And it was after the plague<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     and Hashem said to Moshe<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why such a jolting transition?   What is the Torah teaching us here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he doesn\u2019t tackle this question directly, Rashi\u2019s provides a parable, shedding light onto what the Torah is trying to teach us here with this transition to the census.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u05d5\u05d9\u05d4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d7\u05e8\u05d9 \u05d4\u05de\u05d2\u05e4\u05d4<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u05de\u05e9\u05dc \u05dc\u05e8\u05d5\u05e2\u05d4 \u05e9\u05e0\u05db\u05e0\u05e1\u05d5 \u05d6\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05ea\u05d5\u05da \u05e2\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5 \u05d5\u05d4\u05e8\u05d2\u05d5 \u05d1\u05d4\u05df \u05d5\u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d0\u05d5\u05ea\u05df \u05dc\u05d9\u05d3\u05e2 \u05de\u05e0\u05d9\u05df \u05d4\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wolves enter a shepherd\u2019s flock, killing many sheep.  The Shepherd returns to count the surviving sheep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The imagery Rashi uses of the shepherd brings the focus of the story to Moshe Rabeinu, the Roeh, the shepherd.  The well-known Midrash explains that Moshe was chosen as the leader of the Jewish people due to his role as a shepherd.  One day while tending the sheep a baby sheep wandered off from the rest of Moshe\u2019s flock.  While he could\u2019ve merely overlooked that one small sheep, Moshe\u2019s nature was to care for each and every member of his flock, to the extent that he chased after that one small sheep.  The Midrash highlights this trait of Moshe to provide context to his appointment as leader of the Jewish people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the shepherd has faced his fair share of setbacks since that fateful day.  Moshe expected his job to be easy.  He was surprised and even complained to Hashem about Pharoh initially making the work harder.  Little did he know that this was only the beginning.  In the desert, Moshe goes through hardship after hardship: constant complaints, outright idolatry, attacks from enemies.  But in the past few parshiot, things seem to reach a new low for Moshe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parshat Shelach- shelach LICHA anashim.  Rashi points out that sending the spies was Moshe\u2019s initiative.  That did not end well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parshas Korach- we have an outright rebellion against Moshe, where his entire life legacy is challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parchas Chukat- Moshe sins and is told he won\u2019t enter eretz yisroel.  Miriam, his sister, dies.  Aharon, his brother, dies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parshas Balak- the entire Bilaam story occurrs behind the scenes, but at the end of the parsha we have Zimri commit an atrocious act in front of the entire assembly and Moshe- l\u2019einei Moshe, leinei kol adat bnei yisroel.  Vheima bochim- They were crying.  Moshe stood there passively, crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Shepherd is clearly going through a rough patch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to make matters worse, Rashi gives us another explanation for the census.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u05d3\u05d1\u05e8 \u05d0\u05d7\u05e8: \u05db\u05e9\u05d9\u05e6\u05d0\u05d5 \u05de\u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05e0\u05de\u05e1\u05e8\u05d5 \u05dc\u05de\u05e9\u05d4 \u05e0\u05de\u05e1\u05e8 \u05dc\u05d5 \u05d1\u05de\u05e0\u05d9\u05df, \u05e2\u05db\u05e9\u05d9\u05d5 \u05e9\u05e7\u05e8\u05d1 \u05dc\u05de\u05d5\u05ea \u05d5\u05dc\u05d4\u05d7\u05d6\u05d9\u05e8 \u05e6\u05d0\u05e0\u05d5 \u05de\u05d7\u05d6\u05d9\u05e8\u05dd \u05d1\u05de\u05e0\u05d9\u05df<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they left Egypt, they were handed off to Moshe with a census, and now as Moshe is soon to die, he will return the flock with a census.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moshe is asked to perform a census, the very census he has performed thirty-nine years prior.  We are transitioning into the next generation.  In this week\u2019s parsha, he will begin to allocate land, appoint his successor, and prepare for a world of which he will not be a part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would we feel if we were in Moshe\u2019s shoes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What were Moshe\u2019s goals?  Thirty-nine years ago, Moshe performed this census with excitement.  He had taken the Jewish people out of Egypt. His goal, his job, his dream, was to bring them into Eretz Yisroel.  Thirty-nine years later, his dreams have faded.  What seemed like a short journey has become a forty-year trip, and an entire generation has been replaced.  It has become clear that he won\u2019t be able to bring them to Eretz Yisroel.  He is nearing the end of his life, facing the reality that much of his life mission remains unfulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we can understand the picture Rashi is painting for us.  The shepherd is broken.  His flock has rebelled against him, he has made mistakes, he has lost loved ones, in fact the entire generation that left Egypt is slowly dying.  The very shepherd who was chosen for his sensitivity to each and every sheep has to deal with the fact that thousands of his sheep have been devoured.  He is alone, and while we won\u2019t go as far as Pixar, we can imagine the emotions he faces at this transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is a person to react?  I know how I may feel if I were the shepherd: I\u2019d put my head down and wallow in my failure, focusing on all the sheep that I have lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what does Moshe do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But He doesn\u2019t count the sheep that have fallen; not his shortcomings.  He counts those precious sheep that remain.  He counts his success.  He counts the next generation.  While he can no longer be the one to bring them into Eretz Yisroel, he looks for other ways he can help.  And with this mentality, he\u2019s able to plow forward, he appoints his successor, divides the land, ensuring that his life dream will not fade away unfulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while thirty-nine years ago Moshe performed this count with a more optimistic view, he has the courage to gather the strength to repeat that same count under these new circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps this is the reason for the break in the middle of the pasuk.  Moshe is not allowing himself to have a knee jerk reaction to the fallen sheep.  He needs to take a step back, a moment to reflect, and only after this pause, can he muster up the strength to move onward as the ultimate eved neeman, faithful servant of G-d, allowing his life mission continue, and seeing what he can do to help even if it can\u2019t fulfill his true dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all had moments like Moshe Rabeinu here.  We\u2019ve all experienced disappointments, difficult transitions, escaped goals.  But how do we respond?  Do we allow our emotions to control us?  Or do take that pause to reflect on our success.  Taking a step back to put things into perspective and realize what we have accomplished and what we have in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Inside Out movie teaches an important lesson about sadness.  One need look no further than the laws of aveilut to see that the Torah provides a framework for which to express our emotions, and we see from nichum aveilim the importance of using sadness as an avenue for others to comfort us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, what we learn from Moshe Rabeinu is that we don\u2019t always have to allow our emotions to dictate our feelings and our actions.  We can choose to let the different emotions battle it out to control our moods and actions, but there are times when we can muster up the strength of Moshe Rabeinu, to overcome adversity by not focusing on our knee jerk emotion, but by taking a step back, looking at the bigger picture, and taking count of the sheep that remain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(This drasha was given at Shaarei Tefillah in Teaneck where I served as Summer Rabbi.  Parshat Pinchas 2015) One of the difficulties I\u2019ve had in maintaining my reputation among my nieces as a hip cool uncle is that I\u2019m not always up to date with the latest princesses or movies.  This past month when I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,10,58,39],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":368,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions\/368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}