SHEMOT 5784

Who Cried for Moses?

Welcome Future CEO Larry Johnson

This week the Torah reading begins the story of Moses. Remember that Pharaoh had decreed that all Jewish male babies be killed—thrown into the Nile River? Remember how his mother placed him in a basket and put it in the river so that Pharoah’s daughter would see it when she came to bathe? The Yalkut Shimoni (Shemot 166) asks, “What made Pharoah’s daughter have mercy on Moses?”

The text of the Torah (Ex. 2:6) reads: “When she opened the basket, she saw the child and behold, the youth was crying.” What moved Pharoah’s daughter to take the risk of bringing a Jewish baby into Pharoah’s palace? From the text it appears it was his tears. If she hadn’t heard the crying, she would have kept on doing her laps. You see, tears pull and tug on the heartstrings. Tears can move mountains. Tears can pierce the gates of Heaven.  

I once heard it put this way—I think you’ll love this as I do: “Tears are the sweat of the soul.” You can tell when a person works out by his sweat. Tears are the sweat of the soul. When the soul is engaged. When the soul is moved, you cry.  

The Baal haTurim (Medieval commentator) on this verse asks one of those questions, that when you hear it you say, “Why didn’t I see that?” If you look carefully at the text, you’ll see that in the previous few verses, Moses was referred to simply as a yeled (a child). So why does this verse read: “the naar (youth) was crying?” Moses was only 3 months old, still an infant—clearly not a youth?

The Baal haTurim answers that this “youth” was not Moses. So who was he? Here it comes from left field—it wasn’t Moses, but his brother Aaron. Let’s read the verse again: “When she (Pharoah’s daughter) opened the basket, she saw the child and behold, the youth (Aaron) was crying.” It makes sense, doesn’t it? As soon as she picked up Moses out of the basket, Aaron’s eyes began to overflow with tears and she saw him crying over the fate of his baby brother. He offers as proof gematria (numerical value of the letters) of the phrase, “a youth was crying,” has the numerical value as the phrase: “this is Aaron the priest!”

Why was Aaron watching? Because he couldn’t not watch. When his brother was put into the river he didn’t go home and resume playing with his X-box. He didn’t go to Starbucks and order his usual triple Caramel latte. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from seeing what would happen.

One of the 48 ways Biblical knowledge is acquired according to the Talmud (Pirke Avot 6:6) is nosey v’ol im chaveyro (carrying a burden with another), the capacity to lift the pain of another—to feel and carry the burden of one’s fellow is the key to knowledge. In fact, this was Aaron’s and Moses’ greatest quality.

Why was Moses chosen? According to the Midrash, it was not because he was the most righteous, not because he was the most humble, not because he was the smartest, greatest speaker or the best looking. He was chosen because when he was a shepherd and a sheep got lost, he could have moved on without it because he had a large flock. But no, his sheep was in crisis and that was his responsibility. So, he chased after it, and as he became tired and weary, he found it—also tired and weary. He then put it on his shoulders and carried it back to safety. He shared the burden even for a little sheep. Gd then reasoned, says the Midrash, if he shows such kindness to a little sheep, how much more so will he be a kind leader for My people.

So what quality is needed for a good leader? According to the Torah it is kindness and compassion along with ability. And from what I’ve seen, although he is not a Moses or an Aaron—after all, who can be?—Commissioner Larry Johnson qualifies. Speak to him for a few minutes and you’ll see that what motivates him is not personal gain, but what a difference he can make in the lives of those he serves—especially in healthcare. You can go to his website and read all about it.

Just let me share one little thing he’s done for us. I mentioned to him a few weeks ago the problem of the traffic light on N. Druid Hills Rd and Holly Lane. If there is no car waiting for the light on Holly, the light will never turn red for pedestrians to be able to walk across N Druid Hills Rd safely. This makes is so hard on Shabbat to cross without pressing the button which is not permitted on Shabbat. I tried for a couple of years to get this changed. All I was told was that N Druid Hills Rd is a state road and there is nothing we can do. Well, that was a few weeks ago. Now that Larry Johnson heard about it, the light changes all day on Shabbat—car on Holly or no car on Holly. Thank you, Larry Johnson.

Larry, will you please come up and tell us about yourself and your plans as CEO for Dekalb County.