Only a Mask2 min read

At the end of last week’s parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu complained to Hashem regarding the fact that things only seemed to get worse, not better, since he was sent on his mission to redeem the Jewish nation from their enslavement in Egypt. “Lama hareiosah”, he cried. “Why are You bringing harm upon this people? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to peak in Your name, he has dealt worse with these people!”

Our parsha begins with the words, “Vayedabeir Elokim el Moshe leimor vayomer eilav ani Hashem”, “And Hashem spoke to Moshe and said to him, “I am Hashem.” Commenting on the word “Vayedabeir”, a word for speech which always connotes harshness, Rashi says that Hashem spoke harshly to Moshe here in reprimand for his improper protest of “lama harei’osah”.

The Mei HaShiloach follows Rashi’s cue but widens the scope to include the second half of the verse, where the word “vayomer eilav” – which connote softness and comfort – stand in stark contrast to the harsh tone of the opening. The tzaddik sees an important message hinted to in this drastic shift. In a healthy parent/child relationship, any anger expressed over mistakes that the child may make reach only as deep as the conditional element of the relationship. When the misstep has been addressed with the appropriate severity and consequences suffered, unconditional love bursts forth like a mighty geyser. In that sensitive moment, the mask of anger is removed and the parent rushes to embrace his child who stands shaking, vulnerable and scared, in a desperate bid to let him know that no possible mistake could ever be big enough to sever their bond completely. With soft words of comfort and love, the parent communicates with the child on a level far beyond misdeeds; the goodness at his essence, the sweetness at his core.

Using this parable, the holy Ishbitzer explains the shift in tone that occurs in the difficult verse with which our parsha begins. “Vayedabeir Elokim el Moshe”: “And Elokim, the trait of harsh-judgement, reproached Moshe for his inappropriate outburst. But this reprimand was only on the level of his name, Moshe; an external element of his identity from which misdeeds derive. “Vayomer eilav ani Hashem”: Immediately after conveying this scolding, Hashem, middas haRachamim, spoke “eilav”, to the very essence of his being, forever removed from sin, whispering soft words of comfort and hope and reminding him that the bond of their love runs far deeper than any mistake could ever reach. Frightful and real as it may be, divine anger is only a mask. “Yaakov chevel nachalaso”; a spiritual cord that runs from the deepest essence of the Jewish soul to the deepest essence of the Infinite One carries an ever abiding flow of unending kindness and unconditional love.