True Empathy

I am fortunate to celebrate another birthday, so I wanted to share a reflection. I am unclear about the appropriate etiquette of revealing my age as my birthday approaches. Without revealing my exact age, I will suffice it to say that I am now closer to sixty than thirty! A larger point is that once you reach a certain age that you can buy alcohol, rent a car, or run for president, the exact age is less important than the maturity of the individual. I know some pretty sharp and wise thirty-one-year-olds. I am also, on occasion, disheartened to see the lack of maturity of a seventy-one-year-old. It matters less how many years one has lived on this earth than the life lessons internalized and wisdom the individual absorbed. This important lesson is found in this week's parsha. Our weekly parsha introduces arguably the most extraordinary person ever to live on this earth. I am, of course, referring to Moshe. The life of Moshe began with an immediate crisis as his mother was rightly concerned that her newborn infant would be killed as per Egyptian law. She casts her infant in makeshift raft and puts him in the Nile with a heavy heart. The daughter of Pharoah discovers him as she is in the river and takes him back to the palace. She raised him in the Egyptian palace and cared for him there. The uncanny turn of events had the future leader of the Jewish people growing up in the palace of someone who had a campaign of genocide against the Jews. There are numerous angles and layers to this fascinating story. As Moshe grows up, the Torah states twice, ויגדל משה. This is literally translated as, "and Moshe grew up." The message of his growing up is not limited to reaching a particular age milestone. Rather the Torah states, ויצא אל אחיו. This is translated as "he went out to his brothers." It's more than a rather innocuous statement. The Torah teaches us that while Moshe may have been growing up in the Egyptian lap of luxury, he identified as a Jew and went out to assist them in the best way he knew. Moreover, he was sincerely empathetic to their plight and identified with their struggle. The idea of a Jew who is living a life of relative ease identifying with the plight of our brothers and sisters in crisis is something that weighs on me. Of course, we are not immune to hardship and challenges. That being said, the conversation is totally different when it comes to our brethren who may have a family member held hostage in Gaza or may have just buried a young son who served in the IDF. Moshe taught us many great lessons. He taught us the importance of being empathic to our brothers and sisters in crisis in his early years. He taught us that this is not just "news" but our problem and should occupy a significant amount of our headspace. He taught us what it means to grow up. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch