Portrait Of A Leader,Elki Rosenfeld

Sefer Bereishit is the dominion of the Avot (Patriarchs) and their progeny. In Sefer Shemot we emerge as "The Family of Yaakov," Bnei Yisrael - a nation comprised of the Twelve Shevatim and their descendants. Throughout Sefer Shemot, Moshe Rabbeinu has the biggest role in forging Bnei Yisrael's destiny.

Moshe Rabbeinu is the towering figure that took Bnei Yisrael out of bondage, split the sea, gave us the Luchot (Tablets) at Har Sinai and led an often-recalcitrant nation through the desert for 40 years.

Yet we are told little about Moshe other than he was born, hidden in a basket in the Nile and rescued by the most unlikely savior, Pharaoh's daughter, until the Revelation at the Burning Bush.

While shepherding his father-in-law's flock in the desert, he is confronted by the Sneh (Burning Bush) from which the Voice of Hashem emanated. There, Hashem and Moshe have a back-and-forth dialogue. Hashem persuades Moshe to assume leadership of his enslaved people, and Moshe rebuts that he is neither worthy nor capable of carrying this out. But even Moshe Rabbeinu cannot win a debate with Hashem, so he proceeds to Mitzrayim to begin the liberation process of Bnei Yisrael.

Wouldn't we think that many important events in Moshe's development occurred beforehand and are noteworthy to be included in the Torah? But between the basket in the Nile, and the Shechinah at the Burning Bush, we know nothing of Moshe's life.

In Perek Bet of Shemot, in the span of seven pesukim (11-17) the Torah reveals only three acts, sequentially, immediately preceding the Revelation of the Shechinah at the Sneh.

Hashem, in the most succinct words, guides us to the traits necessary in the leader of Bnei Yisrael.

Pesukim 11 and 12 recount, "And Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren, and beheld their burdens."

That day, Moshe sees an Egyptian man striking one of his [Moshe's] people, and Moshe turned in all directions, noticed that no one was present, so he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

The following day, once again, Moshe goes out among his brethren and sees one Israelite fighting with another. Moshe chastises the instigator, and demands, "Why would you strike your fellow?" The man brazenly scoffs, "Are you going to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian?" Moshe realizes that his act of the previous day had been witnessed and, fearing for his life, flees and settles in the land of Midyan.

Pesukim 16 and 17 tell of Moshe's final action prior to the Sneh. Sitting by a well, Moshe encounters Yitro's [his future father-in-law] seven daughters as they come down to draw water for their father's sheep. The male shepherds also come down to the well and chase away the daughters of Yitro. Witnessing this cruel "bullying" Moshe stands up, drives the shepherds away, and draws water for Yitro's livestock.

Three incidents, within seven pesukim, are the sole information the Torah tells of Moshe's life, and then it segues directly into the Sneh story. I agree that these incidents show a Moshe who is valiant and empathetic. But do you agree with me that they do not seem to be a sufficient lead-in to Hashem's appearance at the Sneh and His sending Moshe to be the liberator of the Jews?

Keep in mind that Moshe is the only prophet who spoke to Hashem face-to-face, Hashem himself calls him His most loyal servant, and Moshe spent 40 days and nights in Shamayim, and learned Torah with Hashem as his "Rebbi."

My question of the stories, none seeming overwhelmingly ethereal or righteous, is only because Moshe Rabbeinu is the subject at hand.

In addition, all three portray the same noble values that Moshe possessed. There must be a subtle difference among the stories, if all are brought down. Let's go through them, one-by-one and discover how each highlights a new dimension of Moshe's magnitude.

Moshe smites an Egyptian who is striking a Jewish slave.

One can attempt to diminish Moshe's intrepidness by claiming that he felt compassion for a fellow Jew being harmed by the cruel enemy. His motive was revenge.

Next, Moshe lambastes one Jew for fighting with another Jew. Here, too, one might try to limit Moshe's valiance by claiming he acted out of nationalism. He wanted to remove evil from the midst of Bnei Yisrael.

But the third action silences all would-be detractors. He champions the cause of young women, unknown to him, from a foreign idol-worshipping nation.

Moshe's sorrow at the suffering of any human being seals his compassion as universal. And his ensuing actions are those of a noble, indomitable leader.

After seven concise pesukim, Hashem calls out to Moshe from the Sneh and appoints him leader of Klal Yisrael. The head of the Jewish people must feel and care for all human beings.

Let us jump ahead several millennia to the year 5770-2010. What can we extrapolate from Moshe Rabbeinu's pre-leadership deeds?

Your first answer is probably to stand up and act on behalf of a fellow Jew. Then, a true leader must keep the peace among his people and castigate anyone who causes pain to his fellow Jew.

There is no denying that both are valid answers and ideally would be present in our people today.

How do you reconcile Moshe's fighting for foreign Midianite girls?

I think this is the stamp of an authentic Jewish leader. Rabbi YY Jacobson once used the phrase, "The world was his constituency," regarding the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt"l. Surely, every Jew was foremost in the Rebbe's heart. But he cared about every human being on earth.

It upsets me greatly when, at times, our people show little, if any, commiseration for victims of tragedies around the world. Human nature is such that, of course, we care most about those near and dear to us, beginning with our families, then friends, neighbors, community, and, obviously, Jews all over the world. That is how it should be.

A tragedy, G-d forbid, in Eretz Yisrael, affects us a thousand-fold more than one in some far-flung country with a name we can't even pronounce. Our hearts and minds are focused on Bnei Yisrael across the globe.

But, is there not room within us to care for the plight of other peoples? Clearly, I am not speaking of our enemies, of which, unfortunately, there are many. Avraham Avinu davened at great length trying to save G-d's creations from extinction.

Our nation is a caring one. We are blessed with limitless compassion, and surely we can allocate some of it to strangers when they are victims of tragedy.

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