“An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds … “
In describing Moshe to Yisro, his daughters said he was a Mitzri. The medrash offers a parable to explain why he was characterized this way. A man was bitten on his foot by a snake and ran to the river to relieve his pain. As he put his foot in the water, he noticed a small child drowning and was in a position to save him at the last moment. The child said: If you hadn’t come now I would have died. The man replied: I am not the one who rescued you; it is the snake that bit me and caused me to run to the water in the first place that saved you.
When the daughters of Yisro thanked Moshe for rescuing them from the shepherds, he told them: It was the Mitzri that I killed; he saved you. Because of him I was forced to flee here; the Mitzri is your savior.
R’ Yechezkel Levenstein questions the lesson of this medrash. Was the debt of gratitude owed to the Egyptian greater than the indebtedness to Moshe Rabbeinu? Was the Egyptian’s role significant at all?
The intent of the medrash, he explains, is to point out that although one instinctively attributes an event to the incident that preceded it, the truth is that the event is actually a culmination of a series of happenings. A similar concept is expressed in the Sefer Chovos HaLevavos (in the introduction to the Attribute of Faith in Hashem), which notes that the conclusion of all that happens in the world is a combination of (1) the decree of Hashem and His will for this event to occur and (2) the various motives and purposes – known or unknown – for His decree to be fulfilled.
All events in history are driven by a chain of events dictated from Above. For example, although one cannot discern any open miracles in the story of Purim, a careful analysis of the sequence of events will reveal the Hand of Divine Providence. Each incident in the succession must take place in order to achieve the end result.
The Chovos HaLevavos explains that understanding the control of Divine Providence in every aspect of the way the world runs is a fundamental concept. This is what Moshe wished to convey to the daughters of Yisro, as it says,
“This emanated from Hashem; it is wondrous in our eyes” (Tehillim 118:23).
When Yaakov Avinu was fleeing for his life to escape the fury of Eisav, who sought to kill him, he found himself alone in the desert with only a rock underneath his head. The Medrash Bereishis Rabbah (at the beginning of Parshas Vayeitzei) tells us that his thoughts for help were directed solely to Hashem. He said: How can I lose my hope; my salvation comes from Hashem. He will not allow your foot to falter; your Guardian does not slumber. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. Hashem will protect you from every evil – from Eisav and from Lavan. Hashem will guard your departure and your arrival. At that point Yaakov left Be’er Sheva to go to Charan.
Confronted by the threat of hopelessness and despair in his life, Yaakov Avinu continued to place his faith and confidence in Hashem, the source of all salvation and redemption. One should not fear the dark moments but rather he should cling to the Torah. If one knows how to conduct himself properly in challenging times, he can achieve a closeness to Hashem.
An individual who was going through a tough period in his life came to speak to the great Gaon, Rav Elazar Menachem Mann Shach. While he was with him, Rav Shach asked a family member to bring him a cup of tea with a jar of honey on the side. Rav Shach dipped the spoon into the honey, and tears welled up in his eyes. The petitioner was confused and asked why he was crying. Rav Shach explained, “The bee has a stinger that is painful when it pierces a human’s skin. If a bee would fly into the room, we would do everything we could to shoo it away. Yet, look what sweet honey the bee produces. Although it is such a small creature with not even one bone in its body, that doesn’t live more than six months at the most, the bee produces the most delicious honey that can sweeten even something bitter.” Rav Shach expounded that in life we often experience the sting of the bee. But we should remember that the pain can also bring something good and sweet. Specifically with distress there could be streams of Divine Assistance and blessing, as it says “From the strong came forth sweetness…” (Shoftim 14:14)
When the Second World War broke out the Russian government announced that anyone who wished to leave the country could apply for a visa which would be granted immediately. Many Jewish citizens believed this was a golden opportunity to leave an antisemitic country that hated all Jews. Others were concerned that the government had ulterior motives, and actually intended to cause them harm with this gracious offer. It was difficult to know what to do. Many requested a visa but others, convinced that this was a trap, did not.
In fact, the government did indeed denounce those who had applied for a visa for plotting against the mother country. It seemed that the applicants had very much miscalculated, as they were all exiled to Siberia, a place from which many were known to have never returned.
In truth, though, Siberia actually became a sanctuary for those Jews. Although conditions were very difficult, they were able to remain alive there throughout the war, under the rule of Russia. On the other hand, those who had not requested a visa and remained in the Russian cities were captured by the Nazis and transported to the death camps.
When HaGaon Rav Shach recounted these events he noted that we humans do not have the ability to understand the ways of Divine Providence. No amount of wisdom will help us interpret what is transpiring in the world. What could seem to be a tzarrah, even a tragedy, could be to the contrary; and the hardships one endures could, in retrospect, be a blessing for life, as it says “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways” (Yehoshua 55:8).
