Pharaoh came up with a plan to deal with his Israelite problem:
(10) “Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply and when war occurs, they also join our enemies and fight against us, and go up from the land.” (11) They set upon them tax officers to oppress them in their burdens, and they built storage cities for Pharaoh, Pitom and Ramses (Shemos chapter 1).
Pharaoh’s plan seems reasonable enough. Surely, if you enslave and oppress people, they ought to be weakened and shrink in number and scope. Yet, the Torah tells us: As they would oppress them, so would they multiply and so they would spread out. As the Torah tells us, this was a frustrating state of affairs for the enemies of Israel: They were filled with loathing because of the Children of Israel.
Rashi laconically highlights one of the major points of this passage: As they would oppress them – as much as they would put their hearts to oppress (the Children of Israel), so would the heart of G-d be to multiply and spread them. In other words, as they say in Yiddish, Mann tracht, un G-tt lacht: man plans and G-d laughs.
As children, we study this passage and delight in it. Our enemies are foiled as G-d pokes holes in their plans and we may laugh ourselves when we read how the Egyptians were filled with loathing. Yet, as adults, we do not necessarily appreciate the impact which this passage conveys: If G-d foils well reasoned plans that do not accord with His will, what will happen to our own, often silly, plans that fly in the face of G-d’s instructions and desire? Surely, we will fare no better than the silly Egyptians who thought they could overcome the people of G-d.
I would like to focus on what we might consider “silly” attempts to violate G-d’s will. For example, let us say “Reuven” wishes to live a long life. Let us also say he wishes to smoke, sleep odd hours, eat whatever he likes, and refrain from exercise. We must imagine that this is not a plan that will work very well for Reuven, as G-d has made a world that usually bestows long years on people who watch what they eat, exercise, sleep well, and avoid tobacco. Note: Reuven’s plan to live long is not evil. In fact, it is good! Yet, his behaviors fly in the face of how G-d created the world. The fact that this is so obviously the case means Reuven ought to know that his choices actually fly in the face of his own desires: he wishes to live a long life. Yet, he chooses to engage in behaviors that he surely knows will make it more difficult for him to get what he wants.
Reuven may seem a little silly until we consider that we are all Reuven at some time or another. We all indulge in such behaviors of some kind or another, whether they be dietary, emotional, or intellectual. We may waste money or time, take friendships for granted, and on and on. Indeed, there is no end to the wondrous and creative ways that we may concoct to thwart our very deepest desires and dreams. Instead of spending time with our children, we will spend more time at the office; instead of working on our character, we will watch a movie; instead of take serious steps to pursue a much needed friendship or relationship, we will take a nap, look up vacation options online, or walk back down the hall to the breakroom to see if anyone is hanging out.
If we were to compose a list of our deepest desires, what would appear on that list? Raise good children who marry Jewish; contribute something unique to the world; become wiser; fix my relationship with ‘X’; become a better Jew. We would each have our own lists that reflect our own deep seated desires, spirituality, and understanding of the world and, in general, our mature goals match what we might broadly consider “G-d’s will.” After all, He also wants us to grow as individuals, friends, family members, and Jews.
But if we would compose lists of what we actually do with our time, would our behaviors match our goals? Or would they indicate that we have been pursuing other things the whole time? This second layer of G-d’s will creates a challenge. While our goals may be morally worthy, our decisions and habits might not make them realistic. We are stuck contending with the fact that it is not enough to choose a goal that matches G-d’s will morally; we must also choose something that matches G-d’s will regarding the structure of the world He has placed us in.
The Egyptians’ pathetic failure to properly oppress the Jews should remind us of the importance of refocusing on what truly matters to us and on the need to ensure that our goals align with the way G-d structures the world. We need to find ways of making the things that really matter more likely to happen. If we want to have Jewish grandchildren, we need to make sure that our children and grandchildren are gaining a background in Torah study, attending shul, and developing an attachment to the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. If we want them to attend shul, study Torah, and keep mitzvot, we must ourselves model these behaviors. If we want to have a better sense of calm and purpose, we need to spend time studying books that meditate upon wisdom and philosophy and we need to spend more time with people who consider these questions. If we want to experience more kindness then we need to seek out kind people and emulate them.
Each person must come up with a list of things that are most important to him or her. After that, we need to remind ourselves which behaviors will make our goals attainable. Assuming our goals meet G-d’s moral will and the physical structure of the world, we are off to a good start. The execution will not be easy but it will at least be possible.
“Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi Judah the Prince would say… Make His will into your will, so that He will make your desires into His” – Avot 2:4.
We have many challenges. The sooner we can accept or recall that G-d made the world in a certain way, the sooner we can find the most reasonable paths towards the things we want.
