Miller's Musings for Shabbos Chol Hamoed Succos: With or With Me
As Moshe did so many times before, the Torah reading for this Shabbos begins with Moshe petitioning Hashem for his beloved people. In truth he made three requests to Hashem. That Hashem should be the one to accompany the Jewish people into the Holy Land. That he should be given the ability to understand Hashem’s reward and punishment. And finally that the Jews would always remain Hashem’s people. The first of these was to counteract Hashem’s previous statement after the Golden Calf when He said that He would send an angel, rather than come Himself, to lead the people into Eretz Yisroel. The puzzling point here, is that it seems Moshe asks for this twice, once after Hashem has already responded “My Own Presence will go along and provide you rest." So why does Moshe then again ask for Hashem Himself to be present?
Hashem’s partial rejection of the Jewish people was a consequence of them betraying Him so dramatically, seemingly turning to an idol. His decision to not escort them Himself, but rather through an angel, when possessing the land must have been tremendously disappointing on at least two levels. The first was that it meant a decrease in the protection provided for the Jewish people. Hashem being there and an angel being there would surely be very different prospects, the former affording the nation far greater security and success. But perhaps more than that there was the mere fact that Hashem was not ‘with’ them in terms of His being ‘on their side’ in this undertaking. Moshe didn’t just want Hashem there for practical purposes. He wanted to know that Hashem was behind them, favouring them, advocating for them, acting as their support and strength. To know He would be there to act on their behalf is one thing. But to know that He would be there championing their cause, caring for them and truly desiring their victories, is something entirely different. This is perhaps the meaning of Moshe’s double entreaty. From Hashem’s first reply, Moshe understood that Hashem had committed to the first level of accompanying. His next appeal was for this higher level of Hashem being not just by their side, but sincerely on their side.
There is very little in life that can be accomplished truly alone. Whether it be one’s own personal achievements or that of an organisation or movement, there is always the need for support from others. Whether it be the backing of one’s family, the encouragement of one’s friends or the assistance of one’s colleagues, we must appreciate how much others are responsible for our accomplishments. From the other side, we must also realise how much our support is often needed to ensure another’s success. Just flitting in and out is never going to be enough if you honestly want to be supportive. One has to think what they can do, how they can best be of service and dedicate themselves to the cause. If we genuinely believe in someone or something, we must put our heart and soul into helping to make it a reality. If we genuinely want something to happen we will do what we can to make it so.
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*May this Succos and Shabbos inspire us to make a difference*