Jimmy Carter was once meeting the Israeli PM Menachem Begin and as they were discussing their different roles and responsibilities, Carter blurts out to Begin “don’t compare your leadership of tiny Israel with my leadership of over 200 Million citizens”. Begin true to his fashion, quickly responds “you may be the President of 200 Million citizens, but I am Prime Minister of 3 Million Prime Ministers”!
Jews are known for having opinions and for having something to say and suggest about anything and everything, shutting up is usually never a choice or a last resort. The famous joke about the shipwrecked Jew, who builds himself two synagogues, one for now and one for when he has his first argument, is probably not too far off from reality.
Pharaoh's Disastrous Mistake
After more than three thousand years of Jewish history, we are fortunately aware of this character trait and can usually predict this tendency. Unfortunately for Pharaoh 3,300 years ago, no such research existed yet and the American Studies Association had not yet voted on a boycott on uncivilized Jewish behavior and he had no way of predicting what to expect when he was dealing with the Jewish people.
While Pharaoh made many mistakes in his failed mission to destroy the Jews, one of his biggest acts of brazen Chutzpa was when he told Moses and Aaron to “mind their own business”!
Moses and Aaron after a small amount of hesitancy had finally gone to Pharaoh to convey a message from G-d, to tell him to lay his hands off the Jews and let them go free. Pharaoh, who was obviously clueless as to how Jews operate, tells them to “mind their own business” and mix out of the other Jews business and suffering. Instead they should just be content with their own tribe’s freedom from servitude and ability to continue living as Jews.
Normal individuals might be inclined to listen to Pharaoh’s advice, especially when he seems a little angry and agitated (think of Kim Jong of North Korea and his late uncle). Yet despite the obvious risks of further enraging Egypt’s brutal dictator, Moses and Aaron weren’t daunted and were determined to not back off. They knew that the fate of the Jewish people and the destiny of mankind hung in the balance at that point, and if they stayed quiet people would continue suffering agony and torment.
Moses and Aaron could have easily gone back to live their private lives in peace and quiet along with the rest of the tribe of Levi who were never enslaved unlike all the other Jews. Life could have continued, studies could have continued, and a sense of personal spiritual fulfillment could have easily been accomplished. Yet Moses and Aaron knew and demonstrated, that from a Jewish perspective, personal fulfillment and accomplishment alone, however important it might be, does not mean that we are allowed to ignore what is going on around us, especially when others are struggling, failing or floundering.
If anything Pharaoh’s haughty response to two of history’s greatest Jewish leaders and telling them to mind their own business, was probably one of his greatest mistakes! Usually telling any Jew to mind their own business, is an oxymoron, but telling Moses and Aaron, well that just set the exact opposite in motion, and before long Moses and Aaron were spending days and nights advocating, debating, conveying messages from G-d and communicating with the Jewish slaves, as they began to do everything in their power to help their enslaved brothers and sisters.
The Lesson and its Implications
Pharaoh’s Chutzpah and Moses and Aaron’s subsequent response teaches us Jewish response to misplaced Chutzpah. Yet it also teaches us a powerful moral lesson regarding balancing our own self-fulfillment with being mindful to never becoming detached or complacent when others around us are suffering, not as fortunate, or just lacking in education or opportunities.
Moses and Aaron may have been national and spiritual Jewish leaders and what applies to them may seem abstract to us. Yet the truth is, each individual is a leader and influencer in one way or another and regardless of whether we realize it, our actions and conduct are a sphere of influence whether we like it or not.
The determination to always be sensitive to those around us and to always seek to alleviate the lives of others in both material and spiritual ways are perhaps the ultimate takeaways from Pharaoh’s pointless attempt at telling two Jews “to mind their own business”.
Two Examples
This week, the American Studies Association which has partnerships with universities around the world including but not limited to Iran and China, voted to single out and boycott Israel based on its absolutely “terrible human rights record”. The ASA probably weren’t expecting US universities and academics to start making noise and complaining, after all life is good here. Yet Brandies and Penn State along with Larry Summers and others quickly made sure that this will not go down in history unanswered and unfought and instead have pulled their membership and come out with public condemnations of the bigoted decision. ASA didn’t realize that it’s going to take a lot more than that to get a bunch of Jews and other moral and upstanding people to just “mind their own business”.
To most of us though, the lesson of “not just minding our own business” when we know others are suffering or missing out, is more about what we experience in our personal lives and interactions. We all know of people we can make a difference too, some through a phone call or visit, some through inviting them to join us for a Shabbat Dinner or to join us at services or a class, and some through offering to listen or consult with. Regardless of what it is, while we will obviously be mindful of other people’s space, wishes and privacy, “minding our own business” when we know we have something that could enrich or empower someone else is not really of part of the lexicon of Jewish behavior.