Why Should We?
D'var
Torah: Bo
January 30, 2009
In a way, Pharaoh would have fit in so well today. In too many ways, he's such a contemporary figure. Thankfully, the Pharaoh of the Exodus has been gone some 3,200 years, but in a way, he's as modern as today's headlines.
Pharaoh could care less what his people were facing or how they were suffering. Nothing, not Moses or Aaron's staffs or even the Almighty's wrath would deter Pharaoh from enjoying the cheap labor of his Hebrew slaves. On a scale of one to ten plagues, how much did Pharaoh care about his own people? Zero! Plague after plague, he refused to let the Hebrews go. Oddly enough, with all of the plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, the Israelites remained pretty popular amongst the Egyptians and Moses's approval ratings were much higher than Pharaoh's. The Torah records "The Lord disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people. Moreover, Moses himself was much esteemed in the land of Egypt, among Pharaoh's courtiers and among the people." The Egyptians were not fooled by this Pharaoh.
Where am I going with this? I could take this as my jumping off point to talk about Hamas. They care as much about the Palestinian population, their civilians and children about as much as Pharaoh cared about his Egyptians. If they loved their children as much as they hate the Israelis, peace and harmony would blossom overnight. If only the population in Gaza saw the situation as clearly as these Egyptians of old. Hamas is not my target here however. Mine is a more nuanced comparison. My comparison is at best inexact and I don't want to, in any way, minimize the brutal nature of a man who enslaved a whole people and called for the death of all Hebrew baby boys born. The issue I find myself focusing on this Shabbat is that of responsibility or more correctly irresponsibility. Last week, I spoke about the President's call for our collective responsibility to heal our nation's ailments and this week we meet its opposite face to face.
As we read this week the final three of the ten plagues, Pharaoh never took responsibility for the ravages that were inflicted upon his people. Could his Israelite slaves have meant that much to the Egyptian economy or did he have to defend such a shattered ego that the blood, frogs, vermin and cattle disease weren't enough to let those people go? It is on this issue of taking responsibility that I want to focus.
We can't help but recall that a few weeks ago, the three CEOs of our faltering and failing domestic automobile industry came hat in hand to ask the American public for a handout to keep their businesses up and running. They came to Washington in their three private jets. Responsible? No, that is the definition of Hutzpah. They could have at least jet-pooled it. These CEOs were not exactly sending the message that they were taking responsibility for their business failings. Those who have already received their handout at the expense of the public, haven't demonstrated any less irresponsibility. The executives in Citibank which is kept in business by our public money went out and bought a new private jet for their chiefest executives. They clearly have every right to fail in style. Maureen Dowd writes this week about another failing executive who spends millions on decorating his new office and handed out four billion in bonuses before his failing bank was bought up.
Whatever happened to that sign that sat on the desk of President Harry Truman "The buck stops here." To these corporate titans, while the buck stops for those thousands and thousands who are newly out of work, they feel some divine right to have the bucks continue to flow in. There is no shame, there is no remorse, there is no responsibility.
So if the highest officers of our country's largest and most failing enterprises refuse to take responsibility why should we? Well, that's just the point. To get out of this national mess, we have to be better than they are. The rabbis teach "In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man." Forget about what they're doing. Be a mensch. Take responsibility. Evidently CEO and mensch are not synonymous. It all depends how you count but according to one calculation, even with all the undeserved bonuses of the CEOs, the mensch may well be the richer.
The new president showed a touch of indignant emotion when he spoke about the 18.4 billion dollars in bonuses given out by failing firms that have laid off thousands of employees and are receiving public financing. He said “It is shameful, and part of what we’re going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility."
We can easily point our fingers at these shameless executives, but long ago I learned that when we point one finger out, there are three others pointing back at us.
Before the final plague against the Egyptians, the Israelites are instructed to place some blood on the doorposts of their homes. The question is classically posed why the Israelites had to perform this act. Wouldn't the Israelites' homes automatically be known to G-d's messenger? The answer classically given is that the Israelites had to participate in their own redemption. That is to say they had to take some responsibility for their own future. They placed some blood and it will take from us some collective blood, sweat and tears to make it through and beyond these trying times.
While we together take responsibility for our national recovery, we each also naturally take responsibility for our own homes, and businesses and professional positions to keep our heads above water. In next week's Parsha the waters part, and the Israelites walk through to dry land. It will take more than a week or weeks, but, as we do take responsibility, America and Americans will also land on our feet on dry land.
Shabbat Shalom
