Printer Friendly

Email to A Friend

Tuesday January 7, 1997

Vaera: God's compassion means we're never alone

Rabbi Stephen Pearce

Vaera

Exodus 6:2-9:35

Ezekiel 28:25-29:21

A Polish Jew, living alone in Poland, applied for a visa to emigrate to Israel. He went to Israel, but he was just as lonely there and concluded that he could not adjust. He got permission to travel back to Poland. Alas, his loneliness in Poland was not abated and he traveled back to Israel.

When the second trip to Israel also failed to relieve his loneliness, he requested permission to return to Poland. An exasperated Israeli immigration officer said, "You are unhappy in Poland so you travel to Israel. You are unhappy in Israel so you travel to Poland. So when are you happy?"

The man smiled and said, "That's easy -- when I am traveling."

Noted author Elie Wiesel identifies with the man's loneliness. With residences in the United States, France and Israel, Wiesel was once asked where he felt most at home. He said, "Jerusalem, when I'm not there." Is there any antidote to loneliness or is loneliness, as Thomas Wolfe suggested, "the central and inevitable fact of human existence?"

While happiness is important, the biblical tradition teaches that it is not achieved by eliminating loneliness, but rather by recognizing that no one is really alone. Until they discovered this truth, many biblical characters' lives were filled with both sorrow and loneliness.

Adam, for example, was quite lonely before his encounter with God. Noah experienced overwhelming loneliness when he witnessed the destruction of all humanity; only when he felt God's presence did his loneliness disappear. Until God promised to make his descendants a great nation, Abraham was a wanderer and a stranger in the land of Israel.

Jacob, estranged from his brother and far away from his parents, slept alone at the fords of the Jabbok River; only when he realized that God was with him did he cease feeling lonely. Joseph was a lone Israelite in an Egyptian kingdom, sustained only by the knowledge that he was part of a Divine plan. Moses, the subject of this week's Torah portion, Vaera, also experienced intense loneliness.

Moses grew up in Pharaoh's palace, separate and apart from his people. The contrast between his life of luxury and the suffering of his people created conflict and guilt. As the text notes: "He went out into his brethren, and he looked upon their burdens" (Exodus 2:11). Nevertheless, the Hebrews viewed him as an outsider.

Moses' isolation was compounded when he killed an Egyptian taskmaster. Now he was also unwelcome in the palace, as evidenced by Pharaoh's attempt to kill him (Exodus 2:12-15). With no place to call home, Moses escaped to Midian, married the daughter of Jethro, a Midianite priest, and raised a family, all the while feeling out of place in Midian, estranged from the Egyptian rulers who had nourished him, and removed from his own people whose plight tormented him.

Moses' loneliness did not end once he returned to lead the Hebrews. At the shores of the Red Sea with the Egyptians in pursuit, the Israelites blamed Moses for their departure from Egypt. They quickly tired of the manna and complained bitterly. They mocked Moses when he said he would bring forth water from a rock to quench their thirst.

During Moses' solitary 40 days on Mt. Sinai, his people forgot about the God who had delivered them and eagerly contributed gold and silver as Aaron fashioned the Golden Calf. Moses found his people in frenzied idol worship at the same time that he received the Law. Nevertheless, in the midst of such despair, Moses was able to realize that he truly was not alone.

Albert Camus once wrote, "In the midst of winter, I discovered that there was within me an invincible summer." Moses found his invincible summer in the shelter of God's keeping. When he came upon the solitary burning bush, or when he stood atop desolate Mt. Sinai, or when God spoke to him on other occasions, Moses experienced God's presence, which enabled him to see beyond his own loneliness.

While God may not speak to us in the same way He spoke to Moses, if we are able to look beyond our own loneliness, we might well experience God's compassion and discover that we, too, are not alone.

Did you find this article interesting? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and you'll be notified each week when "J." goes online. We'll tell you about the most important stories of the week and give you a link to each one.

This page contains a BETA version of Amazon contextual links. They are marked by the dashed underline.  Your purchases support our site. At times they point to items which are not related to the actual link. Please alert us by email if you discover objectionable links.