Timeless Torah

A burning bush, a mission accepted and soon Moses and Aaron found themselves demanding of Pharoah freedom for all Jews. The Torah relates the Egyptian monarch's exact reply, "Why do you, Moses and Aaron, hinder the people from their work? Go about your own business."

Our Sages explain that the brothers Moses and Aaron, being members of the tribe of Levi, were not required to work like the rest of the Jewish people and were exempt from the bitter decree of slavery. Pharoah therefore asked them, "Why do you two involve yourselves in affairs that do not concern you? Let the other Jews continue their task and you do yours."

Why did the Egyptians permit an entire tribe to be exempt from forced labor? Even the oppressor recognized that each nation must have its own leaders. Throughout history, be it the Greeks utilizing Hellenist Jews or local kapos fronting for the Nazis, control of the oppressed was always easier if there was a supposedly "sympathetic" middleman. It was therefore accepted that in Egypt, the spiritual authorities (in this case the tribe of Levi) should enjoy an elevated position in society.

When Moses and Aaron demanded the entire nation be set free to worship G-d, they were disputing this commonly held, and practical notion. Pharoah, for his part, could not comprehend the upper class relinquishing their superior status. "It's enough," he claimed, "if the clergy alone is involved in religious experience and life."

This enslaver of people was the first proponent of separating church and state. He sought to perpetuate the Egyptian world view which saw the two realms of the religious and civil as distinct, unconnected concepts. As religious leaders Moses and Aaron should be allowed limited authority by the ruling regime, on the condition that they would confine their role to the synagogue.

G-d's messengers and their radical request were seen as a total contradiction to the existing world order. The Torah, they claimed, is not reserved for a select few. The laws of Shabbat and Kosher are applicable to all, and no Rabbi's prayer can substitute your own.

Another point must be made. Moses and Aaron were not content to remain within the secluded tents of learning if other Jews were not allowed to participate. Their self-sacrifice - a practical lesson for all of us - ultimately proved successful, culminating with the entire nation receiving the Torah at Sinai.