Community Magazine January 2017

18 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE This concept helps explain an obscure and enigmatic Midrashic passage relevant to the Exodus story. When the time came for the process of redemption to begin, Gd appeared to Moshe at the burning bush and commanded him to return to Egypt, assume the mantle of leadership, and approach Pharaoh to demand that he release Beneh Yisrael from bondage. Moshe initially refused, giving several reasons why he felt he could not accept this responsibility. At one point, Moshe said to Gd, “ Shelah na beyad tishlah – Send, please, whomever You send” (Shemot 4:13). This verse is interpreteddifferently by different commentators, but a particularly perplexing explanation appears in Midrash Peli’ah , a collection of enigmatic commentaries by the ancient rabbis. The Midrash Peli’ah explains thatMoshe refers here to a figure that would be born many centuries later – the great sage, Rabbi Akiva. Hewas the onewhomMoshe wanted the Almighty to send to Pharaoh and lead Beneh Yisrael from bondage. This comment seems very peculiar. Although it should not surprise us that Moshe had prophetic vision and foresaw the emergence of Rabbi Akiva, why would he nominate a future sage for the position of leader? Did Moshe really want to extend the Israelites’ bondage for another thousand years, so that Rabbi Akiva could lead them to freedom? The explanation is provided by one of the greatest Sephardic luminaries, the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azoulay, 18 th century). The Arizal, as the Hida cites, made a remarkable statement about Rabbi Akiva, teaching that he surpassed even the exalted stature of Moshe Rabbenu. Astoundingly, Rabbi Akiva, who until age 40 was a simple, ignorant shepherd who did not even know the Hebrew alphabet, reached heights that even the greatest prophet of all time never reached in his lifetime, climbing to the 50 th level of sanctity. And this, the Hida writes, is why Moshe recommended that Rabbi Akiva come and redeem Beneh Yisrael . In essence, Moshe was saying to Gd, “Why do you want me? The people have sunken so low,whynot find somebodyevengreater than me to pull them out of the abyss? They are on the brink of the 50 th level of impurity, so they need somebody on the 50 th level of sanctity. Why, then, are You choosing me, somebody who is only on the 49 th level?” The response to Moshe’s question is that Gd’s plan was to rescue the people before they fell to the 50 th level of impurity, and so he, who stood at the 49 th level of holiness, was the one chosen to lead them along this process and bring them out of exile. The Final Generation While this might sound like nothing more than a matter of historical intrigue, or obscure Kabbalistic concepts, it is actually very relevant to our life in 21 st -century America. In fact, it might be the most vital message for us living in 21 st -century America. As mentioned, when the Jewish People find themselves submerged in the depths of spiritual contamination, we need to be pulled up by the highest level of holiness. The Or Hahaim (Rav Haim Ben-Attar, 18 th century) warns that in the final generation before the arrival of Mashiah , the Jewish Nation will fall even lower than it did in Egypt, and will sink Dedicated in memory of the pure neshamot of the Sassoon children