Mem Moment | Not So Inspirational Speech
Parashat Bo “Come”
March 4th, 1865, was supposed to be an unforgettable day, and it was… just not in the way that everyone had hoped. Some context; the civil war was in its final days, and President Lincoln was being inaugurated for his second term as president. It was a crisp spring morning, and everyone had gathered around to here from our two leaders, President Lincoln and Vice President Andrew Johnson. First Lincoln gave his address. Short and sweet but very riveting. His message was evocative and hit the notes of a seasoned leader addressing his people in this politically fraught moment: “With malice toward none; with charity for all…” Everyone ooed and awed as his words not only filled the chamber of the East Portico but also the chambers of the hearts of all in attendance. And then it was Vice President Andrew Johnson’s time to take to the podium. Pardon my Yiddish, but what proceeded to happen can best be described as a real shonda – a profoundly embarrassing experience. Clearly under the influence of a drunken stupor, Johnson began waving his hands and yelling out incoherent garbled phrases. The crowd gasped, as they bore witness to a train-wreck of a speech; as the leader that they all had in such high esteem, had turned into a steam engined train wreck and crashing out. This moment would go down in history as the drunken address, and his reputation would never quite recover from this fiasco.
In this week’s portion we see a regrettable moment play itself out from one of the most respected prophets out there. Some context; we’re 9 plagues in and Moses has been consistent and patient in his warnings to Pharaoh that things will only escalate from here, after each and every plague, but in describing the devastation that the 10th and final plague will leave behind, he gets worked up and emotional and let’s just say that he gets a little lost in the sauce. How epic would it have been for Moses to deliver one final speech before the inevitable plays itself out? Moses could have seized the opportunity to close this saga with an inspiring parting word, instead Moses loses his temper and storms into Pharaoh’s court in a huff. Moses adds: “All of [Pharaoh’s] courtiers will bow down to me, [Moses], and I’ll leave with all of your followers.” The next line the Torah says that Moses stormed out in a fury, but the Talmud in Tractate Zevachim 102a adds color to the encounter sharing that then and there, in front of everyone, Moses slapped Pharaoh in the face. Moses was clearly out of sorts in this moment, and if I were to say it were an isolated incident, I would say he was caught in a bad moment, but this is not the only time that the phrase for fury is associated with Moses (Exodus 32:19) nor is it the only instance where Moses strikes an Egyptian (Exodus 2:12), and many years later, Moses’ rage (in striking a stone instead of speaking to it) ends up being the very act that punishes him at the end of his life (Numbers 20:12).
The Gemara in Tractate Berakhot teaches: “Do not get drunk and do not get angry and you will never sin.” Our heroes are human with inner struggles and we shouldn’t idolize them, rather we should learn from their strengths and also their shortcomings. So next time you find yourself about to hit send on that angry email, or you feel impulse to send a drunk text message, consider yourself lucky that your stakes are not quite as high as Moses or Andrew Jackson in their not-so-finest hour.