it's all about me

1) Yesterday I was walking with my wife and we saw gazebo / tents setup in the chatzeir of a shul for people to daven in.  I said to my wife that maybe people should put up their sukkos for davening.  Afterwards I happened to listen to a speech by Sivan Rahav Meir and she told a story of Chabad sheluchim in Odessa who put up a tent for davening on Shavuos and were approached by Ploni and Plonis who asked to take the 4 minim -- these Jews, so distant from everything, saw a tent and thought it is Sukkos, time for lulav and esrog!  You don't know whether to laugh or cry.  If it's Sukkos, what happened to Rosh haShana, Yom Kippur?  Kashya.  Who knows.  But at least they wanted to do something.  

2) The first Mishna in the last perek of Brachos has a tefilah to say when you enter a big city and when you manage to get out of the city in peace.  See Rashi there, see the poskim, who say the practice is not to say this tefilah because today there is not such a great danger.  I'm beginning to wonder if we should reinstitute this prayer.  When you go into NYC (was there on Monday) and you see all the stores that have not yet been looted all boarded up and closed, when they tell you that the gate to the parking garage will be closed at 3:00 so no one can get in, then I'm not so sure the danger is slight.  If you close down every shul and business because of the .3% mortality rate of those who become infected with Corona, is this less of a sakana?  

3) On to the parsha:

 וַיִּשְׁמַ֨ע מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־הָעָ֗ם בֹּכֶה֙ לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֔יו אִ֖ישׁ לְפֶ֣תַח אׇהֳל֑וֹ

Not only was Hashem angry when the people began to complain about unchanging diet of mon, but "b'eini Moshe ra," even Moshe thought this was evil.  (11:10)  

Uncharacteristically, Moshe turned to Hashem and complained about the impossible job he had as leader, the no-win situation he was in in trying to constantly satisfy the complaints of the mob.  

What happened to Moshe the defender of Klal Yisrael, the man who could and did carry it all on his shoulders?  Why here was he not only angry at the people, but he turned to Hashem to complain instead of turning to Hashem in prayer on their behalf as he had done so many other times before?

I meant to write about this a few months ago and never got around to it, so let me make up for it now.  Back in Parshas Beshalach there are a number of episodes where Klal Yisrael complained.  

In 16:3 the people complained about the lack of food:

וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ אֲלֵהֶ֜ם בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל מִֽי־יִתֵּ֨ן מוּתֵ֤נוּ בְיַד־יְהֹוָה֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בְּשִׁבְתֵּ֙נוּ֙ עַל־סִ֣יר הַבָּשָׂ֔ר בְּאׇכְלֵ֥נוּ לֶ֖חֶם לָשֹׂ֑בַע כִּֽי־הוֹצֵאתֶ֤ם אֹתָ֙נוּ֙ אֶל־הַמִּדְבָּ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה לְהָמִ֛ית אֶת־כׇּל־הַקָּהָ֥ל הַזֶּ֖ה בָּרָעָֽב

In 17:3 the people complained about the lack of water:

 וַיִּצְמָ֨א שָׁ֤ם הָעָם֙ לַמַּ֔יִם וַיָּ֥לֶן הָעָ֖ם עַל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לָ֤מָּה זֶּה֙ הֶעֱלִיתָ֣נוּ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם לְהָמִ֥ית אֹתִ֛י וְאֶת־בָּנַ֥י וְאֶת־מִקְנַ֖י בַּצָּמָֽא׃

The reaction to these complaints is strikingly different.  In response to the first complaint, Moshe did not even need to turn to Hashem in prayer.  The very next pasuk tells us that Hashem promised "lechem min ha'shamayim," that the people would get mon to eat.  However, in response to the second complaint, Moshe cried out to Hashem saying that the people were on the verge of stoning him.  No only was there no benevolent response by Hashem, but even Moshe felt threatened this time around.  

Why the difference?

If you read the first complaint carefully, it is written all in the plural: "mi itgein MUSEINU... SHIVTEINU... hotzeisem OSANU...l'hamis es ha'KAHAL."  WE need food, why did you take US out of Egypt, was it to endanger the entire CONGREGATION.

The second complaint, in contrast, speaks about the individual: "l'hamis OSI v'es BANAI v'es MIKNAI."  You are going to kill ME, MY children, MY cattle.

The first complaint is all about the suffering of the community.  The second complaint is about the suffering of the individual and his/her selfish self-interest.  

Chasam Sofer writes on our parsha that it was after seeing the people "bocheh l'mishpichosav," each sitting by his own tent, each concerned only with his own welfare, that Moshe grew angry.  In theory each person might have come up with an excuse for his complaints; he might have said, "If it was just me I wouldn't say anything, but what about others?"  At least this would give the murmuring a window dressing of legitimacy.  However, "bocheh l'mishpichosav" allows for no excuses -- it's just about you, your self-interest, your ego.  That Moshe, who the parsha later calls "anav me'od m'kol adam," had no patience for. 

When people complain that the system is unfair, sometimes it shows true concern for the community at large, but unfortunately sometimes it's just an excuse to advance their own self-interest.  Be careful which complainers you are rooting for.