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Noah Leavitt

Between Truth and Peace

I entered this past Shabbat with a tremendous amount of trepidation. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way as we hope and pray for the release of our brothers and sisters. Time and again over the last 470 days our hopes have been dashed and even now I worry that the deal will come undone. There are many unknowns: who is alive and who has been killed? Who’s spirit is alive and who’s soul has been shattered? As we pray for the hostages safe return another thought might cross our minds: how are we to relate to this deal which is so far from ideal, so precarious, and contains so many unknowns?

After Moshe acquiesces to God’s command at the burning bush and bids farewell to his father-in-law Yitro. The Torah tells us, “Moshe took his wife and sons, mounted them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt; and Moshe took the rod of God with him.” Yet soon after these words Moshe’s wife and sons disappear from our story. Only to suddenly reappear in Parshat Yitro. When Yitro travels to Moshe the Torah tells us, “Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moshe’s wife, after she had been sent home.” When and why did she leave Moshe and return to her father’s home with her children?

A Midrash explains that when Moshe was journeying to Egypt after seeing the burning bush God said to Aaron: Go and meet Moshe in the wilderness. When Aaron encountered Moshe, the Midrash explains, “Aaron said: ‘Who are these women and little ones with you?’ Moshe said: ‘My wife and my sons.’ Aaron said : ‘Where are you taking them?’ Moshe: ‘To Egypt.’ Aaron said: ‘It is bad enough to worry about those who are already afflicted, the Jews who are already slaves, and now shall we add to that number and worry about them too?’ At that time Moshe said to Tzipporah: ‘Go to your father’s house.’ So she went to her father’s house, taking her two sons — that’s why Torah says in Parshat Yitro ‘after she had been sent home.’”

According to the Midrash, Moshe at Aaron’s urging sends Zipporah home before she ever arrives in Egypt. But why would Moshe have thought it was a good idea to bring Zipporah and his sons to Egypt in the first place? Shouldn’t he have been able to see that it was dangerous to bring his family to a place where the Jewish People were enslaved? Why could Aaron see this seemingly obvious danger when Moshe could not?

Moshe’s dominant character trait was Emet, truth. As we sing on Simchat Torah: Moshe Emet v’Torato Emet, Moshe is true and his Torah is true. Moshe recognized there was evil in the world but it was dealt with swiftly and harshly just as Moshe dealt with the Egyptian taskmaster who was mercilessly beating a Jewish slave. A Midrash even explains that Moshe fled Egypt not because he feared Pharaoh would punish him for killing the Egyptian taskmaster, but because he saw the Jewish People fighting amongst themselves and did not believe that such a people would ever be worthy of being redeemed. In short, Moshe believed in a world of absolute ideals, of black and white, good and evil, a world of pure truth.

Aaron’s personality was dominated by a different attribute. The Talmud tells us Aaron Ohev Shalom v’Rodef Shalom, Aaron was a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace. When two people were fighting, the Sages explain, Aaron would back and forth between them as an intermediary. “He would go and sit next to one of them and say: My son, look at the anguish your friend is going through! His heart is ripped apart and he is tearing at his clothes. He is saying, How can I face my old friend? I am so ashamed, I betrayed his trust. Aaron would sit with him until his rage subsided. Then Aaron would go to the other person in the fight and say the same to them… [As a result,] when the two people saw each other, they would embrace and kiss one another.” Aaron would blur the truth in order to help people reconcile. Aaron pursued peace because he was pragmatic. He believed that the Jewish People could only overcome Sheker, the falsehood of their surroundings, with unity and peace was his highest ideal.

Moshe brought his wife and children to Egypt because he was an idealist. He believed God would lead the Jewish People out of slavery and that nothing bad would happen to his children. In a world of Emet – pure truth that should have been the case. After all, they were innocent bystanders to the drama that would unfold. They had nothing to do with Pharaoh or the Egyptians. However, Aaron recognized that the world is not a world of Emet but one in which Sheker prevails. That is why Aaron needed to tell Moshe to send his family home. However, just as an over adherence to ideals can lead one to ignore signs of danger so can an overcommitment to Shalom. Aaron’s commitment to peace and unity may have prevented him from challenging the Jewish People when they wanted to build the Egel HaZahav – the Golden Calf. Emet without Shalom is utopian fantasy. Shalom without Emet is pragmatism without values.

In a world of Emet (truth), Kfir Bibas would celebrate his second birthday at home today and Hersh Goldberg Polin would be traveling the globe. In a world of Emet, the hostages would have been freed long ago under unanimous world pressure. In a world of Emet, we would not need to trade murderers for babies. We, however, do not live in a world of Emet, we live in a world where Sheker (falsehood) prevails. In a world of Sheker, we must never lose sight of Emet but we can only hope to arrive at Shalom. Shalom in our tradition is not an abstract ideal but rather it is born of pragmatism and realpolitik. The hostage deal does not embody Emet, but let us pray that it brings Shalom.

Based on a sermon given at Oheb Zedek Cedar Sinai Synagogue on Shabbat Parshat Shemot on January 18th, 2025.

About the Author
Noah Leavitt has an MA in Jewish Philosophy from Yeshiva University. He received smicha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin.
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