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May 25, 2012
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May 24, 2012
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May 23, 2012
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May 22, 2012
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Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
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May 21, 2012
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Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
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The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
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Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
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The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
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Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
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Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
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The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
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The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
What Pharaoh can teach us about being stubborn
By
Rabbi Berel Wein
A lesson for sophisticates
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Many people are stubborn. Stubbornness, tenacity, purposefulness are all ambivalent characteristics. They can be
positive and constructive traits under certain circumstances and they can be terribly destructive and negative under
others.
Pharaoh has his heart hardened by G-d and refuses to let the people of Israel leave Egyptian slavery. But G-d
only gives Pharaoh the courage of his convictions. Pharaoh sincerely does not wish to allow the Jews to leave his
bondage and he is prepared to be very stubborn about it.
Ordinarily, Pharaoh's stubbornness would hardly be tested.
But with plagues raining down on Egypt, Pharaoh is sorely tested. Even his advisers, who had until now supported
Pharaoh's stubbornness fully, finally are brought to their knees by the blows falling upon Egypt. They tell Pharaoh, "Do
you not realize that Egypt is lost?"
But Pharaoh himself remains unconvinced. And his stubbornness affects Moshe and the Jewish people. There is an
apparent wavering of faith among the Jews. Maybe they will never be redeemed. Perhaps Moses' promises are only
dreams that will never become actualized. Facing a stubborn and intractable foe weakens one's resolve and saps the
belief of triumph that is so necessary for the achievement of victory. So Pharaoh looks like a winner after all. But
Pharaoh eventually will not only bend, he will break. Stubbornness is not necessarily synonymous with martyrdom.
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When Pharaoh himself faces the Angel of Death on the night of Passover, he relents and frees the Jewish people. But he
will turn stubborn again when he feels that the odds are in his favor. For he is not convinced of the power or rectitude
of Moshe's mission and of the G-d of Israel. He will therefore pursue his stubborn course till its bitter and unnecessary
end in the deep waters of the Red Sea. Pharaoh thus becomes the paradigm for all those tyrants and megalomaniacs
who have followed him throughout the centuries.
The past century especially has spawned this breed of cruel
stubbornness in earnest and in numbers. From the Kaiser to Hitler, from Lenin and Stalin to Chairman Mao, from the
Grand Mufti to Sadaam Hussein and Yassir Arafat the imitators of Pharaoh are clear to see. Stubbornness in the name
of evil, in the cause of conquest and hatred of others, is a very negative and dangerous trait. It destroys many
innocent people but eventually it destroys the stubborn person as well.
Evil is an infection of the soul. Unless it is fought and controlled it will ravage the entire body. But you will say, "Is not
the secret of Jewish survival somehow rooted in our own stubbornness?" And the answer to that must be "yes." But
there is stubbornness and stubbornness. The stubbornness of morality, of kindness, of Sinai and its basic
commandments for our civilization (one of which has become particularly public and pertinent in our political and
governmental lives) and of commitment to do the right and the just, is an admirable quality.
Thus, a truly sophisticated
and intelligent Jew is stubborn and flexible at the same time. In worldly matters, in the marketplace, in the tactics of
home and family and education, flexibility is the watchword. "Do it my way or don't do it all," is a dangerous policy in
everyday living. Openness to others and to new ideas and situations guarantees greater success and accomplishment
in the world.
Parents who are flexible and not rigid in the management of their home will usually see happier results from their
children. But in matters of the spirit and soul, in issues of ethics and morality, in the defense of the code and traditions
of Sinai, stubbornness and backbone are the traits required for success. "But everyone is doing it," is the refrain that
is used to justify negative and costly conduct. One must have the strength to say "not everyone, not me, not us, not
our family, not the Jewish people." The Jewish world is reeling from a lack of stubbornness regarding the vital issues of
the Jewish world — Torah (Bible), observance, the Land of Israel, Torah education, family and Jewish grandchildren. It has too
much flexibility regarding these issues. It is far too stubborn regarding defending current politically correct and
slogan — prone issues. Pharaoh exemplifies the wrong stubbornness. Moses represents the correct stubbornness. We
should certainly attempt to be the followers of Moses.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring articles. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Rabbi Berel Wein --- Jewish historian, author and international lecturer offers a complete selection of CDs, audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, and
books on Jewish history at www.rabbiwein.com Comment by clicking here.
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© 2006, Rabbi Berel Wein
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