Shabbos Parashas Va'eira - 5780

Shabbos Parashas Va'eira - 5780

Rabbi Hal Miller

So Moshe spoke accordingly to the children of Israel, but they did not listen

to Moshe because of shortness of breath and hard work. [Shemos 6:9]

Why did the people not listen to Moshe? What does kotzer ruach mean?

What is the avodah kasha (hard work) mentioned?

Rashi says that the people did not 'listen', meaning that they "did not accept

consolation", not believing Moshe's message of impending redemption. In

Kol Dodi, Rav Dovid Feinstein explains that they did not believe Moshe based

on their own miscalculation of the 400 years of prophecized servitude. But

most other commentators relate the "did not listen" to the rest of the verse,

saying that the people were unable to pay any attention due to the stress they

were under. So what was that stress?

The word ruach can be translated as breath, wind, or spirit. Although wind here

does not seem to fit, both of the others are explainable in context.

The Midrash, Shemos Rabbah, explains it as a shortness of spirit, saying, "It

was so difficult for them to abandon idol worship." Sforno has a similar view,

"For their spirit prevented them from having faith in God, and they did not

concentrate their heart to understand Moshe." Ramban understands the

shortness of spirit, not that the people did not believe in God and Moshe,

but that they did not want to live, knowing that death would bring relief

from their travails.

Other commentators use the other definition. Rashi says that anyone who

is short of breath is unable to breathe deeply, meaning to reflect on what

they hear. Vilna Gaon ties it to the unrelenting, nonstop labor that does not

allow for a respite. Talelei Oros says it relates to a very practical issue, that

people under heavy pressure get lost in what they're doing, to the exclusion

of ability to think about anything long-term, thus, "when Moshe spoke of

redemption from bondage, people listened, when he spoke of the promised

land, they lost interest."

Rav Hirsch translates our verse that they did not listen to Moshe "out of

impatience and out of cruel bondage." He sees the issue resting more on the

annoyance and anger of the people toward Moshe because he appeared to

them to be ignoring the slavery, which he as a Levi was not subjected to.

Sforno comes out similar to Rav Hirsch. The people would have listened to

Moshe had it not been for the bondage, and would then have understood and

trusted in God. Thus his emphasis is on the last portion of the verse as the

controlling aspect.

Then, as now, we are affected by our environment. We should take care to

"clear the slate" in order to minimize that impact and allow us to move

ahead in life.