Look and really see #Shemot#devartorah#parashathashavua

A father told this story:  When my sons were young, one of them stubbed his toe and grimaced with pain. Seeing him trying bravely to bear the agony of those moments, I said, “Son, I’m truly sorry. My toe hurts for you.”  Lifting his head, he looked at me and responded, “Dad, your toe doesn’t really hurt, does it?”

No, the father didn’t sense any physical pangs, yet he did share his suffering. He even wished his son’s ache could somehow be transferred to his body.

In this week’s Torah portion, Shemot, Moses went out to his kinfolk, and saw their afflictions.  Rashi adds that Moses made a special effort that his eyes should see and his heart should feel the suffering of the Children of Israel.  Really seeing the other person is the first step to true empathy.  Remember the movie Avator.  The Na’vis on the planet Pandora greeted each other by saying: “I see you.”

Rabbi Pliskin writes in his book Growth Through Torah “This attribute of becoming more sensitive to the suffering of other people is a basic trait to develop.  Make an effort to truly ‘see’ people.  Some people are experts at seeing the faults of others.  When one works on seeing the suffering of others, one’s focus is on helping them. This prevents seeing the negative, and leads to many acts of kindness.  This was the trait of Moses and it is incumbent upon us to use this as our model for our own behavior.” Page 144.

Look around and truly see the plight of our fellow citizens in California because of all the destruction the fires have wrought.  Look around and see the plight of her fellow citizens on the Southeast seaboard because of all the destruction that hurricane Helene has wrought. Look around and see homeless and hungry Americans.  Look around and see how gun violence shatters so many lives each and every day.   Look around and see the that Israeli hostages are still in captivity held in the worst possible circumstances. Look around and see how Hamas, Hizballah, and the Houtis continue to bomb Israeli citizens. Look around and see the terrible toll the Gaza war has taken upon Israeli society and although I care a million times more about my brothers and sisters in Israel I recognize the suffering of the Gazans.

Look around and see how you can ameliorate those sufferings you are passionate about through acts of kindness of your own.  Together we might just help redeem this world as Moses helped redeem Israel from bondage.