Biblical Personalities: Moshe the King
Moses was equal to Israel, and Israel to Moses (Mechilta Yitro 1:1). Moses was equivalent to 600,000 of Israel (Tikkunei Zohar 19:40).
Moses acted in place of a seventy-one member Sanhedrin (Sanhedrin 16b).
No generation is without someone like Moses (Bereishit Rabbah 56:7).
Moses was the exact image of Adam (Zohar 128a)
Two good leaders arose for Israel: Moses and David (Sifri Devarim 26, beginning of Va’etchanan).
When the Midrash compares Moshe to Adam, they are connecting him to the beginning of time and to the primal human being who incorporates all human beings. It is not surprising that he is also compared to King David who was granted 70 years of life as a gift from Adam and who, as king, represents all people. Moshe is beyond time, Netzach, and can therefore be found in every generation, and incorporates all of Israel just as does a king.
Moshe’s Netzach is expressed as Malchut, in that it encompasses all of Israel in all times.
We can examine our own qualities of Netzach by their quality of Malchut: We have periods of awareness that our actions, thoughts and speech, can have eternal implications. Do we find that we relate better to others when in such a place? Do we experience more patience and empathy for others? If we can, our moments of Netzach have the quality of Malchut.
However, if our desire from Netzach shuts us away from others, or if it causes us to lose patience with those who are not searching for Netzach, we can be sure that our Netzach lacks Malchut.
A parent observes a behavioral pattern in his child that he knows will cause the child misery as he grows up. The parent has a far longer view than does the child, or, in this context, we say that the parent has Netzach. It will only be Netzach if the parent explains the issue to the child with the same long range view, meaning in a manner that the child can understand and use. The parent will have to use a sense of Malchut in planning how to speak to the child in a manner that the child can hear.
Children often complain that their parents have their own agenda, which is different from their own. It takes Malchut to speak so that the child feels that the parent is addressing the child’s agenda.
Tools:
Evaluate whether your Netzach drives are expressed with increased or decreased compassion, patience and empathy.
Plan a conversation that “You have been meaning to have,” about an important issue with a friend or child in such a way that the other person will feel that you are focusing on his or her agenda and not your own.