Biblical Personalities: Moshe’s Might

Moses was mighty (Nedarim 38a).

All seven

days of dedication of the tabernacle, Moses assembled the Tabernacle and disassembled it twice daily, without the help of any member of Israel (Bamidbar Rabbah 12:9).

Moses’ voice carried the distance of a forty-day walk (Mechilta Bo 14).

It is clear that the Sages perceive Moshe, the man of Netzach as mighty, or as a Gibbor, one who possesses Gevurah. I wonder why the Sages, who define Gevurah as one who can conquer and direct his creative drives, associate Moshe’s Gevurah as being able to singlehandedly assemble and disassemble the entire Tabernacle, and as being able to project his voice a distance of a forty-day walk.

We also wonder why it was necessary for Moshe to assemble the Tabernacle by himself.  Why was it necessary for his voice to travel a distance of a forty-day walk, which was a much greater distance than the camp of the entire nation?

We know that whatever the man of Netzach did had to be with a sense of Netzach. He taught us the Torah, which is eternal. Only a man of Netzach could assemble and disassemble the Mishkan during the seven days of dedication in order to imbue it with a sense of Netzach.  Even his speech had to possess the quality of Netzach, which is often associated with a forty-day period, such as his forty-day visits on Sinai, the forty-day period before the formation of a child, and the forty-day period of the Great Flood.

All of Moshe’s creative efforts had to be Netzach, not his own. Even while being creative, he had to conquer the natural feeling of being creative and experience his efforts as being God’s, not his.

The quality of Netzach is fundamental for the proper level of awareness when serving God: We must be aware that the blessing we are reciting can have, with the proper Kavana, eternal existence.  We must appreciate the sense of Netzach in each Mitzvah we perform. However, if we perceive the eternal nature as being a result of our efforts, we are depriving our actions and words of that very Netzach. Especially when striving for Netzach we must conquer the sense of, “My power and the might of my hand,” and acknowledge that Netzach is a gift from God.

Tools:

Focus today on the eternal quality latent in every Mitzvah, prayer and blessing.

Articulate that our ability to perform something eternal is a gift from God and not as a result of our efforts.