Moses, the man who stood toe-to-toe with Pharaoh, the man who witnessed unimaginable plagues unleashed upon Egypt, still maintained a certain level of deference. It's almost counterintuitive, isn't it?
As the final, devastating plague loomed – the death of the firstborn – Moses delivered a powerful message. He declared, as it's written, "And all these thy servants shall come down unto me and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out: and all the people that follow thee; and after that I will go out."
Now, what's interesting here is what Moses didn't say. According to Legends of the Jews, Moses knew that Pharaoh himself would eventually come begging him to leave, urging the Israelites to depart with all possible speed. So why mention only the servants?
The answer, according to the Legends of the Jews, is simple: respect. Despite everything – the enslavement, the oppression, the sheer stubbornness of Pharaoh – Moses never forgot the respect due to a ruler.
He understood the weight of leadership, even in someone he fundamentally disagreed with and who was actively harming his people. It’s a small detail, perhaps, but it speaks volumes about Moses' character. It wasn't about personal ego, or rubbing salt in the wound. It was about the bigger picture, about leading his people to freedom with dignity, even in the face of immense suffering.
Isn't it remarkable? Even as he's orchestrating the liberation of an entire nation, Moses is mindful of basic human decency. It makes you wonder, how often do we forget that principle today? How often do we let anger or frustration cloud our judgment and lead us to act in ways that lack respect, even for those we oppose? It’s something to think about, isn't it? How can we, like Moses, maintain our integrity and sense of respect, even in the most challenging of circumstances?