After Moshe accepts the mission to redeem the Jewish people, he approaches Pharaoh and demands that the people be granted freedom of worship. Pharaoh predictably refuses. He further punishes the people and increases their workload. The people complain to Moshe and Aharon.

שמות ה

כב( וַיָּשָׁב מֹשֶׁה אֶל-יְהוָה, וַיֹּאמַר:  אֲדֹנָי, לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתָה לָעָם הַזֶּה--לָמָּה זֶּה, שְׁלַחְתָּנִי. כג( וּמֵאָז בָּאתִי אֶל-פַּרְעֹה, לְדַבֵּר בִּשְׁמֶךָ, הֵרַע, לָעָם הַזֶּה; וְהַצֵּל לֹא-הִצַּלְתָּ, אֶת-עַמֶּךָ

Shemot 5

22 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me? 23 Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people."

This progression of events was anticipated. God specifically told Moshe, “However, I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except through a mighty hand.”(Shemot 3:19). Why does this initial challenge cause Moshe to question his mission?

אבן עזרא פירוש שני שמות ה:כב

(כב-כג) וישב {משה} – הנה שאלה: אחר שהודיע השם למשה ואמר לו ואני ידעתי כי לא יתן אתכם מלך מצרים להלך (שמות ג':י"ט) עד שיעשה כל האותות אשר צוהו, אם כן למה יתרעם משה למה זה שלחתני, והצל לא הצלת. התשובה: חשב משה כי מעת דברו אל פרעה יקל מעליהם, והנה הוא הכביד העבודה עליהם.

(כב) וטעם למה הרעתה – הפך מה שאמרת: ראה ראיתי את עני עמי (שמות ג':ז') וארד להצילו מיד מצרים (שמות ג':ח').

ולמה זה שלחתני – להרע לישראל, והנה לא מצאתי תשובה להשיב לשוטרים.

Ibn Ezra - Second Commentary Shemot 5:22

(22-23) AND MOSES RETURNED. Now a question: Why did Moses complain and say, Why is it that thou hast sent me? and Neither hast thou delivered Thy people at all after God told him, And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go (Ex. 3:19) until he performed all the signs that God commanded him? The answer is, Moses thought that Pharaoh would lighten Israel's yoke as soon as he spoke to him. However, Pharaoh placed a heavier workload upon them.

(22) [WHEREFORE HAST THOU DEALT ILL WITH THIS PEOPLE?] Contrary to Your words, I have surely seen the affliction of My people (Ex. 3:7); And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians (Ibid.). [WHY IS IT THAT THOU HAST SENT ME] To harm Israel. Behold, I have not found an answer to give the officers.

The Ibn Ezra suggests that Moshe had understood that Pharaoh would not acquiesce to his opening request. But he assumed that the people’s burdens would be alleviated, and certainly not increased. He was trying to build a relationship with the people based on him representing Hashem. Moshe had been given a specific message and accompanying signs to convince the people of the authenticity of his mission. His original encounter with the Jewish people went smoothly. But with the situation deteriorating, he didn’t know what to tell the Jewish officers.

Moshe anticipated that he would face external opposition from Pharaoh. This was made clear to him at the burning bush. But perhaps he did not anticipate that he would face such strong internal criticism from the Jewish people. He therefore questioned how he would accomplish his mission facing internal opposition.

רלב"ג תועלות שמות ה

(כא) התועלת הששי הוא במידות, והוא שאין ראוי לאדם שיתן אל לבו הדברים שיאמרו האנשים כנגדו מרוב הצער ומרירות הלב, כי רוב צער האדם יביאהו אל שיאמר מה שאין ראוי לאומרו. ולזה תמצא שלא ענו משה ואהרן דבר אל שוטרי ישראל במה שאמרו להם 'ירא ה' עליכם וישפֹּט' (ה, כא).

Ralbag - Shemot 5:21

The sixth beneficial idea is in relates to character traits. It is not proper for a person to concentrate on things that people say against him out of pain and bitterness, because great pain causes a person to say things that really shouldn’t be said. And this is why we find that Moshe and Aharon do not respond (directly) to the [complaints of] the Jewish supervisors when they said, “Hashem should look upon you and Judge” (5:21).

According to the Ralbag, an interesting idea emerges from this encounter. The Ralbag is not suggesting a leader must simply ignore criticism. Rather, the leader must recognize the source of the critique. In this situation, it was the pain and stress that the people were under which caused them to be upset and hostile. It was not a critique of the primary mission or objective. This is why Moshe and Aharon did not try to defend themselves or argue with the people. They accepted their complaint. In subsequent episodes, Moshe would time and again face complaints and criticism. But in this episode, we see that successful leadership sometimes requires facing both external and internal opposition, while remaining committed to the ultimate mission.

References

Ibn Ezra, E., Strickman, H. N., & Silver, A. M. (1996). Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch: Perush ha-Torah : Exodus (Shemot). New York: Menorah Publishing Company, Inc.

Retrieved from: https://mg.alhatorah.org/Full/Shemot/31.18#e0n6

Rosenberg, A. (1980). A new English translation of the Hebrew Bible text and Rashi, with a commentary digest. New York: Judaica Press. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/

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