CHABAD.ORG Power or Influence? By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

There is a lovely moment in this week’s Parshah that shows Moses at the height of his generosity as a leader. It comes after one of his deepest moments of despair. The people, as is their wont, have been complaining, this time about the food. They are tired of the manna. They want meat instead. Moses, appalled that they have not yet learned to accept the hardships of freedom, prays to die. “If this is how you are going to treat me,” he says to G‑d, “please go ahead and kill me right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”