Making It Till the End

Before beginning the story of the ten plagues which G-d brought upon Egypt, it presents the genealogy of the first three tribes of Israel – Reuben, Shimon and Levi. Rashi (6:14) explains that the Torah wanted to tell us about the family background of Moshe and Aharon, the ones who confronted Pharaoh and brought the plagues, and who descended from the tribe of Levi. It therefore began from the first tribe, Reuben, and continued until it reached Moshe and Aharon. The Torah concluded this section by stating, “This is Aharon and Moshe, to whom G-d said: Bring Beneh Yisrael out of the land of Egypt… They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt…this is Moshe and Aharon” (6:26-27). Rashi, explaining the need for the seemingly repetitious phrase, “this is Moshe and Aharon,” writes: “They kept to their mission and their piety from the beginning until the end.” The Torah goes out of its way to emphasize that Moshe and Aharon remained committed to the goal of bringing Beneh Yisrael out of Egypt, until the very end. They retained their devotion, and their righteousness, throughout the entire process. It is common for people to grow weary and give up. When we start something new, like a new project or new spiritual undertaking, we are filled with excitement and enthusiasm, which fuels us and keeps us going. Inevitably, however, this excitement wanes with time. It is all but impossible for the enthusiasm felt at the beginning a new endeavor to last. Whether it’s a new personal project, a new community project, a new business, or a new hobby – people so often give up in the middle, once the excitement that had kept them going wears off. This is one of the reasons why it is customary to make a festive Siyum celebration upon the completion of the study of a Masechet (tractate of Gemara), or of another significant portion of Torah. We celebrate not only the accomplishment itself, but also the person’s persistence, his long-term commitment to the goal. It is relatively easy to begin a Masechet, and to study the first several pages. But seeing the project through to completion is far more difficult. Rashi’s comments here teach us to follow the example set for us by Moshe and Aharon, to persist in pursuing our ambitious goals even after the initial excitement has waned. If we’ve taken on an important, meaningful project, let’s apply ourselves to see it through to completion, despite the challenges and proverbial “bumps in the road” that we will inevitably encounter. In order to achieve, we must be prepared to put in the work even when we feel like giving up. Like Moshe and Aharon, we must be committed to making it until the end, to achieving the goals that we’ve set out to achieve.