BackMaximum Impact
By: Rabbi Barak Bar-Chaim
“…Moshe was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.” (Exodus 7:7)
There are three different opinions as to the age of Moshe when he fled Egypt. The Ramban favors the opinion that Moshe was twenty years old at the time. The whereabouts of Moshe from age twenty until he stands before Pharoah on behalf of the Hebrews is unclear. There is a Midrash that explains in detail how Moshe became the King of Kush for many years. Only after he leaves Kush does he travel to Midian, where he marries Tziporah (the daughter of Yitro). Some have suggested that Moshe returned to Egypt in his forties or fifties. According to this view, around thirty years passed from his return to Egypt until the actual redemption process began.
Irrespective of how we understand Moshe’s whereabouts during those sixty years, why does the Torah narrative not elaborate on Moshe’s life during this time? Rabbi Eliyah Meir Bloch (Shiurei Da’at) suggests that the Torah only records events that impact all future generations for all time. Many of Moshe’s activities over the years did not directly have generational impact. Only those events and time periods in Moshe’s life that impacted the world forever are recorded in the Torah. This is similarly true for every individual. The activities we are involved in at some stages in our lives are more impactful on the world than others.
The most significant components of Moshe’s life occurred during his first twenty years and his last forty years. Similarly, not all events and occurrences in all our lives have the same worldly effects. One never knows which years of one’s life and which activities one is involved in will have a more significant impact on the world. Rabbi Bloch uses this to explain the Midrash (Rut Rabbah 5) that says that a person should always perform every good deed with a full heart. Since one never knows which actions and which years of our lives are truly the most impactful and productive, let us follow the advice of this Midrash and perform all our activities with a full heart.