There is a common denominator between President Trump and Paroh, the king of Mitzrayim. Really. No jokes. I don’t mean that they were both dictators, because Trump is not a dictator. In fact, thanks to him, we no longer live under a two-party dictatorship run by powerful bureaucrats in Washington who remain entrenched, abusing their administrative power in the most corrupt ways.
One of the sentences in his inaugural speech struck me as the crux of why, despite all odds, he was elected. He said, “My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal—and all of these many betrayals that have taken place—and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and, indeed, their freedom.”
We are living through one of the most remarkable periods in American history. The inauguration of President Trump taught us something unique about America and something unique about Trump. What lesson would that be? That with sheer grit, sheer willpower, a resolve not to be bullied into capitulation, and an almost relentless stubborn refusal to be cowed into submission, Trump and the American people who supported him were able to both repel attacks and go on the offensive. He was able to defeat the machinations of the abuse of government power.
If we stop to think about what they threw at him, it is impossible to even understand how one person could withstand such pressure, with lawsuits, one after the other; all kinds of poisonous leaks to the compliant media; an attempt to both bankrupt him and muzzle him by co-opting all the tech giants; and, on top of that, assassination attempts. Yet, through it all, he refused to give in, fighting like a lion, and returning fire like a scrappy schoolyard kid who got punched around again and again but wouldn’t give up.
You can like Trump or hate him, appreciate his style or not be able to stomach it, but you cannot help but admire his akshonus, his stubbornness, not to let anything deter him. Whatever they threw at him didn’t matter. He stubbornly fought back and forged on.
Lessons from…Paroh?!
Now, perhaps the only akshan who can be compared to him is Paroh. Everything was thrown at Paroh – blood and frogs, lice and locusts, and the list goes on, getting worse and worse. But he wasn’t deterred.
In fact, no less a person than the Sefas Emes says that Paroh should be a source of chizuk for us.
Huh?! Paroh? Chizuk? Aren’t the two contradictory?
You know from whom we can take chizuk in our ongoing, often difficult and at times seemingly impossible battles with the yeitzer hara? From none other than Paroh himself, says the Sefas Emes. Yes, Paroh can give us chizuk. How?
Before we see how we can possibly get chizuk from Paroh, let us refresh our memories.
The very first posuk in this week’s parsha begins with Hashem telling Moshe, “Come to Paroh, for I have made his heart stubborn.” Now, let us think. What is Hashem asking Moshe Rabbeinu to do? The same thing he has already done seven times. Hashem is again instructing Moshe Rabbeinu to go tell Paroh that he must let the Yidden leave Mitzrayim. Again? Yes, again. Hadn’t Paroh already sustained seven makkos without letting the Yidden leave? Why would Moshe think that this time he would be able to change the mind of an impossible akshan like Paroh?
Still, Hashem told him, “Don’t be nispo’el. Don’t be discouraged by his previous track record. Go back to Paroh again!”
Not Once, Not Twice, Not Thrice… But Eight Times!
Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but I have a hard enough time asking for something a second or third time, let alone an eighth time. Have you ever asked a friend if he could lend you something or asked a parent or a spouse for something and been turned down a few times? Even if you are persistent and you ask once, twice, or three times, there comes a point at which you get discouraged and uncomfortable and just stop asking, no?
But we see that here, Hashem instructs Moshe to go an eighth time. Why? Because “I hardened his heart.” And what does Moshe do? He listens to Hashem and goes. He doesn’t protest and say, “But I already tried so many times!”
The Sefas Emes explains that this serves as a great lesson for every Yid. The very fact that Hashem told Moshe to go to Paroh, “because I hardened his heart,” is a tremendous lesson to us. What is the lesson? That we can similarly be mechazeik our hearts. We can strengthen ourselves not to fear the power of the yeitzer hara, not to get discouraged, not to give up hope when we see that every dovor shebekedusha is so difficult to attain. Why shouldn’t a person be discouraged? Because if you look at Paroh, you can see something mind-boggling. What do we see? That even his hardened heart was from Hashem.
Hashem hardened Paroh’s heart. Hashem made him into such an akshan. So too, it is Hashem Himself who, kevayachol, hardens the yeitzer hara’s heart, making it so difficult for us to overcome and defeat the yeitzer hara. Yes, the yeitzer hara is a malach who is doing the shlichus of Hashem. Of course, he is difficult to overcome.
Nevertheless, the Sefas Emes continues, because the yeitzer hara indeed comes from Hashem, we can draw chizuk that a person who really, really wants, who has a true ratzon to overcome the yeitzer hara, will end up succeeding. He should not be afraid to try, because the same Hashem Who makes the yeitzer hara so difficult to overcome is the Hashem Who recognizes a true ratzon to overcome that yeitzer hara and the same Hashem Who will help you prevail over the yeitzer hara’s tricks.
Learning to “Trump” the Yeitzer Hara
Perhaps we can add that even when the yeitzer hara periodically wins and causes us to transgress, that, too, should not be a reason for us to despair, to give up and say, “It is just too hard.” Why? Because we must understand and believe that this situation is also from Hashem.
So, yes, I think that each and every one of us should study what Trump had going against him – all the dirty tricks, all the censoring, all the undemocratic tactics used against him, all in the furtherance of the ultimate mission to save the world from the “totalitarian” Trump. Still, he fought and fought and refused to be deterred, no matter how dirty they played and no matter what tricks were used.
Trump was the ultimate akshan, hardening his heart and continuing to fight and fight until he succeeded in defeating them, embarrassing them, and now finally dismantling their designs to use the power of government to subjugate the people.
We must learn from Trump. Certainly, in this area, he must be our teacher. Remember, be an akshan. No matter what the yeitzer hara throws at you, no matter how difficult the nisayon, you can overcome it, and when you do, you will be so much more powerful as a result.
If you don’t believe me, just ask Trump.
