"Giants of Interpretation — Part II"

Shemos — Abarbanel and Authority Without Ego: Why Moshe’s Reluctance Is Leadership, Not Weakness

Introduction — The Reluctant Redeemer

Parshas Shemos introduces the greatest leader in Jewish history not with confidence, but with resistance.

Moshe Rabbeinu does not rush toward authority. He hesitates, questions, and repeatedly attempts to decline his mission. He protests his inadequacy, his speech, his credibility, and finally his very suitability:

“שְׁלַח־נָא בְּיַד תִּשְׁלָח”
[“Please send whomever else You will send.”]

For many readers, these moments appear as weakness — an obstacle that must be overcome before redemption can proceed.
Abarbanel insists on the opposite.

Moshe’s reluctance is not a flaw to be corrected. It is the qualification that makes redemption possible.

Abarbanel’s Central Claim: Authority Must Be Empty of Self

Abarbanel reads Moshe’s refusals with extraordinary seriousness. He rejects the notion that Moshe was unsure of his abilities or frightened of failure. Moshe knew Hashem’s power and had already demonstrated moral courage.

The hesitation, Abarbanel explains, is ideological.

Moshe refuses to accept authority that originates in the self.

True prophetic leadership, according to Abarbanel, cannot tolerate even subtle ego. A redeemer who views himself as essential — as chosen because of talent, insight, or destiny — risks contaminating Divine mission with human selfhood.

Moshe’s reluctance safeguards redemption from becoming personal.

Prophecy Does Not Cancel Derech Eretz

One of Abarbanel’s most striking teachings is that prophecy does not override human responsibility or humility.

Moshe does not say, “Hashem will speak for me.”
He says, “I am not worthy to speak.”

Even when assured of Divine assistance, Moshe insists that inadequacy matters. Speech, credibility, and communal trust are not erased by prophecy.

Abarbanel teaches that leadership remains human even when Divinely mandated. Authority must still pass through derech eretz — realism, humility, and accountability.

This principle distinguishes Moshe from Pharaoh. Pharaoh assumes power sanctifies speech. Moshe insists that speech must be sanctified before power may flow through it.

Why Reluctance Protects Redemption

Abarbanel is deeply sensitive to the dangers of charismatic leadership.

Redemption, he argues, cannot be entrusted to a personality who believes himself irreplaceable. History teaches that even spiritual missions collapse when leaders confuse Divine purpose with personal identity.

Moshe’s repeated refusal ensures one crucial truth:
Redemption belongs to Hashem alone.

Moshe becomes a conduit, not a source. His authority flows through surrender, not assertion.

Only such leadership can withstand success without corruption.

Moshe’s Education as a Leader

Hashem’s patience with Moshe is itself instructive.

Rather than silencing Moshe’s doubts, Hashem engages them. The dialogue refines Moshe’s self-understanding until leadership is accepted not as elevation, but as burden.

When Moshe finally accepts, it is not with confidence — but with submission.

Abarbanel understands this as Moshe’s final preparation: leadership emptied of ego is now safe to wield power.

Authority Versus Ownership

Abarbanel’s Moshe does not “own” redemption.

He does not claim credit for signs, success, or persuasion. Even his speech is shared with Aharon. Authority is distributed, diffused, and grounded in obedience rather than brilliance.

This is not inefficiency. It is spiritual design.

Redemption must never be mistaken for the achievement of a man — even the greatest man.

Implications — Leadership After Moshe

Abarbanel’s teaching reverberates far beyond Shemos.

Whenever leaders:

• Identify personally with mission
• Protect image over truth
• Treat authority as entitlement

They repeat Pharaoh’s error in softer form.

Moshe teaches the opposite: leadership worthy of redemption begins with the courage to step back.

Closing — The Strength to Decline

Parshas Shemos reveals that the strongest leaders are not those who seek power, but those who fear it.

Moshe becomes the redeemer not because he claims authority — but because he resists it until it is stripped of self.

According to Abarbanel, redemption enters history only when leadership belongs entirely to Hashem.

And so, the man who would speak to kings first learns how — and when — to refuse.

📖 Sources

• Full sources available on the Mitzvah Minute Parshas Shemos page under insights and commentaries.